comment of the day #7...

we were over at the new house yesterday and i was starting to put the kitchen stuff away and the girls were out in the backyard playing & riding their bikes.  leia was on her tri-cycle and she was getting frustrated because she couldn't get it to steer the way she wanted it to.  the next thing she says is, "my bike's not listening to me".  she was trying so hard to ride her bike & it wasn't "listening". :(

random thoughts...

~i never want to move again...the thought that you're moving ALL your stuff from one place to another is CRAZY!!!  it's not normal...i can see why rich people just leave their furniture in their old house and just sell it as "furnished".  i don't remember what it feels like to just live life without moving...we've literally been moving non stop for a week now...this has been our week: wake up, load the trailer (thank you SO much to our friend's, the collins',  for lending it to us!), take stuff over to the new house all day, come home to the old house & sleep.  getting movers would have been a lot faster, but the last time we moved, we paid movers $800 to move us less than 5 miles.  anyways,  i'm not trying to complain because i am VERY excited about the new place...but, i'm SO ready to be totally done moving.  that's all.

~i need a long massage...i went with kim to this thing last night called swap and shop (where you take baby/kid/maternity stuff that you don't want anymore and trade it for other peoples' stuff they don't want...it was fun...even better than bargain shopping cuz everything was free!  anyways, there was a lady giving quick massages there and when she ran her hand down my spine she GASPED...seriously, it kinda scared me.  she said i have knots everywhere and a really BIG one right on my spine.  after all this moving, i'm not surprised.  

~my sister, michelle is FINALLY blogging again ...after over a year...so check out her blog & encourage her to keep it up! :)

~kaia's sad/nervous about moving out of the old house...i feel bad cuz she keeps saying she's gonna miss our old house & when i ask her why, she says, "cuz i like the green walls in the family room".  so, i told her that we'd paint her and leia's new bathroom green.  poor baby.

~i REALLY need to get my roots done!

~i promise i'll be back to my usual "picture blogging" soon...a couple more days.

a little misunderstanding...

tonight when the girls were about to go to sleep, i said, "leia, do you want to pray?"  and she, said, yea"... so, she puts her hands together and says, "thank you God for blowing the house down".  she combined her prayers with bed time stories...i guess that's one way to multi-task (just kidding).

so cute.

p.s.~the reason i haven't blogged with pics lately (very unlike me) is because we're still in the process of moving and our "regular" computer is at the other house and i can't upload pics to the mac.  only 5 more days left until we're out of this house and in the new one!!!!  YAY!  :)

okay, okay...i'll be a good sport!

I was tagged by Heather (one of my newest blog friends)...enjoy!

1. Where is your cell phone? in my purse
2. Where is your significant other? in the other room on his mac
3. Your hair color? dirty blond
4. Your mother? in texas
5. Your father? in texas
6. Your favorite thing? relaxing on the beach
7. Your dream last night? forgot
8. Your dream/goal? goal:to raise my kids in a way that's pleasing to God
9. The room you're in? the office
10. Your hobby? bargain shopping (currently for things to decorate the new house)
11. Your fear? that anything bad could happen to my family
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? living by a beach! :)
13. Where were you last night? moving into our new house and having dinner at derek's parents house.
14. What you're not? rested
15. One of your wish-list items? to have more patience (even when things are stressful).
16. Where you grew up? texas
17. The last thing you did? took a shower
18. What are you wearing? jammies
19. Your TV? i have the olympics on
20. Your pet? none right now :(
21. Your computer? we have 2 (mac and pc)
22. Your mood? exhausted and anxious (we've been moving all day & want to be done!)
23. Missing someone? yes
24. Your car? jeep liberty
25. Something you're not wearing? bra (TMI?)
26. Favorite store? target or marshalls
27. Your summer? BUSY
28. Love someone? yes..................
29. Your favorite color? green (always has been)
30. When is the last time you laughed? tonight (at the girls)
31. Last time you cried? sometime this week...something to do with being tired and moving
32. Who do you want to tag? who ever wants to play :) (if you do, please leave a comment so i can read yours)

i had a feeling...

okay, so when kaia & i got home from her haircut yesterday, leia saw kaia's hair and said, "i wanna "tut" (cut) my hair!" i didn't want her to make a compulsive decision (if that's even what you'd call it for a 2 year old :), so i decided that if she said it again today, than i'd cut it...yes, i know how to cut hair (i went to cosmo. school years ago). so, sure enough, this morning, while kaia was still asleep, leia came in our room and said it again. in to the bathroom we went and a few minutes later, she looked this this.....
i know, it's not as dramatic as kaia's cut...but her started out much shorter. hey...she was happy with it. that's what matters!
oh, and lolli pop's (or "pop-pop's" as leia says) work wonders for keeping a toddlers head still (or, at least a little still-er).

10 inches later...

yes....kaia's long hair got the chop today! we were watching a video of the whittaker girls tihs afternoon & i said, "their hair's cute, huh kaia?!" and all of a sudden she says, "i wanna cut my hair". i know she's not just copying them cuz they cut their's a few months ago and she liked their hair then too, but she wanted nothing to do with cutting her own. i was really surprised that she changed her mind, but i want her to know to know that it's her hair and if she wants to cut it, she can. :) here's the sequence of shots from the whole hair cutting experience...











kaia donated her hair to Locks of Love...you have to have at least 10 inches of hair so they can make a hairpiece out of it...she barely had 10 inches...it was exactly enough...whew! kaia, we're so proud of you. you have a good heart, my love.

am i the only one?

am i the only one, or does anyone else get these annoying "comment codes" wrong 90% of the time? i know, i have this fun (sarcastic) little feature on my comments (because when i didn't, i got spam), but i think i ,must have a minor case of dyslexia or something cuz it takes me at least a couple tries before i get it right most of the time. anyways, thank you for still leaving comments even though i put you through this extra little annoyance. ;)

my new favorite...

i just wanted to say that i love this pic of the girls in cepia from last weekend.

so helpful!

this morning, derek was in the bathroom & he asked me to get him some toilet paper...a couple of seconds later, leia goes under my side of the bathroom cabinet and grabs something. i didn't really notice what she had until she goes up to derek (on the toilet) and holds out a couple of panty liners and says, "daddy, you need these?" little miss helpful, she tried. :)
oh, and sorry babe, that your morning toilet experience made the ol' blog. ;)

mr. & mrs. winter...

we went to our friend's, ben & saskia's wedding on saturday and it was one of the most beautiful weddings i've ever been to. we got to see a bunch of our SLO friends that we haven't seen in years too...it was a great weekend.
congratulations guys!
after about 7-8 tries...finally, everyone was looking!
big and lil' sis...
leia loved looking at the geese on the property...
here are kaia and max having a slush together...this was the most kid-friendly wedding EVER...they thought of everything!
they had never-ending energy!
they also loved the grapes on the vine!
looking a little sleepy, finally! :)
it was fun to take the kids with us (especially since there were a bunch of other kids)...but, it is SO different than going alone...don't we look tired!

i copied you...

we're going to a friend's wedding this weekend and i wanted the girls to have cute barrette's that match the dresses that they're wearing.......soooo, i've always LOVED the flower barrette's that jacinda's and heather's girls wear, so i went to Joanne's yesterday and bought the stuff to attempt to make them. i think it kinda worked...not bad for $6 total!



not exactly the poses i was trying to get them to do, but oh well.

one final birthday gift...

drum roll please......................
yes, derek got us a house for my birthday...no, we didn't buy it, but we're gonna rent it and we're moving in on september 1st. that's like 2 weeks away! we looked at it a couple of days ago & filled out the application right away and he said he'd get back to us with in a couple of days and he called us tonight to tell us we're approved! i couldn't have asked for a better birthday present, the house we're currently renting feels smaller & smaller by the day. to top it off, our new "landlords-to-be" seem SO cool. we've had landlords who aren't the best so we know what a huge thing that is. also, this house has a lot of my "list of must's" that i really wanted for our next house. 1. a big walk-in closet in the master b.r. 2. an oval tub in the master bath (with a separate shower) 3. almost a kitchen island (well, not really...it's more of a pennisula but it works) & 4. an extra bedroom (so visitors have their own room to sleep in when they come to visit). :)
the house also comes with a few things i didn't "need" but love now that we'll have 'em...1. a great view 2. 2 minutes (walking distance) from the park 3. a gardener (we don't even have to do the lawn (which i actually kinda enjoy doing) and 4. it has a great little spot just waiting for me to plant a garden...i can't wait to have home grown tomatoes!
anyways...we're very excited and VERY ready to move.
so, please out of town friends and family......you HAVE to come visit and stay in our new house!
i better start packing soon, huh?!
p.s.~i almost forgot, it was so cute...after we found out we got it tonight, we stopped by to look at it again and when we were standing outside talking, kaia and leia were both hugging the "For Rent" sign and kaia was saying, "oh, thank you 'for rent'" (talking to the sign). poor girls, i guess they're ready to be out of this small house too! :) btw, here's the list of thing(s) the girls wanted when it comes to a house: 1. STAIRS...that's all. Lord help us.

B.J.'s birthday dinner!

thank you papa, nema, kimmy, john & caleb for taking us out tonight for my birthday dinner...it was a lot of fun!




love you all!

one of many...

okay...so, my birthday's tomorrow (i'll be 32!) & i have to say that derek's really spoiled me this year. we've spent way too much money the last couple of months, but the last thing i really wanted was a bike. my bike got stolen a few years ago & i've been "bike-less" ever since. so, after we dropped kaia off at VBS tonight, we went bike shopping...first we stopped at this bike shop where they started at like $300, which isn't bad, but i don't think i'd ride it enough to want to spend that on a bike. here's one of the bikes i test drove (no, we didn't get this one but leia loved it!) if we lived in hawaii or some small town, i'd get it. anyways, then we headed over to target...
if you look close, you can see what we spent on my bike (look at the top line of the receipt). if you can read it, it says: mountain bike $59.99. can you believe it...i got a decent bike for $60! derek wanted to get me a nicer one, but being the bargain shopper that i am, this one works for me (especially since i doubt i'll ride it that much once it gets cold outside).
(i would have a pic of my new bike, but our camera died...later).
thanks babe!

i love the way she thinks...

remember kaia's lego artwork from a few weeks ago (of mama & daddy holding hands)...well, this was today's creation. kaia said, "look, mama...this is you". don't you love my hair! ;)

comments of the day #4, #5 & #6...

yes there are three...we had a day full of funny things the kids said...
1st...leia bumped her arm on something so i said, "oh, let me kiss it baby", and i kissed it & she looks at me with that scowl on her face and says, "no mama, it's not better!" well, excuse me. :)then...we went to kim & john's house for dinner (just us & leia...kaia was at VBS) & we had to leave to go pick up kaia from VBS , so leia was giving hugs & kisses good-bye and when it was time to kiss papa, she wanted to kiss his nose and stops about 2 inches away and says, "wow, you have a BIG nose!" (it's really not that big :) ...don't you love the way kids are so honest! :)and, last but not least...as we walked in to pick up kaia from VBS i saw kaia before before she saw me and i hear her telling a little girl in her (and gavin's) class "this is gavin, he's my husband". she was introducing him just like i would introduce derek to someone i knew and he didn't. it was really funny because gavin didn't protest! poor guy, i think she's brainwashed him.
seriously...i REALLY don't put ideas in her head!

i love it!

the girls were really into the gymnastics part of the Olympics tonight. i was in gymnastics for like 6-7 years when i was little. by no means do i recommend it for young kids, in fact i blame all the tumbling on my bad knees & ankles...it killed my joints. but, i had a lot of fun at the time...i'm just paying for it now. anyways, i just thought it was so cute how into it they were. check 'em out...


please act like you didn't see our messy house! :)

after 5 years...

we got a new camera today...our old one still works great (in fact, we love the picture quality we get on it) but it's kinda big. we've had it since kaia was newborn...my dad got it for us for Christmas, so that makes it almost 5 years old. we didn't want to spend a ton of $, but we just wanted something that took good pics and was smaller...so we went with this Nikon Coolpix S52 (in eco green color). somehow, buying this color helps the environment...i'm not exactly sure how, but green's my favorite color anyways. we really wanted to see how actual pictures looked that came from this camera looked before we bought it, so we asked the poor lady at Ritz to print out a few pics at the store before we chose one. anyways, 4 cameras & about 15 pictures later...we chose this one. the picture quality looks pretty good for the price. does anyone have this camera & if so, how do you like it?

maybe not eczema???

okay, so i took leia to the dr. last week (i was SO sure she had eczema) and the doctor said there's a small chance that it's eczema, but it doesn't look exactly like it. first of all, leia hasn't been acting like it was itchy and she said it looks more like just some sort of skin irritation, so she gave us a prescription for some cream. but the cream makes me a little nervous cuz it's a type of steroid cream. we did some online-research before we put it on her & everything we read said that it's o.k. for kids as long as you don't use it for long periods of time. i don't like the sounds of that...but, anyways, we've been using it for 2 1/2 days & her "rash" looks a lot better. i guess we'll just stop using it AS SOON as the rash it totally gone (the dr. said we could use it for 2 weeks). i just wanted to check to see if anyone else's kids are/have ever used this on their kids, it's called: Triamcinolone Acetonide (0.025%). i think this cream is what dr. prescribe for ezcema too, so whether she had that or not, it'll probably get rid of it (which will kinda leave us not knowing for sure what she has/had, unless it comes back...then it's probably eczema). anyways, i'd really appreciate your opinions...thanks! :)

future "s.y.t.y.c.d." contestants...

here's a quick video from last night...we let the girls stay up last night and watch "So You Think You Can Dance" finale show so they could see who won. they LOVE that show, but every time they watch it they're up dancing the whole time which isn't helpful in getting them in bed when it's over.
anyways... as you all probably know, Joshua won and i almost cried (i had been voting for him)...i thought he was gonna win all along and really wanted him to, but when i heard how his parents couldn't afford to pay for his dance lessons growing up so he used to do chores around the dance studio as payment when he was a kid, he totally had me. he's awesome, but so were ALL the kids on the show. they're are amazing and all of them deserved to win. who were you going for?

suffer for beauty...

cyndi and i share our birthday month...august, so we celebrated early today by going to lunchand getting facials together. we got pumpkin facials, i'm used to them i guess but, if you're not it does sting and feel like your face is on fire a little (especially the first time)...but, in a good way. cyndi, i guess i should have warned you that this isn't the real relaxing/fall asleep, kind of facial. this esthitician means business! i'm kidding, i know you enjoyed it but it takes a little getting used to. isn't it funny...most guys would never put themselves through this, but i'm the type where if it doesn't feel like my face is gonna burn off, i'm not getting my $'s worth. am i weird, or does anyone else want the skin on their face to peel off too?

i love free stuff!

i have to admit...i haven't adjusted to the new "hands free" law this last month or so. i didn't own a blue tooth and we've just been putting off getting one, so we've just been using our speaker phone's & holding the phones down low (unless i forget to do even that)...so, in the mail last week, we got a flier for a car dealership that was giving away free blue tooth's if you test drove a car. so, this weekend we drove over there (kinda expecting them to be out of them) and sure enough, we got one and the guy was really cool & didn't even make us test drive a car.
no, mine isn't as pretty as the one shown in the pic above, but it is a nice one! can't complain when it's free, huh?
now i'm legal! :)

lots & lots of Lego's!

our girls LOVE playing with lego's...i'd say that's one of their favorite things to play with. so, we've been saying we should take them to Lego Land before the summer's over so we took them yesterday, and it was even more fun than i expected...
here's the first (of many) lego man they saw...
here are kaia and daddy on the boat ride (with chipotle in hand :)
and here are me & leia (can you tell it was kinda humid?)
ummmmm, i did NOT realize how the background looked in this picture, until i got home last night a uploaded the pics to the computer (don't worry, it's the wolf's tail from the Little Red Riding Hood). i was like, "what is that thing!" derek and i got a really good laugh!
kaia & leia on the train...
they look so cute together!
here are papa, daddy & leia watching kaia drive the car (one of the many rides leia was too small for...poor baby!) :)
kaia loves driving...but this was a lot slower than her jeep she's used to!
we had leia wear these shoes that are still a little too big for her (hence, the fact that she's wearing socks on a hot day)...they're the reason that she was able to go on any rides...whew!
here are one of leia's "serious, concentrating" looks...
taking a little break...
thanks for spending the day with us papa & nema!
here they are just being "them" ;)
check out this dragon...those are ALL lego's!
once again...ALL LEGO'S!
here's kaia "meeting" another lego man...
the little lego cities were really amazing...you should have seen kaia checking out all the different cities. there was new orleans, las vegas, paris...etc. all the detail was so fun to look at. kaia kept saying, " how long did all this take to make?"
and this is where they slept all night last night...hey, wouldn't you have done the same thing? :)