Tam's Blog

saturday projects

2008-09-06T00:00:00Z

it's been one of those days in this household. davey is still pretty clingy and he is NOT at all interested in taking his medicines (amoxicillian and tylenol) so i've been force-feeding them down his throat... poor kid. but i know it's for his own good so i don't feel TOO bad doing it to him. even though he's been needy this week, he's slept well the past two nights (hopefully he'll sleep well again tonight) and he's still pretty darn cute and entertaining. one of his new favorite things to do is chew on his binky backwards:

dave finds it pretty humorous!

while davey was clingy, daddy watched him almost ALL DAY. yep. it was exhausting for him, i know. and his back is really sore from holding davey all day.

what was i doing? i started (finally) painting his "big boy room." yep. i got one coat of paint on the ceiling and upper portion of the wall and i got one coat of primer on the lower portion of the wall. so only three coats to go (a second on the upper portion and ceiling and two coats on the lower portion). right now, however, his room looks like it's ready for a girl to move in. white on top and purple-pink on bottom. but if that purple-pink primer means i only have to paint TWO coats of bubblegum red.... well, i'm all for it! hopefully i can get at least one more coat painted tomorrow. but one thing at a time.... i'm pretty sore tonight!

dave set up a studio in the garage:

so he could take some belly shots of roxy. we're hoping to continue to the shoot tomorrow during davey's nap. he only slept for 45 minutes today, so hopefully he'll sleep much, MUCH longer tomorrow!

at 9:27 tonight, i noticed this:

a very dirty and grimy cabinet under the kitchen sink. i couldn't take it anymore, so it now looks like this:

not spotless, but much, MUCH cleaner than it was about 15 minutes before i started!

so then i was motivated and i put to use the brown canvas bins i bought earlier this week:

so that was saturday in our house.... what did you do today?

a tasty treat

2008-09-05T00:00:00Z

earlier this week we had spaghetti for dinner. i THINK that's the night that dave opened up this little gem:

i guess we've had it hanging around for awhile and he just now opened it. he let me taste it. i'm not normally a wine fan.... ESPECIALLY not a red wine fan. but this was a sweet, juicy, tasty treat. i was SOOOOOOOO TEMPTED to sneak an entire glass for myself. roxy - i hope you appreciate what i gave up for you that night! i'm definitely looking forward to having an entire glass of this stuff sometime "in the future." until then, i'll just dream of it's yummy goodness!

(davey update: he slept for 11.5 hours last night. guess the antibiotics and tylenol and humidifier did the trick to get him sleeping through the night! right now he's in the tub enjoying himself immensely. he LOVES bath time! he's still coughing a lot and leaving snot EVERYWHERE (and he HATES it when you wipe his nose - and don't even get me started on the battle the aspirator brings!), but he seems to be feeling better, though still not 100% himself. he's very needy and a bit whiney still, but that also comes with a need for him to have about 1000 cuddles a day.... which i dole out as often as i can!)

sick again

2008-09-04T00:00:00Z

davey didn't sleep well last night (he woke up 4 times between 8 and 10 p.m. and then again at 2 a.m. and once more after that). poor little guy. his eyes are watering like a dripping faucet. his nose is running. he's sneezing and coughing. i hate it when my sweet little guy is sick. and as a precaution, based on last night's sleeplessness, we got squeezed into the doctor's office today. and on top of his cold, he has another DOUBLE ear infection. his first one was 3 months ago. and now he's got his second one. let's hope he's not having these regularly now. just like last time, however, aside from the waking up at night and a some extra "neediness," youd' never know he was sick. he's happy. smiley. and will even run around and play a little.

grandma watched my little sick guy this morning so i could go to my OB appointment. baby roxy is doing well. we're starting to measure my fetal-fibro-nectins (sp?) which is a protein in the cervix that sometimes gives some "warning" of the labor process. please pray that this baby stays in until early november..... without the need for bedrest beforehand. i did get three ambien (sleeping) pills... and i'm looking forward to using the first one tomorrow night (b/c dave gets up with davey on saturday mornings).

dave should be home sometime tonight (probably late) and i'm looking forward to that - i miss him.

gotta go take care of my whiney and crabby sick boy!

rough morning

2008-09-03T00:00:00Z

today has been a rough day. dave got up around 5... he's in seattle for work today and tomorrow. davey then decided to get up at SIX A.M. and to be a whiney, crabby, cranky boy. he was placed in his crib TWICE in the hopes that he'd fall asleep for an early nap. it didn't work EITHER time. he did, however, finally fall asleep in his high chair while eating lunch. he was pretty much out of control at bedtime last night, too. i hope this is NOT a new trend!

yesterday while he was in a good mood, though, davey enjoyed a new snack:

raisins. unfortunately, i saw them all in his diaper this morning... my child is STILL not willing to CHEW his food. it's getting more and more frustrating... and truthfully, this whole "food issue" is a major stressor for me. i'm afraid he's not getting enough food. or enough nutrition. or enough variety. and then i feel like a bad mama. and then all-of-a-sudden he has a good eating day where he chews his food and eats everything i put in front of him and i suddenly feel like i can "handle" the world of feedings again. and then the not-chewing and not-eating resumes... it's a vicious cycle.

time for me to go get crafting again while davey sleeps. i'd like to take a nap myself, but i'm not tired right now.... i was earlier when he was throwing his fit(s)... and i'm sure i will be again later (just as he wakes up from his nap) so i think i'm just destined to be tired and cranky today. you might want to stay away from me today! :)

monday recap

2008-09-02T00:00:00Z

it's getting late, but i have time now to sit down and recap yesterday for you.... including some not-so-stellar photos! and thanks to those of you who actually made it through my post about my projects for the craft fair. i know some of you were bored by it, but it's a huge portion of my life right now. so thanks!

we had a surprise visit in the morning from rachel & sterling (dave's sister and her husband). we don't get to see them often enough, even though they only live in west seattle. it was a good, though short, visit. we tried to get davey to take a nap after they left, but he would have NONE OF IT! so we ate lunch and then headed to jaden's birthday party, where davey was actually pretty well behaved.

here's the birthday boy:

jaden was NOT a fan of his birthday cake..... in fact, he wanted NOTHING to do with it! absolutely NOTHING!

jaden has an older sister, emma, who will be 3 in november. joshua (in the far back of the photo) is jaden's cousin and he turned one in february. he's waiting for auntie brandi to open jaden's new truck... it was SOOO CUTE.... joshua kept saying "beep beep!" over and over again. it was really funny. and of course, you should recognize davey (or the back of his head, at least), on the front right of the photo.

joshua didn't want to share jaden's new toy with jaden:

davey was just happy to play with whatever the other kids weren't playing with:

we left the party and headed home to pick up a few items for our next shin-dig... and davey was sound asleep in the car before we even made it home from the party (a few miles away). we packed up the car and headed out to the far side of lake whatcom.... about 45 minutes away. davey slept the whole way there... so that was his nap for the day.

i didn't take too many photos at the lake, but here are a few that i like:

davey did enjoy this swing, even though he's clinging on for dear life!

daddy showing davey the water:

and davey enamored with the boat:

our hostess with the most-ess... and her darling daughter, lizzie (who also celebrated her first birthday recently):

thanks for the great party, shell! this wonderful friend is the person who got our play group started... and that play group has been SO GOOD for me (and for davey). thanks, shelly, for acting on the burdens God has laid on your heart!

and these sweet darling twin boys are already 6 months old:

ethan and lincoln... i can't believe how quickly they're growing! they're in the 90th or 95th percentile for their length and weight (if i remember correctly) and i imagine that they'll pass up davey pretty quickly (since he's in the 25th percentile for length and the 10th percentile for weight)!

and now the dryer has buzzed at least three times, which means i need to go and fold the laundry. sigh. a mom's work is never done, right?!

craft projects

2008-09-01T00:00:00Z

Monday:HAPPY LABOR DAY!

sorry i haven’t posted sooner - dave was changing my site to a different server and he ran into some problems. i wasn’t allowed to post anything while he was making the change b/c it would have been likely to get lost.... so here i am... on a new server and ready to show you some of my craft show projects. seriously. here we go:

these are my favorite item (so far)... i’ve got about 24 made and want to have about 50 in time for the show. they’re little 3x5 memo books filled with a half pack of index cards. pretty cute, eh?

some mini albums made with coasters. these were a pain and i don’t plan on making any more, though i do think they turned out pretty cute.... i think i have about 9 of them. they are 4 inch circles.

i love these memo books, too... all i did was add the glittery star to the cover:

and these memo books just needed a little bit of patterned paper and embellishment before they were complete:

here’s a sampling of some 6x6 chipboard albums i’ve made. i’m not sure how many i have made already - about 10 or 12, i’d guess:

these little photo albums make me happy:

i bought them (they hold 4x6 photos) and simply embellished the cover. i think they’re SO MUCH FUN! i have around 15 of these little guys.

these are 6x9 (and 9x6) memo books made with drawing paper. i have 10 so far. i wanted to leave them un-embellished on the cover so there wouldn’t be any “lumps” when someone went to draw! i have another 15 packs of paper that i’ve “ordered” through a rain check (hopefully they’ll come in soon?!) b/c i’d like to have a few full size drawing tablets (9x12):

here are some barrettes that i decorated... i’m not a huge fan of these, but i went out on a limb and tried them, so we’ll see if they even sell:

and here’s a little hod-podge of card packs that i’ve made for the show:

along with some cute mini card packs:

i already have about 100 individual cards (birthday, thank you, thinking of you, etc.), though i know i need to make a whole bunch more. i’m just trying to take it all one project at a time.

i'm currently working on desk-top calendars to house either one 4x6 photo or 12 4x6 photos (i plan to make 30 of each) - hopefully i can get these "whipped out" in the next two weeks.

and i really need to focus on Christmas card packs. i’ve tried during two different “sessions” to make some but i either felt overwhelmed or un-inspired. so hopefully some (simple) inspiration will strike soon.... i think i need to look at some of my past cards for some ideas!

i also bought some small tins to make more gift tags (like i did for the last show) and i’m hoping to be able to make some Christmas gift tags, as well. anything that didn’t sell at the spring show will be available for sale during this fall show, so i have quite the variety of items and i’m really working hard to hit that in-between price point. i’m still struggling with the $15-20 price range, which is ideal, but at least i’ve got quite a few items in the $5-10 range.

time to run! we’ve had a relaxing morning (i got up at 6 with davey and then got to go back to bed around 6:45 and i was able to sleep until 9 - highly important for me since i had some more insomnia last night!) but the rest of the day will not be relaxing (though it should be lots of fun!).... we have a birthday party for a 1-year old at 1:30 and then a picnic out at a lakehouse afterwards. guess i’d better go and get ready for the day!

edited to add: it’s late now.... the day was fun (more about our activites later) but i wanted to mention three updates to my blog that dave made today!

1. the date is automatically added to each post now, so i don’t have to remember to do it!

2. there’s an RSS button up in your browser now for easier addition to google-reader or any other blog update program you use

3. there’s a custom “search” feature at the bottom of the blog page so you (and i) can more easily search for past blog post entries! (it’s located just below the box with the copyright notice and my e-mail address)

yeah for dave! hopefully my new “LOOK” is coming soon, as well.

and down we go...

2008-08-28T00:00:00Z

thursday: august 28th

i've been pretty bad about using my camera lately and right now i'm too lazy to go into the office to pull off the photos dave took of davey last night, so here's a not-so-good photo from last week when we went to get the mail in the POURING RAIN:

(i love his squished up cheeks!)

apparently, davey has taken to doing things while i'm out. he taught himself how to climb UP the stairs on saturday evening and tuesday evening (i was out both nights). i happened to be out again last night and guess who taught himself how to go DOWN the stairs? yep. the one and only amazing davey. the child seriously boggles my mind! i guess he went up and down and up and down and up and down for about 40 minutes last night before finally going to bed. he went up and down and up and down and up and down again tonight until i got tired of sitting on the stairs with him!

yesterday and today he's been quite a bit more cranky than usual. he's only had one nap each day - barely two hours yesterday and not even two hours today. i'm sure that has something to do with it... though i think he's also working on his 12-month molars (i haven't felt or seen anything yet). remember his cute little "fits" that i've explained to you in the past week? yeah... today they weren't so cute. i'm already tired of hearing him jabber "na-na" or "no-no" over and over again all day long. would someone please tell me that this phase (i'm hoping that's what it is) will pass quickly?!

on a brighter note, davey and i had a play/work date today. anna, linda and i worked on some projects at linda's house while the SEVEN kids played together. it was noisy and chaotic, but i think all three of us moms completed something (or at least made some good progress) and i know it was good for davey and i to get out of the house (it's been pretty rainy and cold all week). once i finish the current stack of little albums i'm making, i PROMISE to take photos of my completed craft fair projects so you can catch a glimpse of what's been occupying so much of my time and energy lately. i'm hoping (if davey cooperates) to complete my "in-progress projects" tomorrow... i REALLY need to focus on some Christmas cards (for the show)!

grandma time

2008-08-27T00:00:00Z

wednesday: august 27th

so while i was at the store yesterday, davey spent some quality time with grandma. i've been so blessed to have free baby sitting every time i work at the store.... 99% of the time it has been with grandma and she LOVES to shower davey with attention. however, davey never seems to nap well at her house. i think he's only slept longer than an hour for her ONCE in a year of babysitting. that's seriously crazy. so yesterday, she came to our house so he could nap in his own bed.... apparently that worked b/c he took at THREE HOUR NAP for her! guess i should've found some ironing or cleaning for her to do while she was here! (though i'm glad she was able to simply sit down and enjoy some HGTV programming)!

the following photos are courtesy of grandpa.... apparently davey LOVED eating spaghetti (with a different noodle shape other than spaghetti) at their house....

it's photos like this... seeing his pure joy and those grins (and those eyes!)... that make my heart melt even though he's COVERED in spaghetti (though i'm sure glad i didn't have to clean him up after that mess)! i'm so fortunate to be this kid's mama!

oh, and that first photo with his hands up on his head.... he does that a lot. especially when he's tired. he'll reach up and pull his hair. or hit himself on the head. he's a funny kid.

and so it continues...

2008-08-26T00:00:00Z

tuesday: august 26th

(davey fell asleep while eating lunch at grandpa & grandma's house on sunday).

davey's climbing streak continues. on sunday afternoon, he climbed our entire flight of stairs by himself. twice. in a row. and then once again before going to bed. and last night, when we all came downstairs for dinner, dave and i were in the kitchen when dave went to check on davey. he was on the 4th step already. dave had to gate off the steps and davey pitched a little fit.

when davey pitches a fit, it's kind of funny (for now). he starts wandering around in circles, jabbering like crazy (he sounds like a martian), shaking his head "no".... all the while, his hands are balled up in frustration. thankfully these fits are usually very short-lived. this morning, he got in trouble for getting into my nightstand drawer. he got upset, wandered in circles, shaking his head and making the "nnnn" sound until he finally said "no" a few times. it does make me laugh even though it's a result of him being naughty!

i get to work at the store today. i love the days when i get to work.... being surrounded by fun people, fun stuff (i LOVE pretty paper!) and a day away from "mommy" responsibilities.

and with that said, i hear my child fussing upstairs... guess he wasn't ready for an nap yet afterall!

climbing

2008-08-24T00:00:00Z

sunday: august 24th

so yesterday was a nice, relaxing day at home for dave, davey and i. we were able to enjoy our morning and afternoon together - davey played well in the bonus room while i worked on craft projects and dave worked on his laptop. davey is a real trip.... he just walks fast (he's almost running) from one end of the room to the other and back again. he's been babbling like crazy for the last few days - pretty much non-stop. i really wish i knew what he was saying! sometimes he's talking to his toys and other times he's talking to us. he loves to hand you toys and food and then take them back (immediately) with a HUGE GRIN on his face. he is such a delight to us!

in the evening, i had a class at Treasury (it was SOOO MUCH FUN, E!) so i headed into town early to run some errands (anyone else get adult jeans for $12 a pair at old navy at their one-day sale? i bought 3 pairs to wear after all my roxy weight disappears - about 6 or 7 months from now!)! while i was in line at kohl's buying a set of sheets for davey's big boy bed (only $8!!!), dave called to tell me a quick story. dave and davey walked down the block to get the mail. on the way back to the house, dave stopped in the yard to pull some clover. when he turned around, davey was up on the porch. that means he somehow climbed the three agregate steps (no railing) to get onto the porch (that has no railing)... and we both missed it!

davey never ceases to amaze me! he has almost no experience with stairs or steps (there's one shallow step down into our bonus room and he goes up and down that one all the time) and yet he managed to get himself up THREE AGREGATE STEPS all by himself. what a kid! it's really funny because in the past two weeks i don't even know how many times i've told people that davey doesn't seem to have any interest in the stairs! we have an entire flight in our home and i almost never block them off when we're downstairs because he just walks over to that area, looks at the stairs and then turns around to run around the rest of the house.

so davey reached yet another milestone this week. his 8th tooth. climbing stairs. saying "mom" (at playgroup on monday - i have witnesses! - though he hasn't said it again!). what's next?

no photo yet

2008-08-23T00:00:00Z

saturday: august 23rd

so even though davey is OVER 13 months old already, we STILL haven't taken his 12-month photo with the elephant! i tried to snap a few photos yesterday, but this is how well it went:

he wasn't too cooperative. i guess dave and i need to work together for all future photo sessions involving davey!

as for baby roxy, she's doing pretty well. moving a lot and giving me insomnia. hopefully this will pass soon, as i'm pretty darn tired each day from not sleeping much the night before. i don't remember experiencing this when i was pregnant with davey, but i know some of my friends experienced insomnia with their pregnancies, so i guess it's not unusual. i'll be 28 weeks pregnant on monday... i like the sound of 28 weeks.... sounds like i have a lot longer to go (as opposed to saying i'm 7 months pregnant.... now THAT sounds scary!)!

ramblings

2008-08-22T00:00:00Z

friday: august 22

(photos from this morning's bathtime... he LOVED his bath this morning. he did NOT want to get out... kept looking the other way when i'd ask "are you ready to get out of the tub?")

it's been an interesting week here. dave and i have played musical vehicles this week. the pathfinder is still in the shop. dave said when he drove by the shop yesterday it was FINALLY moved out of the spot where the tow truck driver parked it, so hopefully that means they at least looked at the damage. but that means it sat there for half a week.... half a week when parts could have been on order! but i'm still thankful that the accident wasn't worse... that davey and i are safe... that the other drive and all the other passengers were fine and unharmed... that it was limited to just our two vehicles... but still, it's frustrating to be without transportation.

being stuck in the house (it's been cold and rainy all week) hasn't been as bad as i might have thought. davey has played pretty well in the bonus room, which has allowed me to get quite a few projects started and/or completed for the antique & craft show. today, however, i'm so tired that i just can't get myself up to my craft space to keep working!

davey is still ALL OVER the place. he is one BUSY little boy, constantly exploring, searching, seeking and trying out new things. he loves his toys and he loves things that he THINKS are his toys (like cups, ice cream scoops, dish towels, etc.). all his recent fussy-ness finally makes sense... he has TWO new teeth (on the bottom). so he's up to 8 teeth now (though no sightings of his 12-month molar teeth yet)! earlier this week he was down to one nap a day (only 2 hours long) which made for the added bonus that he was IN BED by 8 p.m. and slept until 7:30 or 8 in the morning! he's not doing this consistently yet (he still has 2-nap days and some shorter nights) but i think we're moving in the right direction. i much preferred his routine last sat/sun when he took a 3 to 3-1/2 hour nap and still slept for about 11-12 hours each night. but right now i'll take what i can get!

and with that, i should stop rambling. i was waiting for fed ex to deliver a package today, but i just checked the tracking information and found out it's still in UTAH.... so it's set for delivery on monday. darn! i was looking forward to seeing the latest purchases from nana!

errand day

2008-08-19T00:00:00Z

tuesday: august 19th

today was errand-running day. yep. davey did AWESOME (way better than i thought he would)... we went to walmart, michaels, costco and the dollar tree. i got some goodies to alter for the craft show in 6 weeks. i also picked up my 300+ prints. seriously. over 300 photos. insane. now i have to go through them all and organize them.... and eventually scrap them. sigh. there's no way i'll EVER be "caught up" on davey's first year before baby roxy is born.... but i'm okay with that.

speaking of baby roxy, guess what i bought her today? 6 binkies for $3. seriously. those suckers (ha ha - pun not intended) are usually pretty darn pricey, but i found some at the dollar tree (2 for $1). since they seem to disappear in our home, i thought i'd start with 3 packages for roxy (i'm assuming she'll use them.... but i know it's possible she won't). another fun thing about baby roxy is i feel her moving all the time. she's a mover... moreso than davey was, i think. so far, however, i don't think she's a kicker. davey wasn't a kicker... he was a stretcher/pusher but NOT a kicker. for which i was very thankful! :)

but i can't procrastinate any longer.... davey is napping and i need to go get busy making some items for the craft show.... it'll be here before i (we) know it!

it's so hot

2008-08-16T00:00:00Z

saturday: august 16th, 2008

today was a real SCORCHER! the day started EARLY for dave and davey (if you don't know, dave gets up with davey every saturday so i can sleep in a bit one day a week - it's SUCH a HUGE blessing for me!). anyway, their day started at 6:30. ugh. why so early, little boy? i was pretty awake (i almost offered to get up with the peanut, but i refrained) though i did fall in and out of sleep until 9 a.m. that was a sweet treat for me. ahhhh.

we all chilled in the bonus room for awhile. davey played. dave watched tv and i worked on some stuff for the craft show this fall. after my shower, i cleaned our shower (i won't even tell you how DISGUSTING it was.... especially since i can't remember the last time i cleaned it.... seriously!) and when i was done, davey was sound asleep in his daddy's arms (at 11 a.m.). davey proceeded to sleep until about 2:30 in the afternoon! seriously! i got more crafting done. and i ate lunch. and dave and i were downstairs chilling by the time the wee one woke up.

dave cleaned out davey's pool and we all headed outside. this little toy is among the best $2 i ever spent (a good bargain found on craigslist.com):

he LOVES to push this toy and honk the horn. and today, dave got davey to keep his little legs up so he could push him around the deck. davey seemed to really enjoy that! but do you see how red his little chubby face is? this kid does NOT STOP MOVING and b/c of that, he got REALLY hot in the house.

so we decided to help him cool off a bit:

he's still extremely cautious in the pool and we're not convinced he likes it yet, but it really did help him to cool down. he was much more willing to stay in and play once i put my feet in and showed him some of his toys. he held onto the side of the pool for most of his "water adventure." he did eventually venture from the side of the pool to the center, but he wasn't really interested in sitting down in the water at all (which surprised me b/c he LOVED sitting in the puddles on the black tarp at anna's just a few weeks ago).

dave and i have been on our computers a lot today (i finally got all our photos from 2008 organized on our desktop... and i ordered over 300 photos from costco yesterday!) and we've been watching the olympics as much as possible over the last few days. we're into the michael phelps hype (currently we're waiting to see if he earns his 8th gold of these olympic games) and today we learned that the trampoline is an olympic sporting event (seriously? yes!).

and finally, despite the heat today, i did turn on the oven to bake some chocolate chip cookies. dave was really craving an ice cream sandwich. but the kind made with chocolate chip cookies. and the ones at the grocery store are "light" or "low fat" which (to us) means they taste funny... so i whipped out some cookies and made our own ice cream sandwiches. (and dave ate one tonight and was quite satisfied)! sorry, no photos, but super tasty!

so thankful for him

2008-08-15T00:00:00Z

friday: august 15th

my husband is wonderful. and supportive. he's not perfect, but he's always there when i really need him. like today at 3 o'clock when i called to say i was in an accident. and it was my fault. and the pathfinder is not drive-able. he was there in 10 minutes. just like that. and his first concern was if davey, baby and i were okay. unharmed. (we're all fine). i've been blessed with an amazing man. and i'm so thankful.

today i

2008-08-14T00:00:00Z

thursday: august 14th, 2008

today i plan to take davey to the fair. he may enjoy some of the animals. but secretly, i REALLY want a moowich. yep. just a simple ice cream sandwich made with two chocolate chip cookies and vanilla ice cream. but i crave those darn things every year. EVERY YEAR. so i must go pay the entrance fee to the fair... just to pay the additional cost of the moowich. ahhhhhhhh but it will make me happy!! :) of course, i'm choosing the WARMEST day of the week to go to the fair. leave it to me! i wish dave were going with us.... maybe next year (especially since we'll be a family of four)!

last night i was up until after 11 uploading 218 photos to costco's website. and i have more to go. i haven't printed any photos of our trip east. or of davey's birthday party. so i'm a wee-bit behind in my photo printing... with a FEW exceptions, i haven't printed photos since april. those 50 free prints i have in my account from costco aren't going to go very far when i'm going to end up printing close to 300 photos total! oops!

and as i was going through my photos from april to the present, this one (from june 4) made me crack up.... maybe b/c his hair is in a mohawk... or (more likely) b/c it's just in such a LONG mohawk:

but i love this photo. i love this kid. i'm really trying to DELIGHT in him daily. he's so DARN SMART (he obviously takes after his daddy) and he really does play well by himself. he's so entertaining (to himself and to others). and i love him to bits and pieces - even when i'm frustrated with/by him.

missing...

2008-08-13T00:00:00Z

wednesday: august 13th 2008

three years ago, these photos were taken:

hard to believe that was ONLY three years ago when dave and i journeyed to block island, rhode island, to vacation with my family. it was a fun week filled with sleeping in (for us, at least), sunshine, water, sand and lots and lots of laughter.

hard to believe that my oldest niece is now 17 and will be a SENIOR in high school this year. kate is almost 14 and wendy (always "the baby") is already 9 years old (she was born 2-1/2 months before i moved to washington)!!!

i just wanted to share this trip down memory lane because i miss my family today. i wish i could see them more often. love you guys!

(and notice dave's short hair? i love his hair short. i also love his hair like it is now - much longer and a curly "afro." i can't say which is my favorite 'cuz i really don't know!)

the outcome

2008-08-10T00:00:00Z

sunday: august 10th

yesterday was SO MUCH FUN! girls' day was a blast! there were five of us...

Linda, Barb, Karla, myself and Sara

We started our adventure at the Alderwood Mall (where we spent a LOT of time at Nordstroms) and ate a yummy lunch at claim jumper (where the above photo was taken). We then journeyed north toward the Seattle Premium Outlets (which are about an hour north of Seattle - go figure!)... but we got a little stuck in some traffic:

for over 90 minutes! all four lanes were pared down to ONE LANE.... and by the time we got to the accident site, we saw ZERO vehicles. what we did see was a pull-behind camper/RV that had the back 1/3 SMASHED and CRUMPLED. yep. just demolished.

the only things that made the 90 minutes SOMEWHAT bearable were the conversations that led to a LOT of laughter and this:

what is it? that's what we'd like to know! but i call it the "ark on a bus." that site alone made us LAUGH for a LONG time!

we FINALLY made it to the outlets where we RAN (practically) from store to store. i purchased two items for myself at The Gap (including a brown sweater that i will be wearing a LOT this fall & winter - both before AND after roxy's birth) and a few things for Davey and Roxy at Carters, Children's Place and Gymboree.

Right now (10:10 p.m.) I'm nearing about the 3-hour mark of reviewing and deleting photos to print (going back to APRIL of this year). yep. i haven't even duplicated and EDITED them yet. sheesh! i have a feeling this "project" will take most of this week! unfortunately, i SHOULD be spending my time working on items for the fall craft show... which is in TWO SHORT MONTHS! ack!!!

today

2008-08-09T00:00:00Z

today is saturday the 9th of august. today i get to go on a girls' day with my friends. girls only. no kids. no husbands. just girls. we're going to the alderwood mall. maybe to the seattle premium outlets. i might get a mini make-up make-over since i can't really buy clothing (sigh!).

dave worked LATE last night 'cuz he got a project that's due on tuesday. he's excited to be able to prove himself at this new job (which he still likes). when he got home well after 9 last night, he said yesterday was a good day. i LOVE hearing that from him. since he worked late, i got to watch a movie (P.S. I Love You) and some of the Olympics Opening Ceremony. before going to bed last night, i counted the layouts i've done this week alone..... 17. seriously. Seventeen one-page layouts. i LOVE having my scrap space and davey's play room in the SAME space... it's wonderful! not to mention the TV and DVD player, too! i don't think there's hope of me being "caught up" by the time Roxy is born, but i DO think there's hope of me not being so far behind on davey's photos when she's born! :)

how about a random photo of uncle tom whistling through a piece of grass as davey watches for today's photo?

but now i must get a move-on if I don't want to be late for girls' day!!!

warts?

2008-08-08T00:00:00Z

friday: august 8th

last night, uncle tom came over and mowed our lawn. sweet guy. he even pulled some weeds! the boys all found a small frog and, apparently, davey was CRACKING UP watching the frog jump. by the time i was aware of what was going on, however, the laughing had ceased. sigh. i had even grabbed the video camera! oh well.

dave would pick up the frog to let davey touch it or pick it up and then davey would drop it onto the (long) grass and watch it jump. davey had no fear of the frog... when dave held it out, davey would simply grab it. we were impressed with how gentle davey was with the frog... no squishing-intervention was required!

and in "honor" of today's date (08.08.08) and julie's blog post today, here are my 8 favorite things at the moment:

1. Dave. my amazing husband. he's not perfect (neither am i), but he's wonderful. I love you!

2. Davey. this little guy, even when he frustrates me, still lights up my life.

3. Roxy. i look forward to meeting this little girl in just a few months.

4. Girls' Day (tomorrow).... just us "girls." no kids. the alderwood mall and maybe the seattle premium outlets.

5. Scrapbooking - i've been doing a LOT lately.

6. HGTV... i'm a bit addicted.

7. Warm, sunny weather (like yesterday - not like today)

8. Bargain shopping. whether it be great sales. or craigslist. or yard/garage sales. i love a good deal!