Can I get an extension?

A time extension? of like, 4 weeks? I have so much to post about and can only grab tiny moments. We are still recovering from vacation(laundry, unpacking, cleaning sand out of everything, etc.). We had Lindsey's family party on Sunday, and we are getting ready for

Her little friend Wizard of Oz party.....do I have anything ready? No......It's procrastinating in its finest form, but I prefer to say that I work better under pressure.

so, don't worry...I will bombard you all with so many photos, you may not want to look at my kids again, soon.

Good Mail.

Nothing like returning from vacation and having fun mail to open! My Sizzlin' summer swap package arrived from Mique. Such fun wrapping(she must know of my ribbon fetish)!
Everything was labeled so cute....why didn't I do that?

S-Smooth & Creamy Vanilla hard candy. I have never tried these, but they look deliciously sweet!
U-super cute flip flop paper napkins to add to my addiction!
M-Sierra Mist lip balm. I can't wait to try it.....have to hide it from the kids though!
M-Okay, I was flipping out over her mommy made stuff. I too, have wanted to make those fabric magnet letters and look, she sent them to me! I love the colors and they are so bright and cheery on our fridge. She also included adorable fabric elastics that she made. I can't wait to try making these...........they are so fun. She also included some sweet good mail labels....I love all of it!
E- For everyday fun, she sent straws~how did you know we were out?
R-She sent a cd of the Wicked Musical......I cannot wait to try it out and yes, Mique, I think Tyler will love it.

This package was so full of happy, I can't explain. So, thank you so much, Mique for taking the time to do this for me. I love all of it....no lie!

Oh, and don't forget you have an additional item that has to be corrected. Sorry about that!
To top off that fun package, I got surprise mail from Clare!
She sent many, many fun scrapbooking supplies that she thought I might use.....I will. Thank you, it was really thoughtful of you!

Happy Birthday, Lindsey!

Happy birthday, sweet 5 year old. We are so blessed to have you in our lives. We all love you, so very much. Sweet, angel, baby, pumpkin love.

*this is on the way out of California Adventure. She was so excited to get cotton candy. Better pics to come!

We are back!

We are home. So good to be home in our own bed. We had so much fun! Sad to leave the perfect weather, cool water and nightly fireworks behind. Will write more once I have downloaded all the photos to Smugmug.

I think I got tagged.

Kacey tagged me....so here goes.

Four Jobs I have had:

Grocery store bookkeeper
Cemetery Receptionist
New hire trainer
Bank Teller

Four Films I Can Watch Over & Over:
So I Married An Ax Murderer-The funniest movie ever.
Princess Bride-I think every 30 something woman loves this movie.
Yankee Doodle Dandy-I swear, I know it by heart.
Any oldies...love Barefoot in the Park, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Father of the Bride(the original), Guess who's coming to dinner, Peyton's Place, any Sandra Dee movie.........sorry this one was hard!

Four Places I have lived:
Asheville, North Carolina
Pembroke Pines, Florida
Nunda, New York
Tucson, Arizona

Four Favorite TV shows: Kacey, yours are my faves too.
Medium-Bridget is Lindsey a little older and blonde.
Grey's Anatomy-besides being such a fun show to watch.....Charles partied with Kate Walsh when she was engaged to his friend. He only has good things to say about her. Must be so wild for him to see her on tv and the big screen. It is a small world.
According to Jim....it was really funny when it was first aired. Mostly, because I am married to Jim Belushi. They even look a little similar.
The Office/My name is Earl. HYSTERICAL!


Four Favorite Foods:
Chicken parmesan
Plantains!!!!!!
Plums, but they have to be really ripe.
Potatoes

Four Websites I visit Daily:
Webmail
Tangled and True
I Believe Designs
blogs, blogs

Four Places I would love to be: Okay, I am with you on all 4 of these!
at the Beach!!!!!
at any great sale finding bargains :o)
in a hot bubble bath
in the bed with a good book
Four people I am tagging:

If you haven't already been tagged!
Clare
Mique
Stacy
Rachel

We're going back to Cali, cali, cali.

Yep, we are heading out tomorrow at 4 AM!!! I can't get that LL Cool J song out of my head......I love that guy. Remember his song, I need love. Oh, man I am old. Anyhow, wish us luck......we need all that you got! It will be interesting that's for sure!



If you haven't signed up for Pink Christmas....you need to by the 22nd! Sign up, it will be fun!

Have a great week!

I'm here.

Ever have so many things to post, but once you are at the computer, can't seem to write about them? Yeah, that seems to be where I have been for the past couple of days. I do, however, have plenty of photos!
Some pics of our cutie walking on the new floors! The floor is done, but no baseboards or transition pieces done yet. We want to paint the walls before we do that. I am so happy with it! What a difference it makes. Also, wanted you to see Natalie in her cute little hand-me-down dress from Lindsey. Lindsey fit in this on her 1st birthday!Had to show off the little girl on her HOT PINK ottoman/toy box. It was the only one at Bed Bath & Beyond. Had to get it. Also, do you love her "oh mother, please" look?Saturday was McKenna's 5th birthday party. A fun pajama/breakfast party. So cute to see everyone in their pjs and slippers.Lindsey climbing the ladder next to.....you guessed it, that is Henry! He was on the lookout for her the whole day. So cute!Karna, McKenna's mom, read fun breakfast/pj books. The kids really loved that while they had breakfast. They had so much fun. We are so blessed to have this wonderful family in our lives! Saturday was also my father-in-law's birthday, but we celebrated it on Sunday night. His birthday dinner request? Angel hair pasta with meatballs. oh, and 7 candles on his cake.

At 77, I thought he deserved cake AND ice cream! Don't you love the lazy susan thing-a-ma-bob for the ice cream toppings. I was so excited to use it. Lindsey wants one for her room:)

Just some fun shots of my baby girl. Thinking about something.
She is a sly one, that sweetie.
Enjoying her telephone that has animal sounds.
I think she was getting annoyed here.
And concentrating.

We are leaving very early Friday morning for our vacation. Am I ready? No? I still have to get together my swap gift, get out some good mail, mail some birthday presents, make and mail Lindsey's birthday invitations, and PACK. Ugh, did I mention do the mountain of laundry that comes out of nowhere?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, IAN!!!! We miss you!

Blogger is so frustrating!

I haven't been able to publish a post for 2 days! I am still having trouble commenting. Talk about frustrating! I haven't been able to...

Compliment Jill on her amazing birthday post. What a wonderful day! You deserve all that you received! After all, you are the queen of good mail.

Comment on Kristi's amazing post/challenge today. I know I should comment more, but sometimes someone else has already said exactly what I had on my mind. I am going to do better at being a commenter, rather than a lurker. I am up to the challenge.

Find out how Cristin is.....are you feeling well, on vacation or having a busy blog-free summer? I miss reading your blog. Those tie-dye shirts were so cool!

Tell Kacey how much I love all her fun summer products. Check out her website here

Or
Tag my list of Rockin' Girl Bloggers. My Sizzlin' Swap partner, Mique, included me in her list. Thanks! Here's my list...

1. Cristina-a good friend who I found via blogging! Her blog is always sure to make me smile. She has a great sense of humor and has the cutest little one. I am so glad to have met you!

2. Rachel-I have only commented a couple of times on her blog, but her blog is one I go to daily. She has fun and her writing is refreshing.

3. Rachel-another good friend I have found in blogland! She is an inspiration to me. Her writing is amazing, her children are beautiful and after 3 children all 5 and under, she is back to school. Inspiring.

4. Caroline-okay, she has NO idea that I absolutely love her blog. Such creative ideas, recipes and she makes very beautiful jewelry.

5. Kelli & Missy- I am ADDICTED to their blog. So much coolness in one blog. Every Friday they have a fun giveaway.

Am I allowed to include you Mique? We both have boys in the spectrum or as she affectionately calls it, The Autism Mom Club. Her blog is such a fun read. I can't wait to get to know her better!

Man, if Blogger would let me comment I would have said all that and more!

Happy Birthday, Jill!

Just for the weekend.

I won't be able to use the computer this weekend, because we are getting new flooring put in the living room and hallway ........Goodbye ugly, kid-destroyed carpet, hello wood flooring! I am so excited. I'll be sure to post the after pics.....you wouldn't want to see the before(UGH!). Just in time for Lindsey's birthday party. I can't believe she will be 5. Have a good one.

Happily Ever After.

As I type, Robert and Lillian are tying the knot. We wish we could be there on your special day. I can't wait to hear all about it and see the photos. Congratulations!

He really does.

Two of my prongs were bent on my engagement ring. Charles took it to get fixed last week. They fixed it and then some.....he came home with the most beautiful card and this.
I was so surprised. Talk about feeling loved! My wedding band was a thin white gold band and wearing it next to my engagement ring sort of wore it down. He had two new bands soddered to my ring. I can't believe it and had to share. The card was just as amazing. Thank you, babe. I love you.

A voice for his brother.

An 11 year old boy invented this pin for his autistic brother to wear.Brilliant idea....Check out his story here. You can purchase them here. Wonder if Tyler would wear it?

I want it.

Another, why didn't I think of that moment! You can get one here.

Love it.

Sizzlin' Summer Swap

After all the fun I had with Kelly's favorite swap, I joined another one! It sounds like fun.


Sign up by: Sunday, July 8th at midnight
Send out by: Monday, July 23nd

Here are the guidelines:

1.Collect and mail six items following the S-U-M-M-E-R theme. Each letter represents a type of item to be sent-they can be bought, made, or found around the house (there's room for interpretation with these-be creative!)

S-sweet: everyone needs something good to eat while lounging next to the pool

U-unique: lots of opporunity to be creative with this one!

M-made: meaning homemade-does NOT have to be complicated and does NOT have to be made by you-but wouldn't it be fun?!

M-mommy summer essential: sun-block, flavored chapstick (okay, these are MY essentials), hair ties, sunglasses, a good book-again, lots of room for interpretation!!

E-everyday: one of your favorite things that you use everyday during the summer

R-recycled: can be thrifted or just something you think someone else would enjoy



2. Don't spend more than $15 total (not including shipping)

3. Be creative and have fun!!


Want to do it? Go here.


I think the challenge is going to be keeping it under $15, but I am up for it!

Our Fourth.

The girls playing before we were about to go swimming. Natalie in her $1 suit(Thanks, Kristi) and Lindsey in her $6.99 suit(that Charles informed me will only be worn at home). We had alot of fun until

my Sony Cybershot decided it was too hot here(I think it reached 113) and took a swim. Or as we like to call it Michael's new game of "Does it float?" Wonder if Best Buy warranty will cover it? We will see. Glad I didn't take the "good" camera out there, I would be WAY more upset than I already am.


After our dip in the pool, the kids enjoyed some Firecracker popsicles.

After popsicles and getting cleaned up, the kids played in the yard and made 4th of July hats...bucket hats, my grandfather would be so proud.





For dinner, we had the usual fanfare. Hamburgers, corn on the cob, chips and dip, roasted peppers, and watermelon.

Watching for the fireworks to start.

It was a great day with a few exceptions. Nothing like putting the tailgate down and grabbing a couple of chairs to watch the fireworks. The kids loved them and lil' Natalie was oohing and ahhing everything. I hope you all had a great holiday!

Favorite Swap Fun!

Remember the favorite swap I was posting about? I rec'd my package! What a fun surprise. My swap partner was Clare. It was interesting to find out what her favorites were. Funny, her favorites were some of mine too! Everything was wrapped so sweetly and did I mention she included prizes for my kids?

They squealed with the coloring books and crayons she sent and kept saying "Thank you, Care". So cute. While they were coloring their little hearts out, I got to enjoy opening my package in peace. I have a container addiction and she must have known, because there were 3 adorable tins with roosters on them filled with goodies. Jellybeans(yum), Caramel chews, and one of my favorites, Burt's Bees supplies! Macadamia nuts were included in the box, but my husband has confiscated those. She added 2 soaps in the shapes of lobster and starfish. She loves lobster and represented that in a super cute way. Michael is carrying it everywhere with him....he's a future oceanographer, I swear. Yay, for dishtowels! She sent 3 red, white, and blue just in time for the 4th. Another obsession I have is....paper napkins. Thank you Clare, for adding to my stock...I love napkins..is that healthy? She also sent Natalie a fun toy and a Family Fun magazine, which is my favorite! Lastly, she sent a wonderful hand-made card with the sweetest note inside and a green crocheted...that she crocheted....trivet/hot plate for me. Thank you for taking the time to send these little parts of you to me, a complete stranger. It really made me smile and will continue to do so whenever I use any of it.

I have to share.

Tyler got accepted to their surf camp! Can I tell you how excited I am? Check out their website HERE. It is an amazing opportunity for Tyler.

Doodlebugs Contest

For a fun contest, head over to Doodlebugs.

Our weekend in review.

Lindsey finished up VBS on Friday. She had a wonderful week. She has learned so much in such a short time. Friday was dress as a robot day. Here is the best we could do that morning. You can't tell from the pic, but she drew on a pattern of buttons at the bottom. She was very proud of her yellow robot. She was supposed to sing on Sunday morning, but Mom did not make it out of the house....too sick, way too sick. Ugh. She understood, though. My sweet girl.
Natalie and I played in the yard on Friday. Here she was cracking up at something I did.
This was our game. I put the Mountain Dew down thinking that I could get some good shots of her walking to me to get it. She did come to get it, but would not look up at me. Not one time. Her mind was set on the prize. You really can't tell here, but if you look at her cheek, she is smiling really big because she just stole the can from me. Notice the football hold and she is off running:)
Taking a break from all that walking/running.

Have I mentioned that Natalie is drinking out of a straw? So cute, hope I can get a pic of that!