A Day in the life of Artsycooper

The End of a FUN Four Day Weekend...

2011-07-05T22:15:00.000-07:00

A Prelude to our Summer

2011-05-30T22:01:00.000-07:00

With the beautiful weather we have had in the last week, life has been a lot of fun. And all that kept running through my mind was, "summer is going to be so much fun!" Technically it doesn't start for another 22 or so days, and as for summer vacation, that doesn't start until June 30th. But since Elliot is still in preschool, and we are staying up much later than usual, I might consider summer is here. I love summer and do my best to make it last as long as possible. Life is happy when you are outside and wearing shorts.

Our plans for the summer in pictures...

Eat popsicles

Play in Grandma's pool

Relax while we eat dinner outside

Play with friends and neighborhood kids and their dog in the greenbelt

Grandma's Birthday!

2011-05-25T22:27:00.000-07:00

Happiness is...

Tea Parties and Hats

Birthday Lunches with Grandma

Green Frosting on Birthday Cakes

Grandma Hugs

Playing with Papa

Auntie

Sharing Dessert

Evenings on the Beach

Unhappiness is The Oprah Winfrey Show ending after 25 years. I rarely even watch her, but I have watched and learned so much since I was a teenager. She is an amazing woman.

A Sick Day

2011-05-09T21:18:00.000-07:00

Since Elliot was coughing ALL night long and had a fever last night, we took a sick day from school today. I have the cold too, so thought movies in bed would be a great way to spend the day.

Not sure if this is chilling out, but it was fun!

Snack in bed...

Getting comfy watching "Dinosaurs"

It's a Wonderful Life in California

2011-03-11T22:55:00.000-08:00

Every day that I wake up to a sunny day, I am so grateful for living in such a beautiful place. Since January 13 we have had many more sunny and nice days, than we have had cold ugly days.

Catching Up

2011-03-11T15:29:00.000-08:00

So I am figuring out that the amount of take out I eat is much more disturbing than the amount of meat I eat. And using cheese as a replacement for meat is probably not the best idea. But I am also learning that having a toddler in the house is a great way to lose weight. Alex is everywhere and so much work, that I rarely finish a meal.

My commonly eaten foods, while being meatless...

- Trader Joe's frozen low fat Mac and cheese. This is my favorite easy meal, and I
think it only has 5 grams of fat in it's small serving.

- Cream Pan's egg salad sandwich.

- Mountain Mix Mojo Bars.

- Black Beans.

- Rubio's fish tacos.

Some favorite meals so far...

- Chipotle's vegetarian tacos with lots of their corn salsa and guacamole.
Total favorite!

- Costco's frozen tilapia. The spicy one is so so yummy with rice and avocado. It
would be great with some of Chipotle's corn salsa.

Today's cabbage covered fish taco at Rubio's

So going meatless has definitely made me more aware of what and where I am eating. Maybe April will have a no take out theme. One step at a time, right. It's not all bad, I am, eating loads of fruit, because berries have been so delicous.

Cream Pan

2011-03-04T22:15:00.000-08:00

Meatless March Day 4

Much better than yesterday, until a barbecue at friends this evening. What could be better than Cream Pan for lunch. I know it's only egg salad sandwiches, but it is very yummy egg salad, with cucumber. And with a banana pastry for dessert, pure heaven. Thank you to the lovely Carol for recommending it and bringing me samples a few weeks ago.

Dinner at a friends was salad, taquitos, guacamole(I think for the taquitos) and really delicious smelling grilled chicken. I wanted to cheat. I really really did. And I quite easily could have, but the rest of the month would have been ruined, and I wouldn't be able to take myself seriously in the future if I did. So ate what little salad was left at the bottom of the bowl. Luckily that is where most of the kidney beans and peppers ended up. I also had a perfect blend of fruit salad (bananas, blueberries, strawberries and apple) and guacamole. It was dark so nobody could see me eating guacamole with a fork. Is that strange? It was really good and chunky, and without tomatoes, just the way I like it.

My yummy sandwiches from Cream Pan (I didn't eat the ham one)

The most amazing, scrumptious best ever in the world pastries

These pastries really are perfect. The custard cream is not overwhelmingly sweet. I think it is the secret ingredient to making their pastries the best. And the croissants are perfectly flakey . There just isn't a better word for them than PERFECT!

Meatless March day 3

2011-03-03T22:43:00.000-08:00

Not so easy today, but I did it.

Bean and cheese burrito with no sauce or onion from Taco Hell, and a tuna sandwich and salad from Kenos. And I still feel hungry. I think my life saver in being meatless is my mountain mix Mojo Bar.

Not my meat free meal, but my sulfate free, paraben free, gluten free and vegan shampoo. (I had no idea that shampoo had meat products or gluten in it)

A very nice and smart mom at Elliot's swim lessons told me about this, most amazing shampoo and conditioner. I have been picky about my shampoo ever since I was a teenager using Vidal Sassoon in the 80's. I have spent up to $25 on 8 oz of shampoo at times, and am currently spending about $5.99 on 8.5 oz of Neutrogena triple moisture professional shampoo. But I could not be more grateful to this mom, for recommending Kirkland hair products. It is just as good if not better than the Bumble and Bumble I used a few years back. I love it and it smells just like some shampoo that I bought multiple bottles of when we visited France about 8 years ago. Try it! It's worth the $7.99, for 33 ounces.

Meatless March Day 2

2011-03-02T15:55:00.000-08:00

Lunch was easy today. I love this Italian salad from Trader Joes. Dinner was a bit tough. We went to El Torito, and you would think Mexican food would be easy. I wasn't really wanting a cheesy quesadilla, but anything with seafood was double the price of chicken and they didn't have a meatless burrito. So I went with the salad and quesadilla with a side of avocado. The salad was delicious, and the quesadilla was good with the avocado and salsa. Alex, as usual ate and ate and ate, cantelope, beans, rice and some avocado. To top off the meal, just right was super yummy churros.

The salad was made with romaine lettuce, white kidney beans, green and red bell pepper, romano cheese, carrots and cabbage, topped with a garlicky oil and balsamic vinegar dressing.

Meatless March Day1

2011-03-02T15:47:00.000-08:00

So I had been planning for a few weeks to try to make March meatless. But March 1st came around and I totally forgot. It was about 4:00 when I was waking up from my dehydrated stupor, not from beer but from pizza, Chuck E Cheese cheese pizza, when I realized I had been meatless so far. And I wasn't going to ruin it, because I felt so awful from that horribly salty pizza and 4 Diet Pepsi's, that I didn't want to eat another thing, so meat never hit my mouth.

Not my cheese pizza, but my good boy who earned a trip to Chuck E Cheese for filling his responsibility chart up. The reason I was meatless today.

It Only Took Four Generations...

2010-11-16T22:07:00.000-08:00

for me to get an iphone!!! And I am so happy to finally have one. Even Elliot has one, Lee's hand me down. Not for the phone but for the apps. We turned off internet service for him and he can play all he wants, except after dinner. This Mommy doesn't allow video games after dinner. I know, I am such a meany. So far I have added the facebook app, napster app and balloon animals. I absolutely love having all of my napster playlists to listen to in the car. Although, I wish Elliot would stop asking me to play Dynamite. The contreago song. Where it is supposed to be "Saying Ay-oh, baby let's go", Elliot sings "saing ay-oh, contreago." He insists it is not baby let's go. And the balloon animals is cute but not worth the $1.99. Maybe I can figure out how to get my email onto it tomorrow.

Yes he is still in his pajamas at 1:00. He got a lazy day while I cleaned and did laundry all day.

Happy Digital Scrapbooking Day!

2010-11-06T11:20:00.000-07:00

So today was Digital Scrapbooking Day. I had quite a few hours to focus on it, but somehow I only finished 2 pages. At times I was trying to join a digital scrap chat, watch Bones and work on scrap pages. I do have another page that was almost finished a little while ago, when I decided to completely change it and do something totally different. The chats were interesting but a bit disappointing, and THE ONE I really wanted to join happened when Lee arrived home with our Indian dinner. I knew it was at a bad time, but I still hoped I would be able to totally focus on Cathy Z and Ali Edwards. Cathy is my idol.

Tomorrow I will shop, since everything is on sale and hopefully finish a few more pages.

Happy Birthday Auntie!!!

2010-11-05T23:26:00.000-07:00

Loads of fun at Grandma's for Aunties birthday. We enjoyed delicious steak, corn on the cob and Texas Toast. Yum, yum, yum. And finished it off with delicious cake from Beverly's Best. And they are the best!

Auntie got everything she wanted...
Pictures of Elliot and Alex
Front row seats to The Ducks game
Cash
A close up mirror

One of the cutest birthday cakes ever

Looking for impurities. (Luckily he didn't find any)

Alex with Ernie

What Elliot gave to Auntie. She got him to tell her what the surprise was even before she opened it. I think they both hate surprises and she new exactly how to take advanttage of a sweet little 4 year old to give it away.

My baby is ONE!!!

2010-11-02T21:24:00.000-07:00

I really can't believe it. It seems like yesterday, that i was out trick or treating with Elliot hoping that was the night my water would break. Elliot even went to Grandma and Papa's just in case. No such luck. It was another 2 days, November 2, our 8th anniversary. And now he is 21 pounds and one year old and full of personality.

2 hours old

1 day old

10 Things Tuesday
1. I still can't believe he is 1
2. My back is feeling so much better. Thank God for muscle relaxers.
3. Looking forward to a deep tissue massage, that was prescribed by my doctor.
4. I love shrimp ceviche from Patricia's. Yum, yum.
5. I want a soda fountain in my house.
6. When you take your child to the doctor because he has a cold, do you hope for an ear infection, or do you still hope for a clean bill of health even though it proves you are an over paranoid mom. Yes, the answer is obvious. Better safe than sorry, and always hoping for the healthy diagnosis.
7. Is it okay to give your child hot dogs 3 nights in one week?
8. Wondering how the passing of prop 19 would affect the people around me if it passes.
9. I don't think prop 19 is going to pass.
10. Hoping I will wake up tomorrow and find the cleaning fairy spent the night at our house. Unfortunately I am guessing it will still be the big mess I left it in.

Last but not least my favorite picture from Halloween...

What a Great Weekend

2010-11-01T21:56:00.000-07:00

but I'm glad it's over.

Alex had a wonderful and easygoing birthday party. And we all had a great time in the dinosaur bounce house. My back and body couldn't really handle it, but my mind and heart could not resist. We were all wiped out before 7:00. The kids crashed and Lee and I were not far behind. The Petersons came over Sunday evening and we ended a fantastic weekend trick or treating. By the end of the night, the kids were begging us to go home. But they loved it!!!

Tomorrow my baby turns 1 and Lee and I celebrate 9 years of marriage!!!

Let the Halloween Festivities Begin

2010-10-29T22:44:00.000-07:00

I LOVE HALLOWEEN!!!

Sometimes I think I love it even more than Christmas. I love the candy and the dressing up and the parties. So today was the beginning of a weekend of halloween. Alex's birthday is next week, so how lucky are we that he has a built in theme to his birthday. I LOVE IT!!! So today was Elliot's school halloween party. So I dropped him off equipped with my camera. And I had to feed Alex so that we could go do errands, which was a great opportunity for me to watch Elliot in action and get a few pictures.

What did I observe?
Elliot's best friend, Jake dressed as Spiderman, run over to hug him.
Elliot being a fierce dinosaur to scare/impress his favorite girl, Aneesa.
Elliot tell his teacher, Miss Heather that he had boogers in his nose.
Miss Heather line up 6 kids to go to the bathroom to get Elliot tissue, to wipe his boogers.
Elliot in violin class, with his teacher Mr. Espinosa.

Weekend Scrapbooking

2010-10-25T21:29:00.000-07:00

This is a picture from the beginning of the year, but a favorite of mine.

Fun times with my cousins. Kristin came into town from Pennsylvania, and we all had so much fun talking about the old days. We grew up playing together, but only see each other every 5 or 10 years.

10 Things on Tuesday

2010-10-19T22:47:00.000-07:00

1. I love Diet Coke!
2. I hate the rain.
3. I love my boys!
4. I hate the quality of customer service I recieve so often.
5. Have to watch the finale of Teen Mom. (Why, oh why?!)
6. Why is every other commercial on MTV for a horror movie. I hate horror movies and cannot even watch the commercials for them.
7. I am over frozen CPK pizza. It's just not good.
8. I want brownies.
9. Never believe that that a cheap craft is going to be cheap.
10. Stick with the wooden $1.50 crafts. That's what 4 year olds like best.

September in Review

2010-10-03T14:35:00.000-07:00

September was a busy month, getting acclimated to our new home and the area, and Elliot starting preschool. We are loving it!

Elliot's First Dentist Appointment

2010-09-24T22:15:00.001-07:00

Elliot and I got to have our teeth cleaned today. We love Samantha. She is definitely the best hygienist ever.

Journaling- "Friday, September 24th, Elliot had his first dentist appointment and teeth cleaning at Dr. Alley’s office. Mommy had her teeth cleaned first and then it was Elliot’s turn. “Samanta”cleaned his teeth and he was so good. He loves Samanta and had a great time talking her ear off, telling her that Monsters don’t really resist. He especially liked pressing the button for the water to swish around the sink that you spit in. He chose grape polish and Dr. Alley said his teeth look good, with good spacing, unlike his mommy’s. He did so well and Samanta cleaned all those sugar bugs off Elliot’s teeth."

Where I am Now...

2010-09-23T11:52:00.000-07:00

I am addicted to Cathy Zielski templates and am taking her Me, The Abridged Version class at Big Picture Scrapbooking . I like her simple, more graphic style of scrapbooking and think that I have finally discovered my true style.

My current projects are my Me- The Abridged Version album, and A Book of Letters, Volume 1 for Elliot.

Two of my two page spreads from Elliot's album..

I used the "Dude" kit by Fee Jardine at The Sweet Shoppe
and templates from Cathy Zielski's "Message to My Boy" template pack at Designer Digitals

A couple pages from my "Me- The Abridged Version"

Random recent pages that I used Cathy's templates to create

So there's my scrapbook history. Now to make more...

Digi Scrap History Continued...

2010-09-20T21:56:00.000-07:00

Around April or May I discovered templates by Cindy that I loved. The first page below is using one of her kits. This is also when I started discovering more Scrapbook shops.

A few of my favorites are
The Sweet Shoppe
Scrap Orchard
Design House Digitals
Designer Digitals
Two Peas in a Bucket

The kit I used was Spring Arrives by Misty Cato and template #24 by Cindy Schneider at The Sweet Shoppe.

Used Hero by Krystal Hartley at The Sweet Shoppe

When I finally dabbled in something other than The Sweet Shoppe at The Scrap Orchard..

Used It's a Journey collaborative kit at Scrap Orchard and PreFABS tagbook template by Studio Dutchie

In July I got to go scrapbooking with my great friend Debbie for 24 hours, and she showed me Creative Memories digital scrapbooking. I got some really great ideas there and did a few.
One of my layouts using the Creative Memories Storybook Creator software

Tomorrow I will finish up with where I am now and with a simple style, that I love!!!

More...

2010-09-19T22:36:00.000-07:00

My Digital Scrapbook History, Part 2
When I discovered The Sweet Shoppe in February...

Kit used is Cupid's Confectionary by MandaBean

The kit used is Summer Solstice by KristineCronin-Barrow
and Template 1 by Sarah E.

The kit used is Modern Stone Age Family by Libby Weifenbach

The Sweet Shoppe was my home for digital scrapbooking for a couple of months, before I realized there were at least 100 digital scrapbook stores out there around international Scrapbook Day in early May. I still love The Sweet Shoppe, but glad to have some different styles in scrapbooking, to choose from, at other shops.

Where Have I Been?

2010-09-17T22:18:00.000-07:00

I have been scrapbooking. About 6 or 7 months ago I got really serious about digital scrapbooking and ended up abandoning my blog. Unfortunately I am not very good at multi-tasking. The scrapbooking addiction began as a result of breastfeeding my newborn. In the first few months I was spending 5-7 hours a day nursing, and I really needed something to do while feeding Alex. My mom gave me a laptop for Christmas and that is how it began. With my computer on a small table next to my nursing chair, I was able to create. Maybe I am a multi-tasker. So I have decided to take my blogging in a different direction and share my daily stories in my digital scrapbook pages.

My history of digital scrapbooking, Part 1
When I first started dabbling in the world of digital scrapbooking,
March 2009.

January 2010

These all were made with digital kits at Weeds and Wildflowers . The first shop that I fell in love with.
More from my digi-scrap history tomorrow.

Never Say Never...

2010-03-02T10:01:00.000-08:00

So I swore I would never wear Crocs. But yesterday I went to the croc outlet to get shoes for Elliot, and I got myself a pair. I have had them for less than 24 hours and already love them. Three of my favorite things, cheap ($14.00), red and Mary Janes.

Happy Valentines Day!

2010-02-14T21:37:00.001-08:00

I spent two days trying to get the perfect pictures for my Favorite Valentine. The trick was setting up the tripod and letting the three year old press the shutter and then run back to sit with me and baby. We got 3 or 4 great pictures out of about 10 tries. Not bad. And it was completely out of my control. I didn't even look from picture to picture.

Pictures from our first day attempt...

Elliot did not want to take pictures that day :(

On the other hand, Alex was a Superstar!

Hope you all had a day full of love and a wonderful weekend. We had perfect gorgeous weather here in Southern California.

Another Fun Playdate!!!

2010-02-10T23:16:00.001-08:00

More fun at the Rice House. Elliot's BFF. Mine too...

Good Bye Jay Leno...

2010-02-10T23:07:00.000-08:00

...Hello Law and Order. What a happy day. Jay Leno has forced me to watch Seinfeld reruns during the ten o'clock hour for the last 5 or is it 8 months. I don't remember if it started in June or September. He took over what was normally Law and Order hour. Even when he was on at 11:30, I refused to watch him, and after taking over what was normally a Law and Order hour, I hated him even more. Now he is going back to 11:30, and I still can't stand him. And since 10:00-11:00 is my main tv viewing time, I get Law and Order back, woo hoo. The bad new is Lee hates Law and Order just as much as I hate Leno, so I will still be watching Seinfeld on the nights we watch tv together. And you are probably wondering why we don't watch 16 and Pregnant or The Jersey Shore or some other really interesting cable show. That would be because we don't have cable.

Just a few pictures from the weekend

2010-02-07T22:15:00.000-08:00

More Puddle Jumping!!! He loves it...

Elliot building his tent. Great rainy day activity

Elliot in his tent

Alex and his Daddy

Elliot dancing around while Lee and I tried watching Parenthood. Classic movie!

Wish it were Wednesday

2010-02-06T08:29:00.000-08:00

Instead it's a rainy Saturday

Good things about last Wednesday...
Trader Joe's Truffle Brownies, they are truly the best brownies ever.
Trader Joe's Cheese Pizza
Good little boys playing dinosaurs who found worms and salamanders.
Taking fun pictures of Alex and Carol's pretend baby. It brought back such great memories of times spent at the Rice Home when Elliot was a baby.
A little bit of digital scrapbooking.
The house keeper came.

Why today isn't as great...
No fun friends to play with.
Rain, lots of rain. Yuck, yuck, yuck.
I have a cold. And Zicam didn't help much this time.
A dirty messy house.

Pictures from Wednesday. It is so fun collaborating with Carol to get great pictures.

Elliot and his BFF Danny

Danny stuck in a basket

Elliot checking out worm. They also found a salamander.

Looking for donkeys, chickens and camels and more.

I love my boys' profiles...

Alex, wearing his camera!!!

Excitement on our Street Today...

2010-02-02T18:30:00.000-08:00

So some teenage dude assaulted another teenager on the Main Street around the corner from us and stole his ipod(or something like that)and then ran up our street from the cops. Apparently he lives on our street about a block south of us. Anyway the police were on a manhunt around our house for a couple of hours during Elliot's nap, with a helicopter and all. It seemed like a bit of overkill over somebody stealing an ipod, but the more I think about it, it wasn't just an ipod, he assaulted somebody. So I feel safer knowing the cops were all over our street and not going anywhere until they caught the asshat. And catch him, they did. In the bushes at our next door neighbors. The whole time they had him out by the police cars he was crying. Seriously, if you are going to do the crime, you better be ready to do the time. Oh man, I sound like an old lady. And I thought we lived in a nice neighborhood. Well, we will be moving soon, anyway.

All I was worried about was getting a couple photos. And irritated that
I shouldn't go outside to take them. So they are all from inside.

The worst part for me, is that I had a delivery coming via UPS, but I don't think he made deliveries on our street today. Oh well, I should get it tomorrow.

The helicopter above our neighbors house

The cop cars in front of our house

Motherhood

2010-01-25T20:36:00.000-08:00

Why a quick diaper change isn't so quick.
Lay baby down to change him and Elliot shouts for me to come and see what he did. This means come and see my poop.
Go wipe Elliot's butt.
Go back to change baby's diaper. Find out there are no diapers left in the drawer, so I need to go to the garage to get some more.
Now Elliot needs help getting his underpants on.
Now I can change baby's diaper.
Change diaper. Woo, I finished. But wait, now baby spits up all over himself and me, so I need to change baby's clothes so that he isn't cold and stinky.
Don't even worry about myself, because part of my mommy uniform is the white splotches of spit up that i am constantly wiping up. I wish I had enough shirts that fit to change every time it gets a little dirty.

And no matter how hard I try to get back to my project, it still doesn't happen because now baby is fussy and wants to be held.

But none of that really matters when he looks at me and smiles like this...

If he were one of Snow White's dwarfs, he would be sleepy. Such a good baby...

Shopping and Other fun Stuff!

2010-01-24T22:44:00.000-08:00

Fun for me, not necessarily for Lee. It was his idea to go to the mall, since he needed new shorts and t-shirts. But he had no idea what a day at the mall with me and the kids is like. A ride or two on the carousel. Lunch- Lee chose Pacific Whey. It is really good food, but still seems a little over priced for a self service eaterie. The chicken and chips was good, but the tortilla soup was really delicious. We made it to Sports Chalet, but Lee didn't find anything. Lastly we made it over the bridge to the main part of South Coast Plaza, so I could go to Gymboree, and Elliot could go on the big carousel. He also got to burn off some energy doing "Go Dino" over the bridge. I totally give up on store specials and things like "Gym Bucks" coupons. And I will never try to use them on the weekend that they are expiring. I can't believe how many people were in line there. Atleast 15 people and half of them were still shopping while their spouse or child stood in line. And there were three registers open. NEVER AGAIN! And I think that is what Lee is saying about going to the mall with us 3, NEVER AGAIN!

I will also never again watch the movie "New Moon". I got a night out, so I had a great dinner at BJ's and then went to the cheapy theater to see the second movie in the Twilight Series. I loved the books and Twilight, but New Moon was the the most boring movie I have seen in a long time.I really just wanted it to be over.

And today I got to do another one of my favorite things, scrapbooking. I am totally addicted to digital scrapbooking. I love it. And my favorite sight is Weeds and Wildflowers .

Fun with my birthday present, a new fish eye lens. What a fun toy...

Santa, this is what Elliot wants for Christmas

I sat in the baseball department to feed Alex

Elliot sitting in the chair I sat in to feed Alex. Sometimes I have to get creative working out where and how to feed him.

A couple of my scrapbook pages from this weekend.

Rain, Rain GO AWAY

2010-01-22T22:34:00.000-08:00

Come again another day.

No don't come again another day. Just go...
Two weeks ago we were wearing shorts and now we are on our fifth day of torrential rain. It has been windy, rainy and very cold.

Playing with my new lensbaby while Elliot plays in the puddles.

Wednesday pictures. Elliot had a bath in the morning, but instead of getting dressed, he put on another pair of pajamas, to stay warm and comfy since we weren't going anywhere.

More Rain

2010-01-19T22:23:00.000-08:00

Just a boring rainy day.
Watched the street fill up to the top of the curb with rain.
Heard there were tornadoes in Long Beach and OC.
Got a Happy Meal from McDonalds.
Jumped in the gigantic puddle on our front sidewalk.
Made more Truffle Brownies.
Ate more Truffle Brownies.
Cooked dinner for about the 14th night in a row.
Smiled at Alex (a lot)!
Sang with Elliot!

My Dinosaur

Rainy with a Chance of Chocolate

2010-01-19T12:12:00.000-08:00

Monday, January 18

Lots of rain and lots of chocolate. Peppermint Hot Chocolate from William Sonoma and Truffle Fudge Brownies from Trader Joes, make the most perfect Heavenly Chocolate pair. And along with a great friend, while we chat and listen to the pouring rain is even better. Before I tried them together, I figured it might be too much chocolate, but it definitely was not. I love brownies and will eat any put in front of me, but the Trader Joe Truffle Fudge Brownies are truly the best brownies ever.

39

2010-01-15T17:25:00.000-08:00

What did I get for my birthday...
An Opteka fisheye lens that is on it's way from Amazon
A Disney Pass for this year
Nordstrom Gift Card
The Flu

Here's what 39 looks like

My little guy

Smiling for Grandma and Papa

Erin, My Favorite Model...

2010-01-11T22:54:00.000-08:00

We had my 16 year old cousin come to stay for the weekend. Elliot loves her. I'm not sure if she loves playing "Go Dino" but she had fun watching him. And she is my perfect beautiful model. Erin is always up for taking pictures anywhere, anytime. This time we went to my favorite spot in San Juan Capistrano. San Juan is my favorite place in Southern California and while I was there a couple of weeks ago, I found the most perfect perfect picture place, a shaded brick area, with three archways that let in amazing light.

Now that I have kids, the idea of first and second cousins totally baffles me. Erin is my first cousin, so does that make her Elliot's second cousin or first cousin once removed. We'll just call her his cousin. And in the meantime I will go look up an email where my 5th(I think) cousin Justin explained it all.

Pictures from our perfect place...

She looks just like her Momma

Erin took these. She might be aphotographer in the making.

My smiley baby

My beautiful boy

All Elliot wanted to do was cross the train tracks and have piggy back rides.

A group picture from our night out barbecue at Steve Becker's House, while Erin and Auntie babysat. It was so nice seeing school friends. And Mark Magdaleno only lives a mile or two away from us in Long Beach.

We missed Samantha, Richard and Martha.

Sunny California- I love it!

2010-01-05T18:19:00.000-08:00

More than anything, I love that we get to wear shorts in January. I know it isn't everyday. But we always have at least one heat wave, every year in January. We are so lucky to never have to shovel snow or wear big unflattering coats, and bundle kids up like the little boy in The Christmas Story, who can't put his arms down at his side, because he has so many layers on.

Alex wearing his first shorts outfit, and it's January 5!

I hear England is having their coldest winter in over 100 years.

Childhood Illnesses...

2010-01-03T16:14:00.000-08:00

Make me crazy. I feel like the mother bear who is protecting her cub. I am one of the biggest germaphobes that I know. It drives people nuts that I won't go places if it means my children may be exposed to something. But really it does no good, because we still get sick. Elliot has had colds, flus, Hand foot and mouth disease and now Roseola. This stuff sends me into a tail spin. I cannot handle the anxiety that any sign of sickness in Elliot creates in me. I then stress and worry for days about whether or not Alex will come down with the same thing. The one thing that would keep me sane is to know my children will not catch the next bug that is going around.

Now I know Roseola is the reason for this attitude. He wasn't feeling well.

Now, I hope these cutie pies don't get it since we were with them the day Elliot first got sick.

Hopes, Dreams and Wishes for 2010

2010-01-01T21:59:00.000-08:00

Happy and Healthy Children.
Alone time with Lee.
An extended RV trip around the country.
To see friends and family I haven't seen for years.
More time for my hobbies.
Better Organization of our house and my life.
More Lenses of course.
An iphone.
More good times with all of my best girl friends.
An organized computer.
A girls weekend, or better yet a girls week, away to do nothing but photo editing and picture taking.

2009

2010-01-01T17:09:00.000-08:00

If 2009 was defined by anything it would be my friends and my new baby. I have so many great memories of time spent with so many wonderful ladies and their kids. And most of that time was while I was pregnant with (at first twins), my sweet little baby boy. We spent so much time at the beach and the parks or just playing at each others houses. And I am so grateful for everybody's love, support and understanding while I grew very large and couldn't always handle the trials that Elliot threw at me. I never knew I could get so big. We ate lots of brownies and Steph's famous black bean and cream cheese dip, along with drinking many many cases of Diet Coke. As a group the one thing we probably could not survive without is Diet Coke.

Thank you all for such a fabulous year!!! I love you.

Top 10 best things of the year
10. My Mini Mini Van. I always wanted back sliding doors.
9. Huntington Library.
8. My Disney Pass and our many trips to The Happiest Place on Earth.
7. A visit from The Cooper Grandparents.
6. Trip to Catalina.
5. OC Fair for the Duran Duran concert, and also the KC and the Sunshine Band Concert with, also pregnant Samantha. And of course the food while we were there. The chocolate covered strawberries were probably the fave for this year.
4 1/2. Vegas road trip to see the amazing Beatles Love show, and eat in yummy buffets.
4. Summer playdates of fun and photography, and great moments with Elliot.
3. Family Vacation to San Diego and Disneyland.
2. 8th Wedding Anniversary.
1. Sweet Baby Alex.

Alex Collin Cooper

Halloween Cupcakes

2009-10-20T21:05:00.001-07:00

Since we don't leave the house much, let alone Long Beach, I have been busy at home with projects for Elliot and I to stay busy. Today was baking day. Elliot cracked the eggs and everything, and after nap we got to decorate our ghost cupcakes. I think he was more interested in having a party than he was in eating cupcakes. So we sang "Happy Halloween to you" when Daddy got home after dinner.

Elliot's Masterpiece!

Gotta love a cheesy three year old grin

Isn't She lovely

2009-10-06T12:25:00.001-07:00

One Week Old...

I met Avery the day after she was born. She is Samantha's beautiful baby girl. And Elliot got to meet her last week. He was so excited he brought his own bebe's (as he calls them). He wanted to softly touch her, and see her belly button and just be close to her. It made me more anxious to get my little guy out. But he will be here soon enough. And I have so much to do in the next few weeks, that hopefully he will stay put.

All Day at the Beach

2009-09-27T21:55:00.001-07:00

It has been years since I spent the whole day at the beach. But we did today, from 10:00 to 4:30. I spent the entire day on my beach chair with my knifty knitter and camera. And had some really nice tacos from La Serena.

A Hot Day at Home

2009-09-25T14:57:00.000-07:00

Every day when Elliot wakes up he asks me what are we doing today, Mommay(that is how he says Mommy). Most of the time, we are going to Grandma and Papa's, or Steph's, or to the park with Danny and Carol, or to do errands. But it is rare we stay home. This was the week we began to start chilling out and spending more time here, enjoying the house while I get bigger and we wait for it to go through escrow. We got a really great offer on our house today, so as long as everything goes as it should, we will be moving back to the OC after the holidays. Definitely good and happy news, but now I definitely want to enjoy and appreciate what a great home we have had.

Today, I figured out the air compressor, so that I could fill Elliot's wading pool and we could stay cool in the backyard for an hour or so. And we also built our usual fort of the day in the living room.

My current cravings are strawberry pop tarts, Dr. Pepper and any kind of pasta alfredo. Costco has the best chicken penne alfredo. Talk about comfort food. And Red Lobster (Elliot's current favorite restaurant) has some delicious shrimp linguini alfredo.

A new love I have discovered in my next door neighbors garden is a chocolate mint herb. And she has invited me to take a sprig now and then if I would like. So I did today. And made chocolate mint iced tea. I made it very subtle not wanting to overdo it, and it was a wonderfully refreshing drink for the day. And I think more hydrating for me, than my usual Diet Coke or Dr. Pepper. So if you wish to add any herbs to your garden, I highly recommend it. Next I think I am going to try making lavender mint chocolate chip cookies. Should be interesting.

The fort that Elliot watches tv from...

Watching the neighbors out the front window in his new dinosaur wonderpants

A few pictures from Irvine Regional Park a few days ago

Happy Birthday to my Baby!

2009-08-14T22:08:00.000-07:00

Happy 3 years Elliot.
Had our annual breakfast at Goofy's kitchen, where Elliot only ate 2 strawberries, 2 pieces of bacon and 3 gummy worms. And relieved that the nice cashier did not charge us for Elliot's breakfast, because based on what I told her Elliot didn't officially turn three until 10:22pm. It was a bit of a fib, because he was born at 10:22am, so he was "officially" three.
Pictures coming in the morning...

4th of July Weekend

2009-07-06T17:34:00.000-07:00

Life is good. Most of the time. At least when I am not having a pregnant hormonal breakdown. Lee's work has calmed down for awhile, so it is great getting the house organized and having family time, without feeling stressed out.

Friday Elliot got to show off his superb swimming skills to his Daddy at swim lessons. He is so proud of the fact that he is going underwater 3 times every day. After swim lessons, we thought it would be the perfect day for the beach, since it was a long weekend. Don't ever attempt Corona del Mar on a holiday weekend. It takes forever to get in and forever to get out, and you never actually make it in, because the parking lot is full before 9:00am. We did have a wonderful day in Huntington, after our two hour drive through Corona del Mar. And we found the coolest dinosaur pool, with a slide, during our pit stop to Target before we hit the beach.

Even Daddy got buried!

Lots of fun with Daddy!

The first of June

2009-07-06T17:29:00.000-07:00

Our busy Month of May

2009-06-03T11:05:00.000-07:00

Will give a synopsis later today!

It's a Boy!

2009-05-26T21:41:00.000-07:00

I am 16 weeks and 5 days today, and officially grown out of any and all clothes that I wore previous to being pregnant. This has already been quite an eventful pregnancy, with learning there were twins at 5 weeks, then that one didn't make it at about 10 weeks, having 5 ultrasounds already, an amnio and still having sporadic morning sickness. Luckily the morning sickness is less frequent, but it seems to be more intense when I have it. It's amazing how differnt this is from my pregnancy with Elliot. Now the quest for the perfect name is on...

Sunset Beach

2009-05-12T16:12:00.000-07:00

Pictures of Elliot having fun, and playing tiger in the sand.

Something Sweet!

2009-05-12T15:38:00.000-07:00

So I am behind on my blog, because we were staying in Sunset Beach for about 10 days, and I had no internet access. While we were there Elliot and I both discovered something sweet. He discovered Orange Crush Soda, and I discovered the best hot fudge sundae in the whole wide world, at the Harbor House Cafe. Seriously the best sundae ever. Next time I will have my camera with me to take a picture. Needless to say, my doctor commented on the 5 pounds that I gained at my appointment yesterday.

Happy Mother's Day!!!

2009-05-10T18:27:00.001-07:00

I hope it was a wonderful day for all of you amazing Moms! I wanted to post some fun pictures of my mom, and pics that remind me of my mom and what a great woman she is and was growing up.

I was about Elliot's age here. I think it was Easter. My mom made all three of our matching dresses. She made of all of my clothes when I was young. The fabric is probably from TG&Y!

My mom on the left and me on the right. Both are of us in Kindegarten. I can remember my Great Grandma Phoebe giving me this perm, that I absolutely hated. She was my favorite person in the world, but when she gave me that permed hairdo, I was really mad at her. IT was only thirty years later, that we realized what my Great Grandma was doing. She wanted me to look like my mom!

I was about 14 or 15 here. My mom saved her crazy 70's clothes for us to mess around in. This one and the shoes that I am wearing were our favorite.

The essence of my childhood. We were happy kids. Thanks Mom.

My cousin Carrie, me, cousin Julie and my sister Jennifer.

Lizzie the Lizard...

2009-04-29T20:36:00.000-07:00

I know, what an uninventive name for a lizard. One of my first realizations of the life of being the mom of a boy. He spent hours with this lizard at our favorite neighbor Sharon's house.

Introducing Lizzie to his favorite donkey.

More Disney

2009-04-29T15:32:00.000-07:00

I just love this sweet happy face...

Of course he still doesn't want to look at me if I have a camera in my hand. Here in the monkey cage on the Casey Jr. Train ride, that he keeps referring to as the Carl's Jr. Train ride!

A hug for Minnie

Hugs in Pooh Corner!

2009-04-28T20:37:00.001-07:00

After two other attempts, Elliot finally got to meet and hug Winnie the Pooh. It is so fun, now that he isn't scared of the characters. He wanted to see all of them today. Here is some fun in Pooh Corner.

More favorites of the day to come, probably tomorrow morning.

The First Day of Spring

2009-03-20T17:08:00.000-07:00

Friday, March 20. I know it is a few days late, but I started this on the first day of spring.

The flowers are blooming at Grandma's.

Chillin with Auntie!

Grocery Shopping Day

2009-03-19T18:24:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, March 18

Elliot got to play at Aunt Ellen's while I did the grocery shopping. It had been almost two weeks, and we had nothing left in the house. I did not want to go. But I had to. When I get so hungry I, I think I am going to die, there is no time to run out for fast food. So I must have cheese puffs, bread and peanut butter, cookies and ice cream in the house.

Later on after Elliot's nap, he found my shopping bag and decided he was going grocery shopping. He went in his room and got his boots on, asked me for the keys, and proceeded to try to get into the car. Unlucky for him, I gave him some random set of unknown keys. It all made me laugh, because he really intended to go grocery shopping.

Happy Tumor Tuesday

2009-03-19T18:23:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, March 17

It was the most beautiful day for lunch over the beach in Laguna. Grandma always celebrates her life after the brain tumor on the anniversary of her surgery having lunch at The Beach House in Laguna Beach. This year Elliot and I got to spend it celebrating with her. Elliot as usual was very patient. A total superstar playing with his dinosaurs and watching the kids play on the beach. Whan we finished he got to play in the sand building sand castles with me and playing on the playground.

And of course for dinner we had a very delicious corn beef dinner. YUM!

We love you Mom and Grandma!

Finally got out of the house

2009-03-19T18:19:00.000-07:00

Saturday, March 14

After Elliot being sick for a week and a half and me being sick for a week, we finally got out of the house and somewhere fun. We got to see some of our best friends, eat pizza and cupcakes, and play, play, play. The pepperoni pizza was yummy, but Elliot would have preferred weenie beanie zuchinni pizza. It was so nice to hang out with good friends, and Elliot did not stop the whole time, except to eat.

Our Cute Kids!

This is where the kids got so dirty

This is where he was most of the evening.

The cutest little baby!!!

Happy Birthday Steph and Sarah!

We love your new hairdo Deanna.

Elliot and his girl friend

Little Doggies...

I want to go to Disneyland

2009-03-10T13:00:00.000-07:00

I think I miss it more than Elliot. And it is the perfect weather today. But now I have a cold, and for fear of it getting really bad, I have restricted myself to doing pretty much nothing and hanging out on the couch, putting zicam in my nose every four hours. I would never be this paranoid, but Elliot's cold was so bad and the thought of being medicine free with that amount of coughing terrifies me. And even if the doctor, nurse or any mom tried to tell me it is okay, there is no way I would. It is a critical time, the heart and brain are forming and legs and arms are getting ready to grow. There is just no way, I could. And as for the zicam, it is mainly zinc, which is a mineral that we need. Anyway, back to Disneyland. I really hope I get better so I can go again. So Elliot can ride the train with his buddy Danny and I can eat yummy bread and/or corndogs with my friend Carol.

Elliot with Tigger, again. Because Pooh always leaves for a nap as we are getting in line.

Our Tuesday Buddy, Danny

Sunday stuff

2009-03-08T21:16:00.001-07:00

By the end of today, I was beyond handling anything. I am so tired from the sleepless nights of my baby coughing endlessly, to the point of vomiting. I didn't want to make dinner (but I did), I din't want to bathe the little dude, or read stories or sing songs. Now, I really really really just want to go to bed. We did have a chilled out day and took a walk to the elementary school around the corner, so Elliot could learn to drive his jeep. I know he is a little young to drive, but he is very advanced for his age.

Pictures taken with Lee's iphone

Great Day Away

2009-03-07T21:21:00.000-08:00

Elliot and Lee got to have a boys day out together, and I got a free day with my lovely friend Carol. Before I picked Carol up I managed to get some grocery shopping done. That was a must, since we were out of garbage bags. And a house cannot run without garbage bags. Needless to say, the checker pissed me off. I swear, when my hormones are crazy, the last place I want to be is at the grocery store. It always puts me in a bad mood.

With Carol, we hit Winco, where I managed to spend less than $4, on yummy red and black gum drops, a couple other varietys of candy and dino-snacks for Elliot. We saw a beautiful ranch style house that Carol might just buy one day, and had the best lunch in a long time at Chili's, where we did not have baby back ribs. We had chips and queso dip, and shared some tasty sliders with onion strings and french fries. We left completely stuffed. But still followed that with a trip to Suzy's Cupcakes. We ended our day at the Costa Mesa thrift store, where Carol resisted buying the gorgeous, Cream Colored lacy skirt and top. But we did decide we must have a thrift store outfit party. And I am not allowed to wear either of the two sweatshirts that I got for $2.50 each. I must wear something a little more fancy and stylish. There is plenty to choose from at the Savation Army Goodwill on Harbor Blvd.

Now I get to finish doing the puked on laundry, from Elliot's episode of gagging up all the extra phlegm, that was causing him a very frantic cough. Yuck, yuck, yuck. I wish this cold would go away. But I am extremely thankful that I have stayed healthy.

***Note to self and anyone else listening, don't forget to change your clock tonight.

Still sick, with a really bad cough.

2009-03-04T22:52:00.000-08:00

I don't think I have ever heard Elliot with such a bad cough. It makes me very sad. It has definitely been a television down day, but somehow every so often Elliot gets these bursts of energy, which launch him into crawling around the house acting as if he is some obscure animal, or just terrorizing whatever I am doing.

As for me, I am still hooked on finding just the right digital scrapbooking kits for little boys, who like trains, dinosaurs, animals, playing on slides (sometimes) and running around outside. There is still one kit I haven't been able to find- a digital Disney theme kit. I really need one. I am also hooked on breakfast burritos. I seem to eat at least one a day, and today, that is what I had for breakfast and dinner. Gotta love all of that spicy protein.

A Peanut Butter Sandwich is so much better in the shape of a T-Rex, but this one was too sticky. Arrrrggggghhh...

Wow, he even looks sick.

But this is him 5 minutes later, acting like he is a snake under the table.

Playing on his laptop, while I was on mine.

Dinosaur Mornings

2009-03-03T21:24:00.001-08:00

My baby is sick with a nasty cough, but he still managed to get dressed up like a dinosaur like he has been doing every morning lately, and pushed his baby cupcake around the house. He loves having his dinosaur persona, because he can then scare the cats and sometimes scare mommy and daddy. After playing dinosaur, we got to do our weekly Stater Bros shop, and then have a picnic in Sharon's front yard. She even brought her patio umbrella out, because it was such a hot and sunny day. And Elliot ate his entire dinosaur peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He has been offered PB& J many times over in the last year or so, but would never take more than one or two bites. But today, dinosaur shaped, he ate the whole thing.

As for me I have been answering emails as they came in today, and looking at more digital scrapping, and lied on the couch to watch two episodes of Law and Order today. Exciting days.

My sick lil' guy

My New Addiction

2009-03-02T21:24:00.001-08:00

Digital Scrapbooking. It has taken over my computer time lately, and most of it being shopping for just the right kits. I fill a virtual basket with different papers and frames and fun colorful elements, and then I close it up, start doing something else, and then three days later wonder what site I was on when I found all the cute stuff I loved. And I am on a hunt for just the right boy stuff. I love girly, but 99% of my pictures are of Elliot, so it is not the pretty flowery pink kits that I need. So when I tear myself away from the digital scrapbooking stores, this is what I do. This is a tribute to Auntie Jenn who rescues me and takes Elliot to the Museum, or to lunch or to watch movies at her house. I got a break on Sunday, and gave Noodle a bath, even though she really needs a haircut. But I don't know how to do that. At least she smells nice now.

Temper Tantrums and Regression

2009-02-20T14:57:00.000-08:00

Part of the life of a two year old. And that life is getting rough at times. If we are not out all day, we are definitely gauranteed at least a couple of melt downs and tantrums. And even if we are out, it doesn't gaurantee a day without a tantrum. Our days are full of fun. We read books at the library, go on the slide at the park, if Elliot isn't too scared that day, and we ride on the train so we can see the dinosaurs everytime we go to Disneyland, which is usually once a week. Elliot can be so animated and happy. He sings and dances and loves to talk. Boy, does he love to talk . But lately, if he doesn't get what he wants when he wants it, he screams, and then when he gets in trouble and is told to calm down and stop freaking out, he screams and cries even louder. The tantrums seem to have started on Friday (not the thirteenth) the 20th, because he wasn't allowed to take his shoes and socks off at the park. I normally pick my battles pretty well, but not letting him take his shoes off was a battle I should have never taken on. In the end he was in his carseat hysterical, with the air conditioning on and I was sitting on a park bench a few feet away from the car.

In the pictures below, the one of him coming off the slide was about two minutes before the meltdown began. Fortunately I had my wonderful friend Carol with me to give me her very understanding support. She has been through it also.

Another day at California Adventure

2009-02-18T21:54:00.001-08:00

A busy day at Disneyland, so we went to California Adventure. It was only my second time and I still don't know my way around, so it was great having Hailey Kay and Kathleen there to show us around. My favorite things were the amazing corn dogs and Crush, the turtle from Nemo's show. He was very clever and entertaining, and nice and cool on a hot day.

Hailey after we bumped into her.

Elliot hugging Hailey while we waited for The Crush Show.

Elliot and Mommy in Flick's Fun Fair Land

Elliot doing what he calls "Cheeks" instead of kissing me.

California Adventure

2009-02-05T11:17:00.001-08:00

We had to get a picture of The Dinosaur Sunglasses Shack.

Carol and Danny on the Bumper Cars.

We liked this ride!

The Ladybug ride, that freaked Elliot out.

It was like the teacups, but you couldn't keep it from spinning.

Catching Up...

2009-02-05T11:16:00.001-08:00

So my plan was to do a diary update of last week, because I'm sure we were busy, but I honestly cannot remember. I thought you were supposed to be in your 50's or at least your 40's before you start suffering from CRS. Oh well, I have it.

*Updated, these are now almost 2 weeks old. I was having technical difficulties with my photo editing software.

Thursday- Friday January 29th/30th
What I do remember was Elliot had his first kid sleepover here at our house. We had Hailey Kay over Thursday night and then went to The Aquarium of the Pacific. Hailey was great! We read stories, sand our songs and then the kids went to bed. I was happily surprised that Hailey was no problem at all. She is only 3 1/2, and she didn't cry or get upset in the least. It was our wonderboy Elliot who couldn't quite handle the change. So Hailey Kay slept with me, and Lee slept in Elliot's room. Elliot was very happy when he woke up in the morning to find Hailey awake and ready to play.

We had a fun time at the aquarium, touching sharks and watching 3d movies about keeping our oceans clean and safe for the animals and fish that live there. Elliot refused to wear the paper glasses, but seemed to enjoy it anyway. It is so fun to watch Elliot have so much fun with his friends, talking, playing, laughing and hugging.
>

Us at Kathleen and Hailey's house after the Aquarium

Wednesday January 28
Elliot and I got to go to Sophia's 4th Birthday Party. Her Mom, Steph, throws the best parties. There were plasma cars, bikes and all sort of other cars, including a pink Barbie battery powered jeep to play on. There was one refrigerator completely stocked with Diet Coke, juice boxes, and 2 Buck Chuck. We had pizza na dirthday cake and Elliots favorite was the stamps that were in the goodie mailbox, so he could have frog tattos all over his arms and face. Any day together with our friends is a great day!

My beautiful and sweet friend Steph

3 Little Love Birds

My little butterfly

Just a random picture of Elliot at home having breakfast in his butterfly wings

The Newest Member of our Family

2009-01-23T17:47:00.000-08:00

We found this sweet little dog in our neighborhood at the end of September, but most people still don't know we have a dog, so I thought I would introduce her here. I never dreamed she would become ours. With found signs put up in the neighborhood and a notice that we found her, at the SPCA near our house, I thought for sure somebody would claim her. We were not looking for a dog, but "Noodle" is the nicest dog we could have ended up with. She is so sweet and is a wonderful addition to our family.

The day we found her

BeforeAfter- The day we got her cleaned up
Romeo got a haircut too.

Tug of War.

It startes off a little slow, but gets funny with Elliot and Noodle playing.

Twilight... My Current Obsession

2009-01-23T17:45:00.001-08:00

I cannot get enough of Edward Cullen and these Twilight books. I went on to facebook and almost joined the "I love Edward Cullen and Twilight" group, but I would feel like way too much of a dork with people from high school and my past seeing me in that group. I just read the last 350 pages of this book in the last 36 hours. I just couldn't stop reading. And now I am on a total downer, because I don't have the next and final book of the series. And I have to wait until the middle of the week to get it from my great friend, Kathleen. Although, I am just not sure I can hold out. I may go and spend the money. And now I want to go see the movie again tomorrow. Let's see, what else have I done? I downloaded all three trailers to the Twilight movie onto my ipod and I watch interviews with Robert Pattinson online. Now I don't really care for him, but he is an amazing actor with how well he played Edward. Okay, I am not a dork, I promise. There is just something about these books, that sucks a person in and makes them cry when the main character Bella is sad, and happy when she is happy. I have 4 other friends reading them and they are all just as emotionally attached to the two main characters as I am . I am just hoping and praying the last books ends the way we want it to. If it doesn't it will be worse than the worst broken heart I experienced in High School.

The series by Stephenie Meyer is:
Twilight
New Moon
Eclipse
Breaking Dawn

Team Edward!

He's Not a Baby Anymore

2009-01-18T17:01:00.000-08:00

Crazy, how quickly time is passing. I can't believe I have finally made the jump to giving Elliot the freedom of a big boy bed, out of the crib. And oddly he had a harder time than I did. Elliot wanted to go in the crib after we tucked him in. He eventually chilled out and slept until 7:45, with only one minor disturbance. I woke up hearing him cry a little bit, and then rattling around as if he were on the move. Well, he was trying to get up on the twin bed, that is in his room, but it was covered in toys. Note, to other parents, on the first night of your child sleeping in a bed rather than a crib, make sure all toys are put away, so they don't injure themselves when they get out of bed in the dark. Anyway, he went right back into the toddler bed, and back to sleep. So it was a success, and we got rid of his high chair also. So our house is finally moving away from the very cluttered baby mode. Hooray, for less clutter. Boo for more toys than any child would ever need.

My favorite easy going playlist

2009-01-17T20:53:00.001-08:00

Being the last person on the planet (I think) to have an ipod, I am finally working out how the system works, and am so happy to have my first playlist.

Kissing- Bliss

I Don't Know You- Kate Havnevik

If We Try- Last in Line

Sweet Sweet Baby- Michelle Featherstone

Ordinary Day- Dolores O'Riordan

New Soul- Yael Naim

L'Odeur- Hooverphonic

In My Arms- Plumb

Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful Life- Aselin Debison

Torn- Natalia Imbruglia

Kiss Me- Sixpence None the Richer

Collide- Howie Day

Waiting on the World to Change- John Mayer

I'm Yours- Jason Mraz

Upside Down- Jack Johnson

Not sure how the flow is, but I like it.

Time Out!

2009-01-17T09:37:00.001-08:00

Lately when Elliot is grumpy and winey, we can get him to put himself into a time out. This is how I found him in his most recent timeout.

We miss Grandma and Grandad

2009-01-16T13:35:00.000-08:00

I am so lucky to have such wonderful inlaws and Elliot is so lucky to have such fun and loving grandparents. It was a busy 3 weeks which definitely ended too soon.

Grandad helped us clean out our garage and washed every window in our house. That is a big job considering most of our windows are French windows.

We had so many fantastic meals out. We ate at Tony's in Redondo, Parker's Lighthouse in Long Beach, E.J.'s, Natraj, Pei Wei, Fuddruckers and the Cafe at Gene Autry's museum in Griffith Park. Val and I enjoyed a lovely day at Fashion Island, and we only went into two shops. Elliot went on the carousel and threw penny's into the fountain. I must never forget to put a bag of penny's in my purse before we leave the house. Lee and I got annual passes to the Long Beach Aquarium, and we also went to the Huntington Library and Gardens, Griffith Park Observatory and one of the playgrounds, And the boys went to The Los Angeles Natural History Museum to see the Dinosaur exhibit. In between there was lots of playing with trains and animals, playing in the garden and watching movies such as "The Land Before Time", and "Pooh Bear and the Heffalump." Now instead of hearing Elliot say "Grandma will you play with me" it's back to "Mommy will you play with me". So now I am learning the right way to play trains. Which tracks I am allowed on and which I am not. I figure since Elliot is bossed around all the time, he can at least be the boss, when we play with his trains.

We will carry on with our webcam chats, but look forward to the next Cooper visit hopefully before the end of the year.

At the Griffith Park Observatory

Watching the Sea Lions at The Aquarium of the Pacific

Our little Monkey

The little monkey and Grandma Dinosaur

Val teaching Carol to knit, before she had to leave with poor sick Danny.

Danny coming down with the flu.

More Disney Pictures...

2009-01-15T16:43:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to Me!

2009-01-13T21:44:00.001-08:00

It was my free day at Disneyland, since it was my birthday, although between, food, parking and stroller rental it was more of a $40 day. It was Elliot's first time at Disneyland and I hadn't been since I was pregnant with him, almost three years ago. He definitely kept his serious face on for most of the day, but he hasn't stopped talking about it, and he told me, "that was good fun, Mommy," when we got in the car. And I had a fantastic time. I can't think of a better way to celebrate my 38th birthday.

Our first ride was on the carousel.

Next was the circus train, where we sat in the monkey cage.
A few self portraits, that Elliot wanted nothing to do with.

Elliot at around 3:30. I had intended to leave by 3:00, but we were running a little later, and once he fell asleep, I didn't want to interrupt him. It would have been more than I could handle carrying a half sleeping toddler from the entrance to the tram and then through the parking lot to the car. So Elliot slept in his stroller for about an hour and then we hit a few more rides before we headed home. We didn't leave until 6:30. I am wiped out!!!

I'll add a few more pics later!

He did it on purpose...

2009-01-12T20:40:00.001-08:00

I love my flip video camera. We are catching a lot of good two year old conversations with it.

A January Heat Wave

2009-01-11T21:50:00.001-08:00

We had a fantastic lunch at Parker's Lighthouse in Long Beach, today to celebrate Val's, my dad's and my birthday. It was so yummy and delicious and a really nice 3 hours for us all to hang out. Unfortunately my dad wasn't there to be celebrated. We started outside, but after about 5 minutes we had to request to be taken to a table inside. Next to the glass partitions outside it felt as if it were atleast 90 degrees out, with no breeze at all. I always say we get at least one heat wave in January. My favorite weather, sunny and warm.

The Cooper's Barry, before we headed in to a new table

Ernie and Elliot

He loves to hug us for pictures

Auntie and Elliot

Theresa and Lee

Mommy and Elliot

Lee's Mum and my Mom

We ended the day, with a frantic search around the neighborhood for Romeo. Around dinnertime, we realized that he had probably spent last night outside, and didn't have much hope of actually finding him. Lee and I walked around the block, calling and waiting, and talking to the houses behind us, and when we got home, Barry was on his way out to find him. With another search around our backyard, LEe could hear a faint meowing, and with us both calling , Romeo finally appeared in a tree from the neighbors behind us. Now I remember why we don't let him outside. He really is not a very smart cat. To think he was in the yard behind us for about 20 hours and he never found his way back to our back door.

Thursday's trip to The Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens

2009-01-10T16:22:00.001-08:00

While Grandma was in Phoenix, we went to free day at The Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens. I seriously think the grounds are as big as Disneyland. It is huge and we managed to cover most of it. I love the Bamboo forests and the Japanese Gardens were really impressive. But the Children's garden was a wonderful delight. There are fountains all around and a rainbow tunnel that Elliot spent quite a while wearing himself out running through over and over again. Fortunately it was our last stop because Elliot was wet up to his knees and his shirt was pretty wet as well from sticking his arms in all of the fountains.

We have had a busy three weeks with Lee's parents here from Sheffield, England, so I have a lot of catching up to do here, hopefully in the next week.

Another fun Playdate

2009-01-06T21:07:00.000-08:00

Fun for the kids and fun for the mom's and grandma. There was lots of music, playing and best of all yummy treats. We had donuts from my favorite donut shop in all of Orange County and Kathleen's famous artichoke dip, along with nacho cheese and frozen pizza. Seriously, what could be better than that. Thanks for another great playdate, Deanna and Kathleen! We missed you Steph:(
We had to skip out early, unfortunately. And my question to the world today, is "why, oh why, does everything involving a two year old have to end in tears.

I got some great video but still need to get it onto my computer. I will add it soon.

Hi Mom, I got a donut!

Jonah tought Hailey how to play the violin.

Elliot had fun playing with Cash' s toys, too.

He climbed right in himself.

Hailey snuck off for some quiet time

And after a trip to the dentist and back home, I had a super yummy dinner with my friend Carol at Haus of Pizza. Ending the day with a trip to the 99 cent store, where you have 9 days to return up to 9 items, if you are not 99% satisfied. Thank you Carol for the return policy. And I only spent about $9.39. What did I buy, a plant pot and little bunny rabbit for the garden. Some salsa, after 8 mints, and cookies.

This one is kind of long, and gets shaky in parts. But I don't know how to edit video yet. I am just glad I figured out how to upload video here.

Do you ever dream of...

2009-01-01T22:12:00.000-08:00

going to Walmart and avoiding a long line when you checkout. Well New Years day is the day to live that dream. I was at Walmart at 12:00 today, and had no rude people cutting me off in the aisles, and went straight up to a cashier to pay when I finished shopping, only to realize I forgot to get Mayonnaise. And you cannot eat chicken salad sandwiches without mayo. I don't particularly care for mayo, but for some reason, I have to have just a little bit in my chicken salad. Anyway, I threw my 10 cans of dog food and case of diet coke back in my cart, so I could go find my mayonnaise. And when I got back to the checkout lanes still no wait. Hooray for no line at Walmart.

And if any of you photographers out there are interested in bringing the pose of the baby in a tea cup back, Walmart has the cutest tea cup plant pots ever. Not the ugly, black and aqua and red striped ones, but super cute red and yellow and orange polka dot ones. I want one, but I first need a 6 month old little girl to photograph in it. They are $20.

Best Friends

2009-01-01T21:46:00.001-08:00

Elliot and Hailey Kay. When they get together at Hailey's, Elliot always does fine and enjoys playing princess and all the girly stuff that she has at her house, and when she comes over to Elliot's she always enjoys playing dinosaurs and trains with Elliot. It's always good times with Hailey Kay around!

Bwa ha ha ha ha ha...

2008-12-31T13:38:00.000-08:00

Just in case you didn't see this video on the yahoo front page news, I had to share. Please don't think I am sick and dimented for cracking up hysterically.

http://video.yahoo.com/network/100284668?v=3710199&l=4418225

My Dinosaur

2008-12-27T22:43:00.000-08:00

Elliot's favorite song...

Me and my dinosaur

I never had such a friend before

Big as a house

Twenty times and a half

Fifteen times taller than any giraffe

Legs long as sequoia trees

Teeth big as piano keys

No two people are buddies more, than

Me and my dino

Nothings more finer

Me and my dinosaur

Yeah!

Elliot got a cute dinosaur costume for Christmas. All the little girls get to dress up as princesses and play make believe, so with $5 clearance Halloween costumes, I thought Elliot can dress up as a dinosaur and a monkey.

Merry Christmas to All and to All a Goodnight

2008-12-24T21:29:00.001-08:00

We started a tradition of opening two presents on Christmas Eve, a book and pajamas.

Decorating Christmas Cookies

2008-12-22T20:44:00.001-08:00

I LOVE sprinkles!!! The more the better, so I will let Elliot decorate my sugar cookies anytime. This was one of my favorite things to do as a kid with my mom and Jennifer and, also with the Lynch's, so I really enjoyed decorating with Elliot this year.

Friday Fun!!!

2008-12-14T22:18:00.000-08:00

I needed a few things from Paper Source, so we had a nice morning at Crystal Court. They had the most adorable train ride, that I have ever seen in my life! I swear Elliot is the most serious looking kid at times, but he was having the best time.

I swear, he shows no emotion. My mom says he gets that from me.

And he cracked a smile!
Grandma's favorite store...

And before we headed home, Elliot got to throw pennies in the fountain or mountain as he calls it, and let his sea lion go for a little swim.

Bargains for the Weekend.

2008-12-12T22:09:00.000-08:00

The main sale I know of for this weekend is 40% off at The Calico House. But it will probably be crazy there when they open at 10:00. There will be $3.50 a yard fabric and all other fabric is 40% off. I think that notions and kits and everything else are 40% off, also, but I am not positive about that. The above link shows their address, but it is not updated with the new sale info.

The next great sale is at Hanna Anderssen. They have all pajamas for $18, and they are regularly $35-$39.00. They also have some pretty cute sweaters for $19.00.

Macy's sale didn't look as good this weekend as it was last week. But I did see a lot of great extra reductions on all items in a lot of the store fronts in the mall today and yesterday. The only one I actually remember is that Talbot's has an extra 30% off everything.

One more tip, I wanted to share, even though you probably know about them, is the survey calls at the bottom of your receipts. A lot of stores and restaurants have drawings that you are entered into, if you call and do their quick survey about the service, but some of them actually have coupons or free stuff. My favorite is at the bottom of Ruby's receipt. If you do the telephone survey, you get a free milkshake on your next visit, and I think that is a $4.99 value.

Some pictures from Ruby's today...

Doing Honk Honk

99.99 Cent Store...

2008-12-12T20:39:00.001-08:00

After hearing about the 99 cent chef who started shopping for groceries at the 99 cent store when he lost his job about a year ago, I was dieing to go and see what treasures I could find. I haven't been to one since before Elliot was born. On Wednesday while Elliot was at Papa's playing, I got to go to the Yorba Linda/Placentia one for about 20 minutes. If you go, make sure you have more than 20 minutes. There is a lot to look at. First I have to mention, that it is no longer the 99 cent store, even though, that is what the sign still says. It is the 99.99 cent store and they round it up to 1.00. It seems kind of like a scam, but I'm not going to stop shopping there, over a penny an item. My favorite find was the gift bags, for 79.99 cents. And they were really cute. My other favorite was the Duncan Hines small cupcake mix. It only makes 12 rather than about 20 from the regular size. I was very happy to find the milk and honey softsoap, because it's my favorite and it is definitely a bargain at 99 cents. The mini palmolive was probably not much of a deal, but I thought it was cute, and the pregnancy test, I picked up, because you never know when you might need one of those, and for 99 cents, that was probably the biggest saving item I bought. Lastly for the rest of the food, I got 8 bananas, nice and fresh crimini mushrooms and some powdered sugar, each for 99 cents. In the produce section, there was some nice looking stuff and some not so nice looking stuff, but I was impressed by the mushrooms. They looked much nicer than the ones I buy at Trader Joes and even cheaper. How could I forget about The Chico and the Man dvd. I honestly don't remember ever watching Chico and The Man, but for 99 cents, I thought I might check it out. Or save it as a special Christmas present.

I tallied up the savings I could find based on prices I found at Albertson's, Von's and Target. Here are the usual prices...

mushrooms- $2.00
softsoap- $2.79
Bananas- 34 cents each
Chico and the Man $1.25- $5.00 (prices new at Amazon)
Sugar- $1.09
Gift Bags from $1.19- 4.99
Generic Pregnancy Test- $6.99 for a generic 2 pack

This all was a savings of about $14.00

Bargain Girl

2008-12-08T20:38:00.000-08:00

Or some say the coupon queen. I can give my mom the credit for teaching me about coupons. As a young girl, I used to get drug to the grocery store about once a month to hold and organize the coupons while my mom walked up and down each and every aisle of the supermarket. So, since my mom has retired from the coupon queen post, I will take the crown. I am thinking about starting a bargains blog. But for now I will write about all of the sales and coupons I come across here.

At the moment Macy's has $10, $15, and $25 off coupons with minimum purchases. And they are good until Christmas Eve. There best sales and price usually run Friday and Saturday, but they always seem to have some great sale going on. With the coupons and last weekends sale, I got a $139 Sak purse for $75, a super soft and comfy pair of pajamas regular priced $58 for $21, and a pair of $69 shoes for $33. Just click on coupons above for the link.

The next set of great coupons is at The Disney Store Online. With their sale and the 50% off coupon for luggage, a Cars suitcase that my mom bought for Elliot, for $35 in October, is about $13. And there are princess suitcases, too. Kids love these. They have wheels and they can fill them with all sorts of treasures. They also have some coupons for some toys and for clothes. I found a couple of very pretty little girl dresses for around $8.00. Just click on The Disney Store for the link.

Tomorrow, I will tell you all what I find at the 99 cent store.

Snips and Snails...

2008-12-07T22:31:00.000-08:00

...and Puppy Dog Tails. That's what little boys are made of.
Elliot was so fascinated by the worms and algea and seaweed looking stuff that Danny was finding.

Little Dinosaurs

2008-12-07T21:26:00.000-08:00

Elliot and Danny playing Dinosaurs on the Bamboo Forest!

More from The Gardens
Caro, Aaron and Danny who was turning 4 the next day!

The Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens

2008-12-06T22:28:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful day at the Huntington Botanical Gardens on Thursday, with Carol, Aaron and Danny. And it was free day, which is a great deal, considering the $15 admission rate. It is truly a photographers dream. There were beautiful succulent and cactus gardens, lily ponds, bamboo forests and a Japanese garden, and so much more to see. It would not be an exaggeration to say it was almost as big as Disneyland.

For some reason Elliot was scared to go near the bamboo trees. So we thought we would play a trick on him to get him near them. We told him The Mommy Tyrannosaurus Rex was on the phone telling me her baby was going to come and take Elliot's lollipop, if he didn't go with Danny to hide in the bamboo forest. Well, it totally backfired. He burst into tears, scared to death that there were dinosaurs in the bamboo trees. The only dinosaur in the bamboo was Danny. When you ask Elliot about the gardens, the main point he wil tell you about is the "scary dinosaurs in the baboon forest."

More pictures to come tomorrow. There were so many good ones!

HO, HO, HO, Merry Christmas!!!

2008-12-05T22:38:00.000-08:00

Elliot has had Lee and I in stitches all afternoon saying that with his deepest 2 year old voice.

Elliot and I had an interesting experience meeting Santa today. I had a coupon for The Beverly Center, which is about half an hour from our house. We got a pen drive thingy with the image on it, for $25.00 and it came with a $25 gift card for Shutterfly, to print the pictures. Elliot wasn't as scared as I thought he might be, but he refused to look at Santa, and then when we were finished he burst into tears, because he thought Santa would have presents for him. He is very confused by the fact that everybody keeps telling him Santa is coming to town and going to bring him presents on Christmas. But a two year old has no concept of time, and when Christmas is. So Santa may be leaving a gift for him under the tree tomorrow morning. Anyway, the most interesting part of the experience was Santa Claus. The man was so old, I was worried he was going to keel over right there. The helpers practically had to hold him upright, and after every kid finished they had to give him a drink of his Coffee Bean coffee. So here it is. I am just glad the picture is tear free.

I have been wronged...

2008-12-05T22:32:00.000-08:00

And I am going to make a formal complaint tomorrow. I went to Macy's tonight to look for shoes and a purse for myself for Christmas. But I forgot my coupons, and they were good. $10 off of $25, and $25 off of $100, so I asked the lady to put the shoes on hold for me until tomorrow morning when I could go back with my coupons. She said oh, I have coupons and tried to get me to accept the $15 off of $100. But I made her search out the $25 off. Then when I handed her my Amex, she said oh, you can only use Macy's credit card with the coupons. So I said whatever and bought one pair of shoes. Well, when I got home, I found my coupons, and guess what, there is no Macy's credit card required. I am really pissed off about it, mainly because she lied to me, so I will complain tomorrow when I go back with my coupons. I don't want to get her fired, I don't wish that upon anyone right now, but she should definitely be reprimanded. Slimy cow.

Crazy Busy Fun Weekend!

2008-12-01T22:35:00.000-08:00

It was filled with fun times, but super busy.

Busy times were
-going to Walmart at 6:15 Friday morning.
-taking the cat to the vet and the dog to the dog washer.
-Christmas shopping. I started early and thought I would be finished early. But it doesn't look that way, now.
-just a lot of running around in between the fun stuff.

Fun times were
-Thanksgiving Dinner at Mom and Dad's.
-Playdate with Deanna, Kathleen, and Steph. We always have a great time. It was such a bummer Elliot and I had to rush out, so I could get the cat to the vet.
-Decorating for Christmas.
-Listening to Christmas Carols.
-Spending an evening at the wonderful Rice Family house, eating yummy curry and the most delicious apple pie, playing wii, taking Christmas pictures, and chatting away with Carol.
-Discovering the Lakeshore Learning Outlet Store in Carson.
-Getting some good buys at a garage sale down the street. Elliot hasn't put the shark that we got for 50 cents down since Saturday.

Hailey, Sophia and Sarah playing doctor at our playdate

Elliot playing with a Cinderella toy.

Sophia and Hailey in their matching outfits.

Jonah!

Sarah!

The Christmas Season has begun with Black Friday

2008-11-28T22:41:00.000-08:00

I had another bout with insanity today. I woke up early and was at Walmart by 6:15 am. That is like two hours before I am normally even out of bed. First I couldn't find a parking spot at my nearest Walmart so I decided to go to the Long Beach Town Center, and there I had more trouble finding a parking spot, but I persevered, and finally found one. When I walked to the back of the store to pick up a Flip, so that I could go stand in line behind, 100's of people, I learned that I first had to stand in line in the electronics department behind hundreds of other people. So I turned around and walked out. Never again, and I seriously mean, never again will I even attempt to go to Walmart on Black Friday. Since, I was out, I did manage to find a few things in much smaller lines at Old Navy, Linens and Things and Carters.

Luckily tonight, we got to finish off the day with Christmas decorating. It was the first time in years that I was really looking forward to it.

Elliot is fascinated by this snowglobe, he sat and looked and sort of played with it for about half an hour tonight. I fear for the Santa Claus though, so we will have to put it up someplace high!