Back to School

I've been trying to teach Naydine the song, Back to School from Billy Madison. Hehe.... She goes to that Terrific Twos school and been on Spring Break for the last week. No, we did not do Mexico or Disney World. We stayed home and enjoyed the nice weather, played at the park, and went on lots of walks.
Speaking of school, we saw one of Naydine's classmates in our "new" neighborhood where we are building. Cool..... small town.

This weekend was good. Nothing too exciting but, we did get our herb garden planted. We are looking at having Lavender, Sweet Basil, Rosemary, Oregano, Jalapeno Peppers, Roma Tomatoes, and some other type of Big Boy Tomato. Oops, I forgot the Cilantro so I need to go back and get that some time this week. The plan for this summer is to eat a lot of the food that is on the Saint-Tropez Diet. Oooohhhh, we love the food on this diet. It's just so labor intensive, so we have to modify from the recipes in the book. No... we are not dieting. We just want to eat some of that food again. Anybody tried that diet? French and Mediterranean cuisine. And yes, you CAN drink red wine, one glass a night.... That's what had us interested!
With the herbs/peppers/Cilantro/Tomatoes we'll be doing the Pico de gallo. Not sure on the spelling there, but I think I'm close.... Love this stuff. And also doing the large tomato slices with the fresh mozzarella, basil, oil/balsamic vinegar/garlic combo. Ooohhhh, love this too. Not to mention doing a bruschetta. Oh, I'm so ready for this stuff. I had a dream last night that I was showing Naydine the tiny tomatoes that had already grown on our plants in 2 days. Yeah, JUST DREAMING! Grrr....

Back in WA, we had a house showing this weekend. DID NOT GO WELL. Lets just say this.... one of my renters failed to leave the house and decided to jump in the shower when they were viewing. What the heck!!?!?!! AAAAAAHHHHHH! How can a potential buyer even consider a house if they haven't seen the whole thing? What a waste of her time. Plus, I find out that the house smelled like fish, the blinds were all closed up, trash hadn't been taken out, etc. So,that makes me sad. And the truth is, I can't make the renters clean up and make my house look good to show. But what I can do is make sure they get out of the house, after a 24 hour heads-up, so it can be showed. So... I'm pretty mad at the guy.

On a funnier not, I'm just watching the Democrats kill each other this weekend and today. Do they not realize they are just KILLING each other? Oh, it's so bad and getting so old.

Happy Monday!

Big guy, you turned 1

I can't believe you turned 1 on me, Dane. It was a year ago, I was going in to get the gels for induction, and the gels put me into labor. And there you were... you looked buff the day you were born. Big chest and arms, skinny waist and legs. So cute.... Dang, you've been a good baby. And I say "been" because.... it's all starting.

You turned 1 and you got a set of new wheels (your walking abilities) and a scream to match. You walk around the room and make a mess EVERYWHERE. You start in the shoe bench, rip all the shoes out. Then underneath the sink. Next to the cupboard with garbage bags. Next is the Tupperware drawer (which, by the way, is the only one you truly are allowed). Tupperware is all over the house..... And now you think you can dig in the bread drawer, pots/pans, baking drawer, water bottle drawer, under the range.... MUST I GO ON? And I have to document this because your dad and I clean this up non-stop. It's all you do.

The new thing is to open all your dresser drawers and try to climb to the top. Yes, to the changing table where you are crapping yourself approximately 8 times per day. I'd bring you to the proctologist, but, sounds like your peers are in the same boat. My word.... ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. I'm putting you on a fast. Especially after you crapped on the bathroom floor, after your bath, on your big day. NASTY.

Your communication skills are getting better. Well, not better. You are just trying to communicate. I think you signed at me the other night and we don't do sign:) haha.... I think it was the sign for milk or more... I'm not sure. But I laughed and thought how I'm the "bad" mom who doesn't sign with their child, but, mine will teach me sign:) You holler at me for your juice cup. This is going to last about 6 more months before I make you start acting like a human being about it. When the train goes by, you say, "Choo, choo!". Oh my word, it is cute while you are blowing the whistle. I'm pretty sure you were saying, "Nay, Nay" at the table the other night. Impressive... considering I'm not sure how you can even like her, she's so mean to you:) You're probably going to start beating her up any day now. Heck, you had 2 handfuls of her hair and she was beating you in the back trying to get you to let go. Game on, children. I will bop both of you!

In the last 2 days, your walking has become great. The light switched on and you went from baby steps to running. Well, running 15 steps and falling down. Getting right back up again and off you go. You think you're pretty cool now. And, you are. Even when you fell 1/2 way down the stairs on your big day. You were really hitting the wall, party boy. You did quite a few firsts on the birthday!

Son, we love you and are so glad you've been in our lives the past year. Just try to clean up the toys when you're done playing with them, okay? Here are a few photos from the day. Love you Boo!

The birthday waffle

Blowing out your candle! ha...

(This is actually your newest facial expression.)

Loving that birthday cake.

Your walking video

Sun Burn

I just have to say, I have the first sun burn of the season!! How in the ??!?!!!?!?! Seriously, it was in the 60's today. I had jeans and a tank top on, I was a little chilly.
So tonight I'm seeing in the mirror that I have a tan line..... HOLY CRAP!! I'm so excited. And I saw on Eli's neck that he had some sun burn as well!!
Now, I guess it's going to be 78 and 80 the next 2 days. Do I dare throw on the bikini??? haha... I seriously think I might, I'm so white!

Well, I better get back to giving my kids a tubby and making Dane his 1st birthday cake. I can't believe he'll be 1 tomorrow. Aaaaaahhh!!

My friend, Ruthie

So, my girl Ruthie asks me if I want to take some of these candid type shots for her. She has this magazine and there are some shots in there that she really likes and wants to try to duplicate them.

Umm... sure? I'll try.

But, GET THIS. Her husband is like.... um, pro. He's the one who hooked me up with a few lessons, a bit of memory (ok, it was more like 16GB), and......... an editing program:) Thanks Tu! Don't laugh at me, I'll get better:)

I don't think I really achieved the shots that she wanted, but, she still looks beautiful and it was a lot of fun.
She did two types of shots, natural and then we did her hair and makeup. Talk about getting some girl time in, something I don't really do anymore. So, thanks for the fun time Ruthie and I hope you like them!!

Ok, then to top the day off..... We head over to On the Border where I ate about 10 pounds of yummy, salty chips. Oooooh, so good.
To the mall, but it's closed so we have to settle for Kohl's. And anybody who's read my blog for a long time, you know how I feel about Kohl's. But anyway, I have to confess, I accidentally stole a pair of Seven jeans. I'm not kidding... it was so bizarre. I paid for a huge bag of stuff, walk to the car, throw it in and start to get in noticing them hanging over my arm. They completely blended in with the color of my jacket. Aaaahh.... needless to say, I didn't bring them back inside to pay for them. I guess I feel better about my crappy experience with the sheets now.
And what's with Kohl's selling Seven jeans? Oh, I'll tell you. They are aaaalllll messed up with the sizing. And the insides don't feel that great either. Not soft.

Well, that's my drama for the weekend. I'm off to read blogs.....

Gone Fish'n

Eli and Naydine have been getting some time in fishing! I love it and think it's great father/daughter time.

These first two pictures are of last weekend when they went fishing.




Talking to mommy on the phone when she's supposed to be reeling the big one in!

And this shot is from today. It's been raining non-stop for a few days now so she likes to wear the froggy jacket. I'm pretty sure it's a 12 month jacket..... probably time for a new one:)

What do you do for parent/child bonding time??

Finally..... We are starting!

On Friday we closed on this piece of property and our construction loan. Talk about EXCITING. I'm a highly excitable person as it is..... and this is just right up my alley. I'm ready to go, go, go! Which, you know does not happen in construction. But, here is the first picture and I'm going to be documenting this process so we can look back on it and remember..... If you guys aren't all that interested in houses, it could be a boring 8 months for you! Kidding... I'll still post pictures of my kids! I know the rellies back home want to see the kids!



I took these shots of the kids while we were out at our property. They are going to love this land!




We are 1 mile from downtown on .91 acres. Here's the fun part.... Our builder and architect are going to be our neighbors. They are around our age and really nice, fun people. We had them to our house for dinner a few weeks ago and it went great. I really liked them.... good to know your neighbors before you build the house, huh? There is 1 neighbor that we do not know yet. They are going to start building as well. We'll probably all be on the same time line, I guess. Anyway, I guess that neighbor is young as well, so, cool!

This house will be our 4th house, so hopefully we can remember all the stuff we loved and hated about the last houses and do it right. I have a degree in architectural design (ok, only a 2 year but it still counts! ha!), so this type of thing is something I've been interested in for a long time. I feel like I'm all set..... I've made 2 trips to the cabinet store already and, there will be a few more, I'm sure.

Here are the highlights of this house:

• DEDICATED TOY ROOM (can you tell the priority level)
• DEDICATED OFFICE
• LARGE, BULKY FURNITURE PIECE KITCHEN ISLAND
• SCREENED PORCH WITH FIREPLACE
• STEAM SHOWER IN MASTER BATH
• TANKLESS WATER HEATER

There were a few more highlights that I would have liked, but, I'm coming to terms with my budget:) I guess I'd still really like a central vacuum but... we'll see.

It's finally happening! Yay!!! Once we break ground, I'm sure you'll see another shot. Until then, I'll try not to bombard y'all with the details!

It's All About Nay Today

Finally..... SOME GOOD SHOTS OF NAYDINE.

Thanks to everybody who has given me input on how to improve with this new camera. And thanks, Naydine, for finally looking at the camera. I appreciate it, babe.

Also, a shout out to Mary for giving me my first html modification experience and helping me fit my picture into my new header:) Hard times, I tell ya!









The park has been our new hangout. We've gone there 4 times in the last 2 days. Haha.. It was something like 80 yesterday and um, 80 today? If not, pretty close. Close enough for this girl. I LOVE IT. Wait till I'm complaining about the heat and humidity in a month or two!

Dane is going to be the bench warmer for this post. He's been in the spotlight with his pretty blue eyes long enough. Hello, fun girl:








And for dinner tonight, I made a sushi-grade Tuna steak sandwich. Delicious. Have you had?