Elmo is the Bomb Digity!

At least in our house that is. Little J is an Elmo freak!!! I have an Elmo story to share, but your going to have to wait for it, because I still have to take the perfect photo to go along with it. All I can say right now, is that Elmo makes little J happy. Since Elmo makes him happy, he makes me happy too!

Things have been crazy in our house lately! We have had tons of family visiting, and that isn't going to stop for at least another week or so. That's just fine with us too! It's been so nice having everyone come to see us and offer their love and support for our new journey. It was really nice to have my stepmother here, to go to Little J's evaluation and eligibility appointment for Early Intervention Services. I was a bit nervous about this appointment and what it would entail. We knew, that it would primarily be an evaluation of what types of therapies little J was going to need. Since he was diagnosed with something so rare, we knew that he was going to be automatically eligible. My stepmother is one of the few people who can keep me grounded and focused when my emotions start to take over. The appointment went very well. I really think that the team of people doing his assesment really got a clear picture of what little J can and cannot do. I also cannot wait until we can get all of the right therapies in place and going. Little J has been making such great progress in the last few months while we've been waiting for this appointment, and I am very anxious to see what he will do once the pro's get a hold of him!

There are so many things I am thankful for these days. Mostly though, I am thankful for my family, my friends, the doctors who are working with our family and all their care and concern, and that my faith in God is strong. Everyday, he shows me that he is there for us, that we are not alone, and that everything is going to be just fine.

Today, the things I am praying for are that God will keep his guiding hand on little J and our family, and that he will give the doctors, therapists, us and others that work with him, the wisdom, knowledge and capabilities to work together to give little J every opportunity to stay healthy, be happy, live as independently as possible, be able to do anything his little heart desires, and live his life to the fullest. I also pray this for all the other families of little ones going through similar circumstances.

Just wanted to share a silly picture today!

I have not had much time to scrap lately, but I sure have been taking some silly photos! Little J and Daddy have lots of fun playtime, and it always gets the giggles going! Little J has been on a big I LOVE DADDY kick! On Daddy's days off, he wants to be with daddy and play play play! I really love watching Little J an G play and hang out together. I love how they are so close, even as young as Little J is. It really melts my heart, when Little J and I go looking to find G and see what he's up to, and the minute Little J sees him, his face just lights up and the giggles come pouring out. Then, he reaches for him just waiting for that big hug, that only Daddy can give.

Here is Rick looking at Suzy!

Okay, so this photo isn't from my camera, I haven't taken the stupid thing to get developed yet. I only have my SLR-digital, so I had to rely on one of those disposables. Wow, I am not used to having to actually take film for processing anymore! Anyway, we had a great time, and I KNOW Suzy had a great time!

Thanks Lizz, for sharing your photos! I can't wait to see the rest of the ones you took.

I promise, as soon as I get the ones I took developed, I'll share with you! I'll try to find out which stories I have permission to share.

OOOOHHH! I just noticed something. He is wearing the same shirt in the photo that Lizz took, as the one he is wearing in the video to your right! Do you think he just has more than one of the same shirt? Or do rock stars (that reference is for Suzy) really wear their clothing more than one time like the rest of us?

Hey all you 80's fans!

Do you remember this guy? Do you remember drooling over him on General Hopsital? Do you remember listening to his tunes at your junior high or high school dances? Well, lucky me! After all these years, I finally get to see Rick Springfield in concert. I am attending the Star 101.3 Second Chance Prom with my good friends Suzy and Lizz. Just for the record, we are not wearing prom gear. Well, there is an alterior motive for going to see him. Lizz and I sort of have a little job to assist on at this gig. Here is the scoop.

Do you remember that episode of Friends with Isabella Rossellini? It was from 1996, and it was called "The one with Frank Jr." Anyway it's the one where Ross has his laminated list of all the celebrities he is allowed to "date" without getting in trouble. Well, my friend Suzy has one such list. The list only contains one name....you guessed it Rick Springfield. So, Lizz and I have been appointed as the girls who are to catapult Suzy onto the stage to make all her dreams come true.

I got my Fuji disposable camera ready! This event should provide us with some real fun photos. Stay tuned! This event should be SCRAPALICIOUS!

My Handsome Guys!

Even with everything going on in our house these days, and our future heading down a road we did not anticipate, I find myself to be one of the luckiest women in the world! The other day, I was a little pensive about our future, and I was a little sad about the future that I had originally imagined having to be altered. Then today, I woke up and took another look at this photo I snapped of G and little J. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband and to have this beautiful little boy. Everyday, I wake up and get to go to his room and see his smiling joyful face! And let me tell you, this kid never wakes up on the wrong side of the crib! He always has that bright happy smile and the minute he sees me, I hear his joyful laugh as well. I know this journey will not be easy, but what journey is? I know we will hit some bumpy spots, but that is what our family and friends are there for. To help when our tires are flat, we run out of gas or need a tow. So to all of you who have offered support and help, I may not call you today or tomorrow, but when and if we need a little push....I've got your numbers! Thank you!

On a side note, many of you know, that G and I would like to expand our little family. All we are waiting for now, is that little test that I took. There is like a one in a gazillion chance that I may be a carrier for this, but since our insurance is willing to pay for it, we decided that it's better to make sure that I'm not that one in a gazillion. If the blood test comes back positive then we would have a 50% chance of having another child with the same disorder. If it comes back negative we have the same chance as every other family on the planet..less than 1%. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Also, if you have an extra spot on your prayer list, please keep us in your prayers, that God will give us the strength and courage to face the tough days, and that he will help us stand strong in our faith in him.

Love to you all!

~~~~THEY ARE BACK~~~~

Yay!! My sweet heavenly dream of a drink is back at a Starbucks near you!!! The long missed by me, and the much enjoyed by me Mocha Coconut Frappaccino is now available again! I was so excited when they introduced the new Banana Coconut Frappaccino, that I excitedly whispered to my local Barista...does this mean, that I can now order my Mocha Coconut Frappaccino's again? The word I'd been longing to hear were finally echoing in my happy ears....YES!!! I've been drinking them faithfully for a full two weeks now, with no stopping in sight! Shhh...don't tell anyone, but I ended up having TWO today! The first one, I picked up while running those errends and the second one I picked up on my way to get pampered with a pedicure. Sweet heaven! A good book, a comfy massage chair, someone massaging your feet and making them all soft and pretty, AND a Mocha Coconut Frappaccino! All is good in the world again!

Did you know, that there are a total of 4 Starbucks in the town I live? Did you also know, that as of today, there are now 9 coffee shops in the town I live? Dude, I guess me and my neighbors really need our caffine! Peete's coffee opened up at 1pm today. It is right next door to the dry cleaner we use, and at 12:30, there was a line of people waiting at the front door, kind of like that Mervyn's commercial where the chick is saying open, open, open, open. Now that the Mocha Coconut Frappaccino is back though, I'm going to have to remain faithful to my Starbucks Barista.

It's time for a margarita or two!

What a beautiful day it was today! G was off of work, so he let me sleep in! Yay!! What a great hubby to get up early with little J and take care of all his morning needs! I love G's days off, because he always wants to take care of little J in the morning for me. After sleeping in a little, I did have some not so fun errends to run. Had to pick up a blood test order slip from my OB's office, and then drop off another form at J's pediatrician. Then, off to get my blood drawn! Wahoo...I just love going to the phlebotomist! Anyway, I went in, at noon, and there was one person working and like 10 people waiting to have blood drawn. I decided that I would go back later. I could tell it was gonna be quite awhile, since they were trying to take blood from a sweet little baby and not having the best of luck. Finally went back in around 4:30, now there were only 5 people waiting. Anyway, before I continue, I've got to add my gripe of the day right here:

When you go into a medical office for services, and they tell you that they are not a authorized provider for your insurance carrier, why must you hold up the rest of us who are in the right place and argue the point?

Okay, so anyway, it took awhile for me to get the blood draw done, because strangely enough they had never heard of the test that they were ordering for me. I told the guy that it was okay, since I'd only heard of it 3 weeks ago! They finally found the code for my obscure little test, and I was on my way.

So, what does a girl want after giving her blood and anxiously awaiting the results...yep, she wants to not have to cook dinner, and wants a margarita!

G took little J and I to Chili's for dinner. Yummy, and so close to our house....love not going to far from home. So, I order my margarita and we have our dinner, and oh my! I think I need another margarita! Yep, I had two margaritas! Since I don't drink very often, and even though I ate a big meal, I was a loopy girl after those two margaritas!

I want to thank all of you how have sent me emails and posted comments on my blog, that I really appreciate all your good wishies, prayers and support of little J, G and myself. It really means a lot.

I hope you never lose your joyful personality.

I've been thinking about this lately. When we first got little J's diagnosis, this is what G said to me. He told me that my joyful personality and my positive attitude were the first things (besides my cute appearance lol) that drew him to me when we first met. He also told me that those were his favorite qualities about me and that it inspired him! He also said that he hoped I would never lose that, especially with little J's diagnosis. WOW! He never told me that before.

Lately inside, I've been feeling a little torn between the hopeful and hopeless. I've kept my hopeful face on for everyone to see, trying to push the hopeless deep down. I know if I'm hopeless, that I will lose my joyful personality, my positive attitude and I won't be doing little J any good. It's only been 3 weeks since we got our diagnosis, but I've been fighting these feelings. See, G knows me, he knows that I've always wanted to be a mommy and have that "dream" family. Getting to the point in our lives where we would start having children was the first thing I ever worked really hard at. As I've said before, G is a big planner, so he had many tasks that we needed to complete before we started thinking of formula, bottles and diapers. Anyway, with the diagnosis, he was really afraid of how it would affect me. I was afraid as well.

I've been thinking about this a lot lately. Yesterday was the first day, that I didn't have one hopeless thought. Not once. Today, there was not one hopeless thought in my head! I have been feeling nothing but hope and positive thoughts for this journey now! I have been meeting and chatting with so many mommys who for one reason or another have felt the exact same. These women have inspired me! Ya'll know who you are! Later this week, I'm having lunch with a few other mommys who have children that have the same diagnosis as little J. One, even has a little boy who is one month older than little J. I'm really excited about it, because these women will be able to relate to exactly how I'm feeling, and they are all a wealth of knowledge! I can't wait! I really hope that little J and little A can grow up being great friends!

There is also a lot of very promising research going on! I'll be getting the information to sign little J up for some of these at the lunch. G and I have decided, that we should sign him up, if we go and we find out that it isn't something we want for our little one, we can always turn it down. I don't want them doing anything crazy you know. I do want him to have the opportunity though. Don't worry, I'm not looking for the miracle cure, but if one happens, I'm not going to tell it no!

Oooh~! And can you believe I actually scrapped! Hopeful and Joyful me = Scrapping mojo! Now, if I could only get my scraproom cleaned up...no mojo for that!

Thank you!

I know it's been awhile since I've posted. Things have been crazy busy around here. Little J has been diagnosed with a rare non-hereditary genetic disorder. Needless to say, G and I have been heartbroken. It definately was not the news we were hoping for, nor that we expected. I really want to thank everyone who has been saying prayers for us and sending good wishies our way. We really appreciate them.

We are so thankful to have so many wonderful and supportive friends and family members.

Little J is doing well, he is very healthy and we have no worries about that. It is more of a co-ordination and developmental disorder. We've been working on getting him hooked into all the right programs for early intervention and setting up the various doctors he may need in the future. Man, am I sick of doctors offices and forms to fill out.

Little J is an amazing little boy, and he brings so much love and joy to us each and every day. We have complete faith that he is going to be amazing. We have seen so much progress and determination in him, and we know that God is with our family each step of the way.

At first, when we were first going for the blood work, I prayed to God every night for everything to come out fine with his tests. When we got the results, I was at a loss. I prayed to God that night, asking him why and telling him that I just didn't know what to pray for now. That's when I just asked him to keep our family close and to give us the strength, peace and encouragement we needed to do everything that little J needs. I also asked him to help me trust my faith in him.

The next day, I was really just out of it, G told me to get out of the house for awhile, so I headed for the mall. I had walked around aimlessly for about an hour, when all of the sudden, I was just going to lose it. I knew I had to get out of there. I was a bit dazed and just aiming myself for the nearest exit, when I ran into Sharon from our adult bible fellowhip (ABF) at church. What a blessing that was! It was so nice to see her and talk to her. I felt so much better! The following week, I woke up one day and just felt like crying. Wondering, why this was happening to my little one. About an hour later I received a phone message from Nicole also from our ABF at church. She has been down the same road we are traveling, and just hearing her message made me feel so much better.

I do have complete faith! I know that there will be obstacles ahead for our family, but I know that we will have exactly what we need. I know that God has a plan in all of this, and I know that little J is going to make some amazing differences in our lives and out in the world! He is in one word PERFECT!

People Suck Part 2.

Yep, I got another people suck story for you! I bet your excitied! LOL. Anyway, went out to get G and I some takeout yesterday. As I'm driving along, I notice that I really need to get some gasoline since I don't think I'll make it home if I don't. I stop at a nearby gas station and get out to pump my gas. There is this mean looking old man at the gas pump on the other side of me. I run my card, and start pumping my gas. I'm leaning against my car waiting for the pump to go off, when this old man looks at me and says "There are too many of you (insert an ethnicity of which I am often mistaken for here)'s here." Needless to say, I was so stunned, I couldn't get my mouth to work. So, unfortunatley I was not able to put this idiot in his place, because I really could not believe that even if he was thinking it, that he would actually say it. In case that man happens upon this blog....Dude! YOU SUCK!

Some People Really Do Suck!

So, I'm taking part of a title from Lizz's blog because it seems fitting. Things have been crazy around here lately, with the little sick bug hanging around our house and all the crazy rainy weather we've been having. Well, being in the house is getting a little stale. Since little J has been feeling better, and the weather has been returning to "California weather", we've been venturing out a bit. We had a great time at the park yesterday, and watned to do a repeat performance. So, we were up a bit early this morning, got ready and were heading out the door for a few errends and a little fun. I loaded up little J's travel gear...you know the stuff, a little juice, a few snacks, and the diaper changing neccessities. I took them out and put them in the car, and didn't notice anything. I went back in the house and grabbed little J and my purse and headed out to strap him in his traveling barco lounger...(that is what we call it, because it looks so comfy!). I jump up in the back seat with little J and fling my purse into the front seat. I notice that all the contents from our glove box are all over the floor in the front of the car. It looks a little strange, but then I think to myself that G must have been looking for something he needed in the glove box and left some stuff on the seat, and when I flung my purse, I must have knocked it off. So, back to strapping little J in. I then open the passenger door, to put away the mess I think I've made, when to my suprise, the entire contents of our center console is all over the driver's side floor. Yikes! Someone has been rumaging through our truck! Suddenly, I really freak, because I realize that just before I went to bed, I had this feeling I should go out to the truck and get my garage door opener out of the car....whew...there it is on the floor! Why I chose not to go get it is beyond me, because usually, I follow those instincts. Anyway, shockingly, they didn't take anything. The only things they really could have taken was the CD changer, but maybe they didn't see it. We really don't keep much in the truck...thankfully. Supprisingly, they didn't take our latest choice music...Toddler's Favorites, and Baby's First Sing-a-long. Guess the renditions of the Alphabet Song, Do You Know the Muffin Man, and the Wheels on the Bus were not what this person had in mind. We're still baffled what scared them off....did someone come by? Did they open our garage door and see the suprise inside? Hmmm...I guess we'll just have to keep wondering. So, to end all this, SOME PEOPLE SUCK!

From Coconuts to Walnuts.....

I want to thank everyone for all the well wishies for little J. After his fun evening in the ER last week (and G is glad you enjoyed his tale), things started to look better. He seemed to be feeling better. Then Monday came....his poor little glands looked like coconuts on the sides of his cheeks and his temperature was running between 100 degrees and 102 degrees. Thankfully, we were able to get him in to see his pediatrician the same day. She gave him some antibiotics, and his coconuts have shrunk down to little walnuts! As for the other cryptic post before, we are still going through some testing, so keep sending those good wishies. When I know more of what's going on, I will definately share with ya'll. I definatley also have to post the praises of his pediatrician soon as well. Little J is so lucky to have her as his doctor, and she deserves a wonderful tribute! Next time we see her, I am definately getting another photo of little J with her.

HAPPY EASTER!

Just want to wish everyone a very happy Easter! I finally completed my Easter Mommy duty and took little J to see the Easter Bunny...talk about waiting until the last minute. Little J was still a little under the weather, but it was the last day...so we had to do it. Thankfully, I know I was not the only one who waited until the last possible opportunity...that line was huge! It took about an hour and a half to get through that line. Wouldn't you know it too, just as little J and are at the front of the line, it's time for the Easter Bunny to go check his carrots and take a potty break. It seems to me, that last time we went to the mall to see Santa, the minute we get to the front of the line, he has to check the reindeer. A piece of advice, if you see me in line for this kind of thing, you might as well go get something to drink first, because there's gonna be an extra wait. Little J didn't feel like smiling this time though. I can't complain. The lady in front of me had a screaming kid and the lady behind me had a screaming kid. There were so many kids screaming, and so many little characters running around, that little J couldn't figure out what was going on. All he really wanted to do was pull the Mr. Easter Bunny's hair. Next year we'll get the smile. I'm sure of it! I can't complain, that kid is usually such a ham. You know what G said? He says that little J is just copying the Easter Bunny's expression. They both have the same look on their face. Too funny! Have a great Easter everyone!

Just a little something G wrote....

So, this has nothing to do with what I had posted about little J earlier, so no worries there. Here is G's recap of our fun evening:

T'was the night before going to see the Easter Bunny at the mall when all through the house not a creature was stirring not even a little J. With ma in her kerchief and I in my cap had just settled into bed for a one nights rest. When all of a sudden we both heard such a clatter, a loud cough and flaaaa, ma jumped from the bed to see what was the matter. She scurried down the hall to little J's room she went, she then called me in. I then also sprang from the bed, down the hall to little J's room I went and there I saw our poor little J baby laying in his bed next to some thrown up Chef Boy R Dee. Wet towels, wet sheets, wet wipes, what ever you could find Ma screamed. I hurried to wipe off poor little J and the Chef Boy R Dee. We then got little J all changed and were about ready to sit him down a spell then what do my wondering eyes should appear, that's right more projectile vomit from little J's mouth 100%. We then wiped him down with what ever we could find and changed his outfit for a second time. We then were able to sit little J in his chair, but a moment only did it last, that's right more projectile vomit 100%. Oh why, oh why, I moaned to Ma why did you have to feed little J the spaghetti he had thrown. Little J threw up his dinner, his lunch, and his snack, when still more kept coming 100%. We scurried out into the old Yukon sleigh and drove on down to the Hospital for a little stay. We walked into the emergency room and it was filled like packed snow. We asked if they could see him immediately and they said no. I then sat with Ma in the corner and had little J do his best, that's right more projectile vomit all over the waiting room floor 100%. It's now 4 and a half hours later and we are all back at home. Oh please, oh please, don't let me hear anything else thrown. Little J was given some medicine and ice to replinish his fluids. Let's try this again Ma to get that one nights rest. Good night.

P.S. It wasn't really Chef Boy R Dee, it was baby spaghetti, but when it comes back up it all looks the same.

Sorry if this grossed anyone out too much, but at least G has shared a chuckle out of our oh so fun evening! Little J seems to be doing fine now. He's all snug as a bug in his bed! :)

Keep sending good thoughts and prayers.

Little J had his appointment today, which at this point is inconclusive. They are sending him for additional testing, and right now, I am emotionaly drained. I'm on the edge between being extremely worried, to just trying to keep a positive vibe going. Just please keep positive thoughts and prayers for Little J and our family right now. I'm sorry that I am being so cryptic at this point, but I don't want to put anything out there, until I know exactly what the results of the tests are. It will be awhile before we get anything back, so until then, just keep the happy thoughts coming if ya'll don't mind!

Just had to share this photo!

This has to be the cutest photo I have ever seen in my entire life! Okay, so I know that I say that everytime I post a photo. We had this photo taken at one of those old time photo places while we were on vacation. Little J was such a ham! I was so suprised at his willingness to ham it up for us too. While we were on vacation, the first few days at the beach were very eventful. When we first got there, little J ended up in the emergency room with a fever of 104.5, that we just couldn't get to come down. Poor little thing was so out of it. We were in the emergency room for almost 5 hours while my heart was breaking as they were doing all of these tests on him to try to figure out the cause of the high fever. As always, he was such a trooper! He survived the blood draw and the antibiotic shot. He also survived the place they said is not for mommys. They decided to do a chest xray. The nurse took little J and G into the xray room. All I could hear was my poor little one screaming! G said they put him in this contraption, that he could only describe as something resembling what Hanibal Lecter was in whenever they would move him in that movie Silence of the Lambs. It was a tube thing that made his arms stick straight up over his head, and his little body in the tube. He sat on this thing that was like a saddle. Ugh, so glad I didn't have to see that. I was already heartbroken that he was sick to begin with not to mention on the needles. At first, they were talking about admitting him, but once the fever came down, and he was acting more like himself, they said if they could see him drink fluids, they would let us take him home. Thankfully, he guzzled down the 8 oz. of Pedialyte they gave him! Whew! The fun wasn't over yet though, we had to give him medication around the clock to keep the fever in check. Then we had to return to the ER doctor to have a morning re-check of his condition. After that, we thought we were free and clear, his fever had subsided, and we were told to not give him any more medication unless the fever returned. His fever returned 6 hours later. We went back to giving him the medication and called our home Pediatrician. She said more than likely it was related to his MMR vaccination and that if it was, it would subside by the next day.....by bed time, we were well on the way to recovery! Yay!

I bet you think the fun stopped there though! NO WAY! When we go on vacation, there is always more fun to be had. After not having much sleep from the round the clock medication giving I did, I was so looking forward to the sleep I was gonna get the next night. I was all cuddled up in bed, read my book for awhile, and driffted off to a peaceful sleep around midnight. At 1:35 am, we wake to this horrible sound. G and I get up and are trying to find the source of this horrific sound....it's the fire alarm! We both try covering it up, like it's the one at home and the battery is dead. We then look at each other and come to this realization, that we are in a hotel facility and they are not on your regular Energizer battery! Supprisingly, G and are are the only ones in our 3 bedroom hotel suite awake. The In-laws, my nephew and his friend, and my little J are all sound asleep. How on earth could they possibly be sleeping? So, G runs and knocks on all the bedroom doors, we start putting on some warm clothes (since it's freezing and raining outside), I pack up a bag of stuff of little J and we are ready to vacate, when we realize that still no one else in our suite is awake! So, G knocks on his parents door again, and on our nephews door. The In-laws wake up and start to leave, but G has to physically go in and wake up our nephew and his friend. We start evacuating and have to walk down 8 flights of stairs. By this time, the stairwells are a quick moving line of lots of sleepy people. As we get to the bottom floor, we saw what looked like smoke on the first floor as we were exiting. That really freaked me out. When we finally get outside and the Fire Department arrives, we find out that it was all some spring break shenanigans! A group of teens apparently set off the fire alarm and let off some smoke bombs. We still had to wait for the Firefighters to clear the smoke and do a check of the building, so we were all standing out in the freezing cold for about an hour. Little J was all wrapped up in 2 blankets, one over his head, and he thought we were playing a game. He was laughing the whole time! It was such a terrible prank. There were so many little babies out there with their parents trying to keep them warm and cozy, lots of older people who you could tell that the stairs were probably a difficulty for them. I was actually freaked out the entire time, when we were getting ready to leave, I went to grab my wedding ring, and could only find the engagement ring and I started crying (I'm such a baby!). The only things I could think about were having the things that little J needed, making sure we all got out okay, and that I had my wedding ring. I was horrified when I couldn't find it. Shockingly, I didn't even think about my camera until we got the all clear to go back inside.

Just got home!

Hey everyone! Long time no blog! Hope everyone has been fabulous! We just got home from our two week vacation with my in-laws. We had some ups and we had some downs. I've got tons of pictures to upload and share with ya'll. Lots of stories too! I hope to be able to get a good post in tomorrow night. We've got lots of stuff to finish up this week on G's last week of vacation. I'm meeting our tax attorney tomorrow, to get out taxes completed. I'm really hoping for a nice refund!

It was so nice to have everything go so smoothly today. I had lots of things to do including restocking our food shelves! I had to go to the hospital where little J was born, to have his medical records released for an upcoming appointment he has. Keep him in your prayers if you don't mind. He will be having is motor skill development evaluated next week. He's a little behind in some things, so just as a precautionary measure, we're having him evaluated. In my heart, I'm sure everything will be just fine, but I'm sure a few prayers wouldn't hurt any!

Spitting Nails....

You know, the kind that you hammer into the wall. Have you ever been so mad at someone, that you could just shoot the negative words out like you were using a nail gun? Spewing them everywhere in every direction? That's how I feel right now, but I'm not gonna let that negativity get to me. I'm gonna have my yummy Panda Express dinner and enjoy my little piece of heaven on earth {Venti Peppermint Mocha Frappacino}. Then I'm gonna watch a little TV, and then I'm gonna scrap. I'm gonna scrap that anger away! Maybe then, after my vacation, I can deal with it in a more positive manner. See you all later!

Oh What Fun!

I had such a great time today! I was so fortunate to reconnect with another friend today! It's amazing to think of how long we've lost touch for. It wasn't an intentional out of touch thing either. It just happened. Life got busy, we were in different spots in our lives and time just slipped away. It's really been 8 years since we've gotten together. It was so great to see her today too. Things just really picked up right where they left off. We chatted incessantly about what's been going on in our lives. We got to meet eachothers new baby. Mine at 15 months old, and hers at 3 months old! I felt really bad for the waiter, because it took us forever to order. We'd start looking at the menu, and then get back to chatting. I'm so happy now!!

Reconnecting

Wow! This has been a busy week for me! CrAzY Busy! It all started with a birthday party for Josh to attend last Saturday, and it's been non stop since 10am that day! I've been so blessed this week, to start reconnecting with old friends.

Before G and I met, I had a couple of friends, that I used to go out with constantly. If it was a Friday or Saturday night, we were together, going out to parties, clubs, dinners, you name it, we did it! Well, after G and I started down the path to marriage, I wasn't hitting the single scene anymore, and we kind of lost touch. Well, recently one of these friends got married, and moved very close to where G and I live now. She, out of the blue emailed me and invited me to their housewarming/houseblessing party. What a wonderful day! She met my new little one, and I got to meet her new hubby! We didn't get to chat much, but are definately planning on not losing touch this time! Next, my little sister from my Sorority Alpha Phi, contacted me by email the other day. We'll be planning a get together in the near future. Tomorrow, I'm meeting up with another friend that I haven't seen in quite a long time. She just had her first baby last December, so we're gonna meet for lunch and introduce our little ones! What fun!

We're getting ready to head out for a mini vacation with G's family soon. I'm looking forward to getting out of town for a little bit, and relaxing and taking some photos!

I'll let ya'll know how lunch goes tomorrow! I'm really looking forward to it!

Back to Scrapping!

So, things have been very busy around here. I'm not quite sure exactly what I've been busy with, other than chasing little J around. Every day, he is more and more on the go. I've finally gotten a little bit of mojo and been able to find the time to scrap a little. It's been so fun to try using the stuff in my stash. There are so many new things out there that I want, but with all this stuff already sitting in my room, it's hard to justify it. So, I'm back to my challenge. USE THE STASH! I've been really trying to do things that are different for me in scrapping as well. It's been lots of fun!

We've got a lot going on in the next few weeks! We've got a birthday party to attend, a housewarming/house blessing, and lunch with a friend I've been out of touch with for awhile...who just had her first baby a few months ago! We're also getting ready for a little vacation on the Oregon coast. Should be lots of fun times ahead! I can't wait to take some great photos on the beach! Also, on the way up, there is a tulip festival that we're going to stop at. I LOVE TULIPS! I can already picture the perfect layouts! Have a great day everyone!

Just a Quick Hello!

Everything has been crazy busy around here lately for one reason or another. I just wanted to send a quick hello to all my blogger buddies, before I run out to do some errands. One errand includes trying to find a sheet of sherbert bazzill paper. I was so inspired to do a layout last night, I got to working on it, and I splotched my ink pad on the sheet of paper, where I can't hide it! And, of course it was my last sheet of that color....go figure. Anyway, I'll post it as soon as I get it done! I can't wait!

In other notes, just wanted to send prayers out to the CHP officer involved in the accident pictured above. He was on the center median waiting to make a u-turn on the highway when a Snapple truck plowed into him doing 60mph. He is so lucky to have survived! And I'd like to add a PSA... when you see an officer pulled off on the side of the road, kindly move over a lane to give space and make it safer for the officer and any others that are on the side of the road. It's acutally a law in 38 out of 50 states! I know it wouldn't have made a difference in this accident, but just thought I'd take the opportunity to throw that out there! I'll post more later tonight!

Take Care!

Dear Barbra-the lady holding my circle journal hostage

Please contact us again regarding the status of our circle journals.
I am getting sick and tired of being a broken record and asking for
some communication from you. I realize that life issues have come up, but
give me a freaking break, you have had my journal for over a year now,
and I'm sure that the other two journals were not too far behind. When
you came on here back in June or July of last year and promised to get
them mailed out within two weeks, all was good, I had no problem with
it, and I wasn't mad about it. I wasn't even mad, that you tried to say
you were holding on to the journal because I was behind (sorry I forgot
to take the circle journal to the hospital to finish it while I
delivered my baby). I did have that journal out before my baby was 2 months
old. You however, have continued to hold onto my journal and my baby is
now 15 months old! Approximately 3 weeks ago, you promised to mail my
journal on to Laura the very next day and then the other two would
follow in a couple of days. You have not said a word since. You have
been asked over and over for confirmation that you sent it on, but yet
not one word. There are more important things in my life to worry
about, but now that this has gotten beyond rediculous, it's now the point
of the matter. You have shown no respect to anyone of the people you
are holding journals hostage from. You are not showing any respect for
the people who are waiting for the journals to arrive from you so they
can complete their commitment. I'm sorry if things are rough for you
right now, but all I'm asking for is a little communication and a little
get of your butt and mail the journals. So, please for the love of
pigs that fly ( which is when pigs fly is when I think your going to mail
my journal), please communicate and let us know what is going on. I
don't know what to do next, but I've decided that I'm not giving up on
getting my journal back. I'm going to keep hounding you and if I have to
go beyond this board to get it back. I know you haven't been posting on
the 2peas board, but I'm no longer feeling like this should remain
private. If you can't tell, I'm really pissed now.

Waiting for pigs to fly,

Laurie


Thanks readers for letting me vent in public!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ISLANDJEN!

So, I'm getting my blog updated a bit late in the day (which is normal for me). First things first, I wanna wish Jen a very Happy Birthday! Hope all your birthday wishies come true!!! Enjoy your Birthday Month!

Yep! I said it, I said BIRTHDAY MONTH! I think that everyone should celebrate their birthday for the entire month! Afterall, when you were born, during that first month, don't you think your parents celebrated your new life every day! You should hang on to that tradition! Enjoy!

I also want to thank everyone who sent prayers for the family of Officer Scott of the CHP. I get very emotional when stories of officers killed in the line of duty come out. It just reminds you of the reality of the sacrifice these officers have the potential of making everytime they go to work. I am so thankful that the person who did this has been caught.

Something I was thinking about today when I was watching a news story about the officer shooting. They were interviewing friends and neighbors of the suspect who was arrested for the shooting, and they were all saying, how they couldn't believe that he had done it, because he was such a caring individual and so good natured, he always had his kids with him, and he was "getting straight". Then the news reports, that he has priors for violence with other officers. Um...this makes no sense to me.

In other news, I am totally ADDICTED to uploading music onto my Ipod! Now, G has decided that he wants one in the near future too. ;)

An Emotional Day....

When I woke up this morning, I heard the words that I never want to hear. I turned on the news and they were reporting that a CHP officer had been shot and killed in the line of duty. I started crying immediately. I was so thankful that G was home getting a cup of coffee. While I knew it wasn't G, it still breaks my heart every time something like this happens. I always have known from the day G and I met, that this is a risk he takes everyday. In general, I try not to let it consume my head or my heart. It just seems that in todays world, there are so many people who will kill for anything. There are so many people who do not value a persons life. They don't value the wives, children and other family members that the person they kill is important to. I think what makes it even worse when it's a Law Enforcement Officer, is that you know in any circumstance that they would do whatever they could to protect that same person from any type of harm. They are out there every single day doing a job that requires them to be willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to protect their communities. My thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Officer Earl Scott. I thank him and his family for being there to protect and serve.

On a much lighter note. I have a new addition!! Today, I picked up my Valentines gift! Meet my new friend.... I am so excited about this new friend! I can't wait to start uploading songs to it and listening to my hearts content!


And to finish off this post....YAY!! Jerry Rice & Anna Trebunskaya are in the finals!!

I hope you voted!!!

Well, as long as it was for Jerry Rice & Anna Trebunskaya 800-VOTE4-09 (800-868-3409)! All you Northern Californians should keep it local! Just found out that even Anna Trebunskaya is from here too! She's based in San Jose! Go Jerry and Anna!!

Yada, Yada, Yada and the answers to my Truths and Lies

Just another regular day around here. It looks like little J is getting his cold back...I hope it doesn't morph back into the RSV! Ugh! I just had to share another smiling Valentines photo too!

When I opened my email today, I laughed so hard. Yesterday, G was talking about going to the mall, because there were a couple of outfits I wanted at NY&CO that I wanted. I told him, that I didn't want to go yesterday, because I knew if we did, that I would end up getting an email coupon today. Well, lo and behold, what did appear in my inbox this morning...yep, you guessed it a coupon! I'm off to!!Costco tomorrow to see if they have any Ipod Nano's left and off to find an outfit or two! YAY!

A couple of sucky things that happened too... First, I went to Starbucks today, and forgot to use my gift card! LOL! Second, yesterday, I had gone into the beauty supply store to buy some hairspray, and eyed a bottle of nail polish I thought looked cute, so I treated myself. When I got home, I realized that I already had the same color! Whaaaa! No big deal, I'm thinking, I can just go in and exchange it...NOPE! I'm out $7.50 with a bottle of nail polish that I already had. It seems, that the beauty store cannot re-sell the nail polish after it's been sold and the vendor won't give them any credit for it. I guess I understand it, but it kind of sucks, I spend a ton of money in there every year, and have never returned anything, you would think they would throw me a bone. Oh well, I guess I won't be buying any nail polish there anymore...only at Nordstrom, where they will exchange it even if I use it and hate it. I think .Sephora will exchange it too. I check things out more carefully next time. I did email the company who manufactures the item, to see if they will do an exchange for me...so, we'll see.

DON'T FORGET! Dancing with the Stars is on tomorrow night! Keep voting for Jerry Rice & Anna Trebunskaya 800-VOTE4-09 (800-868-3409)!

Okay, okay....on with the truths and lies!

1. I have a tattoo of a heart on my hip. FALSE!
2. I wanted to join the Coast Guard when I graduated from High School. TRUE! My Grandfather was in the Coast Guard, and I always looked up to him!
3. Someone thought I was little J's nanny. TRUE! Who would think that little blond kid with curls was mine! Quite funny that someone would even ask though! Maybe they thought I was so good, that they were going to try to steal me!
4. I've seen Regis Philbin in concert. FALSE! I did see Willie Nelson though.
5. I used to work at Hot Dog on a Stick when I was in High School. FALSE! I'm a Burger King and Baskin & Robbins alum. Funny that G used to work at McDonalds!
6. After my first french kiss, I washed my mouth out with soap. TRUE! Damn that kiss was slobery! LOL
7. I've lived in Oklahoma. FALSE!
8. I love Korean Dramas. TRUE! Why doesn't Netflix carry them!
9 I danced on stage at the Kenny Chesney concert. FALSE...unfortunately!
10. I was an Army Reserve. FALSE! G laughed when I told him I put this up! LOL!

So, here are the results!
The correct answers were 2,3,6&8
Those with 1 correct were:
scrappingmomof3 (1,3,7,10)
rachel greig (1,4,5,8)
hillary (1,4,8,9)
kristy (1,3,5,7)

Those with 2 correct were:
burberrygirl (3,5,8,9)
nikki (1,2,6,9)
becky (2,3,5,6)
sylvia (2,3,5,6)

And the only two with the most answers correct, with a total of 3 were:
lara (2,5,6,8)
mandy (1,3,6,8)

I got something for Lara and Mandy!

Thanks for playing everyone, that was so fun!

Happy Valentines Day!!

Happy Valentines Day everyone!!! Today was such a beautiful day here! Actually, yesterday was quite nice as well. Just some warm sunny days to brighten my mood. I love the sunny warm weather! Today, the three of us went to Starbucks (yum!) to have a treat! G knows how much I love to sit out in the sun and enjoy a Frappacino. It doesn't even matter that he didn't order the one I really wanted either! I didn't tell him, and you'd better not either! Anyway, while he was inside ordering the drink, I decided to snap some photos of little J. I love how this one turned out! I can't wait to pick it up at Costco and scrap it! Wahooo! We also went to the new Chili's that opened up down the road from us. I am so happy that we have a Chili's so close now! We had a great lunch and little J enjoyed his first restaurant meal. Chicken and french fries! He also has a great love for their Broccoli Cheese soup....just like his Mommy! I think next time, I'm gonna have to order him his own bowl, because he probably ate half of mine! After lunch, G picked up the ingredients we needed so he could fix dinner for me, and then he stopped off at my favorite ice cream place and got a Valentine Ice Cream cake! YUMMMMMMYYY!!

I can't believe I was up so late last night! I didn't go to bed until 3am! I was working on the altered canvas I made for G for Valentines Day! I love how it turned out. I'll try to post it later as well as the inspiration that inspired it!

Soooo, the question that everyone I'm sure is asking...what did I get for Valentines Day......

I was spoiled!
I got a Starbucks gift card!
I get to go buy my Ipod Nano!
and...
I'm going shopping for a few new clothing items!
and....
I get to go to a Gotta Crop later this year!

I'm so lucky!! G is the best husband ever!

Speaking of how lucky I am.... I cannot recomend enough, the program Love and Respect by Emerson E. Eggerichs . I am so lucky that our church is doing the video program in our Adult Bible Fellowship class. I have gotten so much insight from the program and from classmates. What a journey! Every week I look forward to hearing and learning more!

First Things First.....and a Challenge!

YAY! Jerry Rice & Anna Trebunskaya are still in it for Dancing with the Stars!!!

I got this challenge from burberrygirl on 2peas:

List 10 things about you. 6 lies and 4 truth. We can try to guess which ones are true and which ones are not. You can reveal the truth after Saturday


So, I'm gonna list 10 things here, 4 will be true and 6 will be lies. Take your guesses and post them in the comment section. I'll post the 4 truths on Wednesday, February 15th! First poster with all 4 correct (Suzy your not eligible), will get a RAK from me! Have fun!!

1. I have a tattoo of a heart on my hip.
2. I wanted to join the Coast Guard when I graduated from High School.
3. Someone thought I was little J's nanny.
4. I've seen Regis Philbin in concert.
5. I used to work at Hot Dog on a Stick when I was in High School
6. After my first french kiss, I washed my mouth out with soap.
7. I've lived in Oklahoma.
8. I love Korean Dramas.
9 I danced on stage at the Kenny Chesney concert.
10. I was an Army Reserve.

RaNdOm

HOPE YOU VOTED! Jerry Rice & Anna Trebunskaya 800-VOTE4-09 (800-868-3409)

Thanks for all the well wishes about my post yesterday. I'm feeling much better about everything.

I wish I was headed for Torino, Italy for the Olympics. My parents are going to several of the skating events, including all of the finals. Wish I could go too. I just love Italy, I always feel so at home there. I think I need to take Italian lessons. Hmmmm....

Lonely....

I was reading another blog earlier, and the blogger talked about being lonely, even though she was surrounded by wonderful people. It really got me thinking about some discussions that G and I have been having lately.

With G's job, there is always the possibility, that if he wants to advance, or explore other career opportunities, that we would have to move. We've talked about this many times, and each time, I have told him, that I support him 100% in doing what he wants for his career. Afterall, it's because of his hard work, that I'm able to stay home with little J. He loves his job, and I want him to achieve everything he wants to within that career. I never want him to look back and say, I wish I had done this or tried that. With that being said, we've also talked about the fact that I really don't want to move. I love where we are. When he asks me why I love it here, it's really hard for me to say. I don't know why that is though. He knows, and has said it outloud, that I really only want to stay here, because of my friends. He also tries to reassure me, that if we do move, I will make new friends. While this is probably all true, it really got me to thinking about the whole situation.

There is a possibility, that G could get a job in another division, that would require us to move. The more I think about this, the lonelier I feel. I think it all goes back to when I was younger. My mother was somewhat of a loose cannon to put it nicely. We really don't have much of a relationship at this point in time, but that's a whole other topic. Anyway, when I was growing up, I had a lot of friends in school, but I didn't do a lot with them outside of school activities. I didn't want them anywhere near my mother. God knows what would have happened. Let's just say, she had issues, and kids are cruel. Just for the record, I'm not talking about just parent/child issues, these were serious issues. Anyway, so since I didn't do much with classmates outside of school activities, I think I really missed out on some close longterm reltationships. Well, as life has gone on here, since I left my crazy mother, and moved to be with my father and stepmother, I've really made some of the connections I felt I was missing in younger days. I've got friends that I met in college, that were with me through my crazy party days, friends that I have a history with. I've also made some really great friends through scrapbooking, that are very special to me, and also we have history and memories that are shared. I love having friends like that. New friends are always nice, but I love having friends that you've done and shared so many experiences with, people you can call in the middle of the night when your freaking out, people you tell your hubby to call when your in the hospital ready to have your baby, friends who your kid(s) will always call Auntie! Does this make sense to anyone but me?

Anyway, as I said, the more I think of the possibility of moving, the more lonely I feel. Hmm...I'm gonna have to ponder this a bit more.

Random Blog Challenge for Tuesday!

So, burberrygirl posted this random challenge on Two Peas

Name 5 of your favorite garden girls and why they are your favorites.

1. Mary Grace Abuzman: This girl is just so talented! Her work is amazing, and I'm lucky enough to know her IRL! Little J will know her as Auntie Grace! Her layouts are beautiful, creative, and often times thought provoking. Her photos say a million things, and then her layout says something you hadn't even thought of!

2. Lisa Brown Caveney: Another garden girl that I'm lucky enough to know and to have scrapped with! Actually, Lisa is one of the first scrappers I met when I started going to the The Garage. I love her clean lines, and her amazing photos! Her perfect handwriting and thoughtful journaling are great too!

3. Carrie Colbert: I've always been a big fan of Carrie's. I love how she uses bright colors and her layouts always convey tons of happiness.

4. Joy Uzarraga : I'm just always drawn to her layouts.

5. Mellette Berezoski : Another Garden Girl, that I always just look at her layouts and go WOW!

Doctor! Doctor! (the one down the street, and the one on the television!)

Little J had his checkup today after our bout with RSV. It's not quite over yet. He's still a bit wheezy, so they want him to continue his medication for another week. So, we go back to the doctor again next week. Thankfully, the doctor said he is no longer contagious, so we can venture out into the world if necessary. Thank goodness, because I'm sick of feeling like I can't go anywhere! Not that I really have anywhere I want to go right now, but just the thought that I can't kills me! Thanks for all the well wishes for his speedy recovery. As you can see here, he's back to his smiling self! He loves this little police car! He loves to just sit in it with his hands on the wheel. When we push him around the house in it, he just laughs and laughs! Unfortunately right now, all of his infectious laughs are followed by a few coughs too. My parents sent this to him for Christmas. This kid has more "rides" than I've had my entire life! He's got his police motorcycle, his police car, his scooter, and a horse!

Okay, so yesterday, I posted about who would have thought that I would get addicted to Dancing With the Stars. Well, today, I'm wondering how I got roped into The Bachelor? In all of the past seasons, I just have not gotten into them. I've only watched the last few, so I could be in on all the "water cooler" gossip at work. Well, since my work is now the previously mentioned Little J, and his bed time is well before this show airs, I had no intention of watching any of it. I got sucked in on day one! At first, I just turned it on to reminisce about the sights of Paris -I was just there in November- and I miss it immensely! But then.....The TV became like this vacuum cleaner attached to my forehead, it just kept sucking me in, until now I'm turning it on every single week! I'm so looking forward to the "Women Tell All" episode.

So, do you wonder who I might be "rooting" for? I'm almost afraid to say, because I really hate to admit that I am that invested in this show! Well, I guess since I've actually made an entry in my blog about the show, the secret is out that I'm invested. So, I'm actually rooting for Moana. I know none of the other ladies seem to like her, they all think she's faking, but I really don't. I also really like Sarah from Tennessee too, but I think that there is more chemistry between Moana and Travis. Oh well, now that I've thoroughly bored you with this...I'll say goodnight. See ya all tomorrow and I'll try not to talk about television shows. No promises though!

Who would'a thunk it?

I would have never thought that I would enjoy a show about ballroom dancing. I don't know how it happened, but I am addicted to Dancing With the Stars. Actually, I originally got addicted to Strictly Come Dancing while we were visitng my parents in Switzerland in November. I am really enjoying this show. I have always been a Survivor fan, and I didn't watch the first season of Dancing With the Stars, because I was already thoroughly engrossed in Survivor Guatamala. I was seriously rooting for Stephanie! Anyway, this season, I got addicted to Dancing With the Stars before the new Survivor Exile Island started. I did however, set up my DVR to record it. Unfortunately for me, something went wrong, and it's not on my DVR. Ugh...better go catch up before next week.

Well, back to the topic at hand... I would have never thought I would be addicted to this show. Heck, I'm even calling in and voting! Now, I know (especially if you've read this far into this post) your wondering, just who I'm voting for. Before I tell you, can I just say that Stacy Keibler makes me sick! That girl got in line for all the right body parts I'm telling you! I'd never heard of her before, but if a genie popped out of a lamp today and said it would grant me three wishes, one of them is gonna be to have her body! Anyway, back to who I'm voting for.....











Jerry Rice & Anna Trebunskaya 800-VOTE4-09 (800-868-3409). They are just so adorable!

A Good Nights Sleep!

Wow! Yesterday was such a rough day. Little J was running a temperature anywhere from 101 up to 103. We just could not get it to come down. He was finally acting sick too. Very cranky, and very lethargic. I was just so sick with worry all day long. At one point, I got so worried, that I called his Dr. office, and while waiting for them to call back, I put him in the bathtub to try to cool him off. As I was putting him in the bath tub, he really started squirming. Next thing I know, there goes my cell phone right into the bathtub with him. Yikes! Now, there is enough water in that phone to be a nice home for a goldfish! Finally his temperature came down. After a full day of tylenol, coughing, nebulizor treatments, and a new found love for Gatorade, it was finally time to put the little one to bed. He went to sleep so quickly (he was exhausted), and then woke up with a stuffy nose around midnight. Quickly fixed that with a little suction, took his temperature which was down to 98.9 degrees, and it was off to bed for me! YAY!

I woke up with quite a start at 7:30 AM! He slept peacefully through the night. I had completely expected to be up with him for a few more nebulizor treatments! What a great thing! I got a good nights rest, he was a happy camper this morning...and pretty much all day and while grandma watched him, G and I got out for an hour and went to Chili's for lunch! Yummy!

Little J seems to be on the mend, he's still wheezing a bit in the evenings, so we'll see what the weekend brings, but he's back to his good natured self, and that was half the battle. He sees the dr. again on Monday morning, unless his wheezing takes a turn for the worse.

Now, about that phone for my goldfish. Don't worry, those of you who know that the only way to reach me is on my cell....I got a new one today!

Meet my new phone!

My Little Trooper!

Today was the first full day of treatments for Little J. I just can't believe this little one! Every 4 hours, we get everything set up for his treatment, then I sit him on my lap, and this kid grabs the mouthpiece himself and puts it in his mouth. Then, shockingly, he sits there so patiently for the 10 minutes of treatment! He is such an angel! I'm so sad that he is so sick. It just breaks my heart, to hear him cough so harshly. They say that it is about a 2 to 3 day course in which it gets a bit worse and then better. I'm hoping that we are now on the upswing. Last night was really rough. We gave him his last treatment, and he went to bed fine. Since his doctor had said to give him the treatment every 4 hours as needed for coughing, we decided that we would let him sleep as long as possible, and give him a treatment during the night if he woke up for it. He slept until 4am. We gave him a treatment when he woke up coughing like crazy at this time. Afterwards, he was up and at 'em. He just wanted to play! DH got up and let me go back to sleep for a bit(so sweet!). Little J stayed awake until 10 am. Then he fell asleep on the sofa with Daddy. He slept for a good 2 hours in his "napping chair". After that, it was game on again! He played and was non stop happy, and we gave him his treatment every 4 hours. We'll see what this evening holds, but I must admit, that I'm worried. I have a feeling it's going to be a sleepless night for me. He's sleeping pretty soundly right now, he wakes up every so often to cough and seems to be falling back to sleep right away.....I'm really praying that he heals very soon.

By the way, I know I have a couple of tags and challenges to answer, and I promise I will get those done soon!

My Sick Little Munchkin!

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days. Things have been crazy around here, with the in-laws visiting. I'm not getting anything done! Little J started getting sick on Saturday and it's gotten progressively worse. Last night, he started wheezing a little bit, so I decided to take him to see the doctor today. My poor little one has RSV. They gave him a prednisone drink and a medicine you take with a nebulizor. We had to borrow one from the doctors office to continue the medicine for one week, and then they will check him again next week.

I must say, that I am so blessed to have such a content little one. Even though he's been sick, he is still just as playful and content as ever. When we give him the medicine with the nebulizor, he has to sit still for 10 minutes and breath in the medicine. This little guy just sits there and sucks it in. I'm gonna have to make sure to snap a photo of him taking his medicine to scrap. I was just thinking, that this is the first time, we've had to get a prescription filled for him, and leave it to my kid, to need a machine to use it! LOL

Anyway, thankfully, it is not contagious at this point, and hopefully he will get well quickly with no complications. We will gratefully take any prayers for a quick recovery you want to send up.

Calling out ULULANI!!

Okay Ms Ululani! I know your reading this! It was so good to see you the other night! I miss seeing you at crops! Come scrap more often! And, when your reading my blog, leave a comment every now and then! Smooches!

So, I have not updated in a few days. I really meant to last night, but G's parents came a day earlier than we expected. Things are really busy right now, and I'm not getting anything creative done.

What does it take to make a girl smile after having a bad day?

So, after having a bad day...well it wasn't horrible. It just didn't quite go as planned. It was just one of those days, where you have all these ideas of what you want to do and what you want to get done....and then nothing gets accomplished! So, on my last post entry, I just asked if a Frappacino was enough. While I was quite satisfied with things after my first sip, a lot of other things started making me smile. So, I don't know if the Frappacino did it all by itself, and that everything else was aligned properly because of it, or if it was the sum total of everything that did it. Anyway, these are the 6 things that made me smile today!

1. A Venti Peppermint Mocha Frappacino from Starbucks
2. Some scrapbooking shows on QVC.
3. A couple of new books to read found at Costco
4. A smile from G and little J.
5. A Black Cherry Vanilla Coke!
6. Some old pictures from the stash I found the other day! See above!

When you having a bad day...

Can a Frappacino fix it? I'll let you know later...until then, share my joy at my jackpot find below!

I hit the JACKPOT!

Many of you know, that I have been trying to clean up my scraproom, to get my creative mojo moving and producing! Well, tonight, while going through a box of photos, I found the above photo! This is a photo of my Grandfather and I! He passed away when I was 13, but I still have so many good memories of him. The one thing I don't have are lots of photos of him. So, this was a very special find for me. I hope this cleaning provides a few more jackpots as well!

Just a Happy Day at the Park!

G and I took little J to the park a couple of weeks ago, before the huge rainstorm hit...I mean like literally 2 hours before the huge rainstorm hit! We had such a fun family day! It's always fun to watch little J having a great time! So, since today was such a hectic day, I just wanted to look at this picture for a bit! See you soon!

Tagged with questions in fours!

I was tagged by Melissa!
Here we go!

Four Jobs You Have Had In Your Life:
1. Optical Manager at Costco
2. Lenscrafters
3. Baskin and Robbins (Yummy!)
4.

Four Movies You Would Watch Over and Over:-I have too many to count but here are a few
1. Memoirs of a Geisha
2. Come See the Paradise
3. Finding Nemo
4.

Four Places You Have Lived:
1. Oakland, CA
2. Sebastopol, CA
3. Fremont, CA
4. Castro Valley, CA

Four TV Shows You Like To Watch:
1. ER
2. Desperate Housewives
3. Law & Order SVU
4. CSI -Las Vegas

Four Places You Have Been On Vacation:
1. Cancun, Mexico
2. Venice, Italy
3. Switzerland
4. France

Four Websites You Visit Daily:
1. Two Peas
2. Bay Area Scrappers
3. Ebay
4. Barnes and Noble

Four Favorite Foods:
1. Pasta (spahgetti and raviolies are my main favorites)
2. Korean BBQ
3. Chinese Food
4. Does my daily stop at Starbucks count here?

Four Places I Would Rather Be Right Now:
1. Traveling all around Europe
2. At a Spa, getting all the best treatments!
3. At lottery headquarters picking up my millions of dollars in winnings! LOL
4. In my scraproom scrapping, instead of getting sucked in by the computer!

Four bloggers I am tagging:
1. Jen
2. Rebecca
3. MG
4. Lara

A Commitment to Faith

So, one of my New Year resolutions, was to go back to church. I have been struggling with this over the last year. G and I are both from different faith backgrounds. We are both Christian, but different. I was raised Catholic, and G was raised Protestant. Once we found out that little J was on his way, we made a family decision to find a "home" for ourselves. A place that we could go as a family, where everyone belonged. I had prayed about this decision for a long time. G had attended a "Night Of Honor" held by one of our local churches. It is an event that thanks all of our communities first responders for their dedication to the community. G had heard Pastor Robert Evans speak at this event, and was very impressed, and thought that I would enjoy hearing him as well. I have this crazy thing, where, when I go to church and hear a sermon, I feel there is a reason that God wanted me to hear it. I wonder and consider how I could possibly apply what was said to my life, and how it can make me better somehow. We found ourselves led to Redwood Chapel. After listening to Pastor Evans, I honestly felt he was telling me the things I needed to hear. I was engrossed in his sermons and his application of the bible, I would read the passages over and over and look over my notes constantly after church. Just before little J was born, I had called to make an appointment to meet with Pastor Evans to discuss some things that had bothered me for a long time. These were things that I have only talked to my husband about. I needed to release these things and wanted some guidance from an objective party. Well, little J made his appearance just a little earlier than we anticipated. Life got busy and we stopped going to church. I finally felt it was time to make the effort to attend again and did. Pastor Evans was no longer there. I felt deflated. Suddenly, I was feeling drawn back to the Catholic church.

Well, this last Sunday, I made the commitment to return to church. I wasn't sure which church until that morning. During the time I had been away, we had received notes from our bible study classmates. These were so uplifting, but I was still wondering if I was being drawn back because of the friendships or because that is where I need to be to praise, and to deepen my faith. I must also admit, that I was a bit embarassed being gone so long to just drop back in.

I have returned to Redwood Chapel. I am so thankful that I did. The first thing that I noticed when I returned, was the Year Verse for 2006:

"Walk in a manner worthy of the calling for which you have been called" Ephesians 4:1 NASB

I felt so blown away by this! It put so many questions in my head. Was I walking worthy for what I have been called to do? Was I walking worthy of all the blessings that have been bestowed upon me? After listening to the elder speak, I am full of so much joy at making sure that I am walking worthy! Another added bonus to returning is a new series being started in our Adult Bible Fellowship group. We are begining a study of this book:Love & Respect: The Love She Most Desires, the Respect He Desperately Needs By: Dr. Emerson Eggerichs
I think this is going to be an amazing journey! I can't wait to get my hands on the book and listen to the next installment from the DVD in class! As a side note, G and I are not having any troubles, but I think that this series will put a lot of things in perspective and keep the important things fresh in my head.

Now, back to scrappin'! Have a happy day!

I'm just a Scrapin' Fool!

Well, it looks like I'm making a valiant attempt to meet some of my New Years resolutions. I promised to scrap more, and it's only the 5th day of the 2006 and I've scrapped 3 pages. I have not spent any money on scrap supplies this year yet (I'm not counting photo developing or adhesive in my spending challenge). Most importantly though, I am using my stash! Here's to continued success! Ooops, I guess I should mention, that I resolved to give up soda, but that has proved to be a more daunting task that I had first anticipated. They came out with this new version of Coke, it is Black Cherry and Vanilla Coke. It is YUMMY! I had to try it, and now I just want more! Ugh!

Happy Wednesday!

It's officially the middle of the week! This week has been very busy, trying to get all the Christmas stuff down and put away. Just about everything is done, except changing out the Christmas dishes for the regular ones. Those can wait another day though, so I can scrap! I've got to go get some more adhesive though, I ran out the other day, and couldn't scrap yesterday. So, you know what I'll be doing later! Hope everyone has a great day!

Last and First!

Happy New Year everyone! I am so excited to begin another year, and hopefully this one will show me as many blessings as last year. I have several resolutions or goals for the new year, and one of them is to scrap more and use the stash I have. In trying to reach that goal, it only seems fair, that I share with you the last layout I did in 2005 "First Visit with Santa", and the first layout for 2006 "In Just One Year". Now for that list of things that I want to accomplish in 2006!


1. Scrap more! At least 100 layouts for the year!
2. Get back to my spending challenge! No new stuff until I do 10 layouts!
3. Go back to church. Just before little J was born, we started going to Redwood Chapel we felt really comfortable there and made a lot of friends. Once little J was born, time got out of control, and we just couldn't or didn't get there. I have been struggling with this a lot. I was almost embarassed to return. However, we received such a wonderful Christmas card and invitation to return from our friends in our bible study class, that I can't wait to return.
4. Read more! I usually read a bit everyday, but lately, I've been skipping days. It's such a relaxing time, that I need to make sure I do it!
5. Eat better! I really need to lose a few pounds...and then some! So, I've resolved, that starting tomorrow...no more Soda! I just can't drink the diet stuff, so these regular cokes, are getting to me. I think that I eat most other things in moderation, but I just can't put down the sodas. No More!
6. Go on more dates with my husband!
7. Get organized!
8. Work on little one #2!

Where in the heck!

*I just had to share another picture of little J!*
Where did I get all the sCRAP! When we came back from Europe last month, it was a mad dash to plan little J's birthday party, and get ready for Christmas. Needless to say, my scraproom has suffered and looked like a disaster area. So, this week has been a clean and organize week for me. My scraproom is now clean enough to do something in again. I did however find that I HAVE A TON OF STUFF! My first New Year's resolution will be to go back on my spending challenge. Things were going so well for awhile, and then it all just fell apart! As I was going through my stash, I found so many things that I really want to put on some pages. The only problem with that, is that now all these ideas are jumbled up in my head and I'm having trouble putting them on to paper.

So, here are just a few of my resolutions as far as this scraping habit goes:
1. Use my stash!
2. Be more frugal in my buying. I have actually made great improvements in this area over the last year. Thanks to Stacey and Rebecca.
3. Be more productive! No more kits, unless I have a plan to use them!
4. Purge! Be ready for the next garage sale and get some of this stuff that I know I will never use outta here!
5. Back to the spending challenge!!!

Merry Christmas!

Things have been so crazy busy around here, that I have not had much chance to update my blog lately. I love Christmas time so much, even with all the craziness of it. The Christmas shopping is just about done! I am always so last minute with the shopping, but (and I know this sounds weird), I love all the last minute running around! This Christmas will be very low key around here. Just the three of us and one of my sister-in-laws. I totally dig hanging out with her! G says it is crazy, how we are so much alike. It's really cool, that I feel like she is my sister, since I don't have any biologically speaking. Anyway, Something to look forward to, my SIL,
Rebecca and I went to see Memoirs of a Geisha. I'll tell you more about our fun another day! I wanted to share this adorable photo of little J smiling and wish you all a very Merry Christmas! See you soon!

I'm so lucky!

Okay, so yesterday was a day of venting. Today, I decided that there should be just happy talk! It is so amazing how fast little J is growing up. I was just looking at his photo with Santa compared to the one we had taken last year. WOW! What a huge difference! It really seems like I was just pregnant yesterday. The pictures here were taken in October, when we went for little J's first trip to the pumpkin patch. I love how the photos turned out! The only thing I wonder, is why, when I finally get to be in a photo with little J, and I like how I look, can't G take the photo when he's smiling? As you can see, I captured little J smiling with G! Oh well, I'm so lucky to have both of them.....I'm just happy :)

I just need to vent!

I am getting so frustrated right now. I joined a circle journal group back in March of 2004. We didn't start sending our journals out until April. Around May, I found out I was pregnant with little J, thus my lack of energy which got me behind in completing some of the circle journals in a timely fashion. So, I got behind. Well, by July I think, I was all caught up, and things were rolling. I had warned my fellow circle journalers that come December, it might take me a little longer to complete my journal assignment for that month, since little J was due to make his appearance. There was no problem. I think I was about 3 weeks late getting this journal out, and then things were back on track. Meanwhile, I was not the only one getting behind. People were going MIA left and right. So, in July, a few of us started getting antsy to find out the progress of the journals and started sending check-in emails. We still were not hearing from a few of our group members. Then, we finally get a post from one of the MIA journalers. She posts that she received my album back in December...(UM HELLO! It's July!) She says that she decided to hang on to it, because I was behind at the time, and she wanted to make sure I got things going again...(UM HELLO AGAIN! I let the group know I would be delivering a baby! Sorry I didn't take the CJ to the hospital and complete it in the labor room!) Anyway, I let the comment slide, because I knew she had some personal things that took her attention away from the group and she seemed to feel bad that she'd had it so long, and she was going to get it moving again in a couple of weeks. Well, here we are in December, and SHE STILL HAS IT! Along with 2 other journals. Now, I'm getting freaking mad! Now, one of the gals in the group, just wants her journal back, and wants to be done. While I completely understand this, it sucks, because she is an amazing artist, and I really wanted to see her work in my album! It sucks, because my album will not be complete, but this CJ holder will have everyone's work. Also, I finally posted to the group that I was upset about her comments back in July, but let it slide at the time, but now that my journal has been in her care for a year, I just had to vent a bit. It just sucks! Thankfully, I'm in a CJ with some other gals I know, and things are going great with that one. Thanks for reading my long rant! I promise something more fun and uplifting tomorrow!

Santa in Switzerland!!!

While we were in Switzerland, they started their annual Christmas market. What an amazing experience! In town, they have lots of little chalets set up, with people selling everything from food to handmade goods to even some stamp supplies. The stamp supplies were the closest thing I got to scrapbooking the entire time we were there! Wow, was I going through withdrawls! Anyway, back to the Christmas market. They also have Santa's office. You take this train ride, which is about 1 hour, up this mountain, and at the top is this long tunnel you walk through, and at the end, is this amazing view, with a small area to have a beverage, and Santa's office. This was so much fun! Everyone there was so nice, and Santa was not busy at that time at all, so he spent time chatting with us, and little J was just in awe. I realize at 1, he really doesn't get the whole Santa thing, but he was smiling the entire time Santa was holding him, and even when we put him back in the stroller, he was just staring and smiling at Santa. I am so thankful, that we went ahead and purchased the photos they were selling there, as my camera broke, and the photos I took of little J with Santa did not turn out at all. I love the little smile on his face! Priceless!!

WOW! What a crazy couple of weeks!

WOW! I can't believe that just over a week ago, I was still in Paris! Things around here have been non-stop since we arrived home on the November 30th. I can't even remember when I've had a moment to think! After a long flight home and a few escapades in the Dallas/Ft. Worth Airport, we put our feet on the San Francisco soil and we have not stopped since. When we got home, we had 4 days to prepare for little J's first birthday party. That was no easy task either. Since we left the house in a huge disaster, we had to clean house, order food, order the cake, go to the laundromat(more on this later), and get the house decorated. Whew, I'm tired just thinking about it again! The party was a great success, and thanks to all my friends who came! Little J has been having fun with all his new toys.

Yes, even after the great vacation, I had to come home and go back to the laundromat. We had a ton of laundry, and still no laundry room. But.......Big news flash here......AS OF SUNDAY, I WILL HAVE MY LAUNDRY ROOM BACK!!! ***Me doing the happy dance here*** We still have not settled with the freak who messed it all up, but we got the floor finished today! My brand new washer and dryer get moved back in tomorrow! WAHOOOOO!

So, anyway, it's good to be back! I owed a few of you some postcards, which I will send out...even though I'm back already, but I was thinking of you!! Things will really be back to normal, when DH finally goes back to work! AHHHH...the house to myself (and little J)!

PICTURES TO FOLLOW SOON!

In the line of duty.

While on vacation and checking in with our local news websites, we found this story about CHP officer Andy Stevens being shot and killed after a routine traffic stop. As many of you know, G is a CHP officer also, so when we hear of this happening, it really hits home. Our thoughts and prayers are with Officer Stevens family. I am so glad that law enforcement was able to catch the suspects without any further injuries or deaths. Say a prayer for all the officers out there who do their job to protect you everyday. Also say a thank you prayer for those who have made the ulitmate sacrifice.

It's a working vacation!

So, I have not updated since our bags were packed and we were off on our first adventure with little J. He is such a little trooper. After a few delays which resulted in 28 hours of travel, from leaving our doorstep to arriving at my parents home, little J is an amazing little kid. Not a peep out of this kid for the entire trip! People on the planes commented that they didn't even know there was a baby sitting with us! What a blessing!

The first week here has been a little rough. It took about 4 days to get little J adjusted to the time zone. Then, come to find out this kid is sprouting teeth right and left! He left the USA with 3 teeth, and I think he'll be coming home with at least 4 more! We've done a little sightseeing here in Switzerland, but mostly we've just hung out with my parents and gotten little J adjusted. We traveled to Italy this last weekend to a small town in the north called Romano Canavese. My parents used to live there when they were working in Italy. Their old landlords are now like family, so we had a wonderful full Italian dinner with them this last Saturday. It was the first time they met little J and we met Alesandro who is now 1 1/2. What a cute little kid with lots and lots and lots of energy. We had such a great time and it was wonderful to catch up with them! Little J is a bit under the weather now though, he has a little cold, and as I said he is growing teeth faster than his hair is growing......

More on our adventures later, and I will post some pictures when I can!

Just about ready to go!

Well, the bags are almost packed. G is doing the usual, "This seems like a lot of hassle" routine. He always gets that way around travel time. You know he's going to have a great time though, once it's all said and done. I can't wait to get traveling! I will say, that getting ready has been a bit more crazy, since we also have to get little J ready, and you never know what your gonna need. Hopefully I got everything! Keep your fingers crossed that he's as good traveling as he is every other day! I'll try my best to update you all while we are gone! I'm gonna miss you all, but I know I'll be having a great time too.
Take Care!

I got tagged by Island Girl!

Don't worry Jen, I'm not gonna tell you that you suck! :) So Jen has tagged me and asked me to take the 2x2 quiz. It kind of had perfect timing, since my brain is overloaded with all the things I must get done before yesterday. It's kind of funny and nice that some of our answers are the same. It's nice to know your not alone in some of the things you are thinking, wishing for or striving for. So, here you go Jen, the answers to my 2x2 quiz! Thanks for the challenge!

*2 names you go by
1. Laurie
2. Mommy :)
*2 parts of your heritage
1. Filipino
2. Dutch
*2 things that scare you
1. Something bad happening to G while working or to little J
2. My house catching fire
*2 of your everyday essentials
1. Starbucks-Summer= Java Chip Frappuccino w/peppermint Winter=Gingerbread Latte
2. A good book
*2 things you are wearing right now
1. pink t-shirt
2. jogging pants
*2 of your favorite bands or musical artists (at the moment)
1. Kenny Chesney
2. Gwen Stefani
*2 favorite songs (at the moment)
1. Come Clean by Hillary Duff
2. Collide by Howie Day
*2 things you want in a relationship (other than real love)
1. make me laugh
2. being true
*2 truths
1. I love to shop!
2. I watch way too much TV.
*2 physical things that appeal to you (in the opposite sex)
1. eyes
2. butt!
*2 of your favorite hobbies
1. Duh...scrapping.
2. reading
*2 things you want really badly
1. to be comfortable in my skin and feel accomplished
2. to be published
*2 places you want to go on vacation
1. Back to Venice and the Vatican in Italy
2. Hawaii -can you believe I've never been!
*2 things you want to do before you die
1. See little J grow up and have a family of his own.
2. Find a way to be stress free.
*2 ways that you are stereotypically a dude/chick
1. I own too many shoes.
2. I like to shop.
*2 things you are thinking about now
1. How am I ever going to get everything done before we leave for Europe.
2. I wanna do some scrapping!
*2 stores you shop at
1. New York & Company
2. Target
2 people i would like to see take this quiz
1. Krista
2. Lara

Little J got his first kiss from a girl today!

This week is getting so crazy, getting ready for our trip. J and I took a little time out to have some lunch with my friend Emelyn and her little one Jasmine. We had a nice relaxing lunch, some good chat, and lots of kiddie entertainment. Jasmine is so adorable! Even with Spaghetti all over her face! She just loved little J, and gave him cute little kisses, on his hand, his cheek and the back of his head. He of course was all full of smiles! So, little J got his first kiss from a girl, and the only sad thing is that I don't have pictures to scrap of it!

What a cute little Tigger!

So the little one's first Halloween has come and gone. I'm a little sad that it is over already. I'm pretty sure that G and I had more fun that Josh did. G had the house all decked out and ready for the Trick or Treaters. It looked really good, we got lots of complements on it. We decided that we were not going to actually take the little one out trick or treating, but instead just let him go with us to answer the door in his costume. We did take him to a couple of the older neighbors that we knew would enjoy seeing him earlier in the evening. He really enjoyed seeing all the kids come to the door. He especially liked the little babies. He loved this one little kid that came by that had a doggy costume on. This little kid was so cute, and kept making his costume bark. The little one would just crack up every time he heard this thing bark. By 7:30 though, he was done. He had been such a little trooper towards the end. We were just waiting for one of our neighbors to show up with their kid, and then we were calling it a night. All in all, this was one of the best Halloweens ever. I loved seeing all the kids in their costumes, and all the friendliness of the neighbors. Next year, we are taking him out to collect candy for sure though!