california adventure

my mom gave me a glorious opportunity to go out to california and help celebrate her birthday with her.
just me. no kids.
believe it or not, i almost didn't go because i was a bit nervous about the travel being so far along in my pregnancy.
but then i thought, take this opportunity and RUN! this may be the last "me" trip in a very long time.
so off i went!




i divided my time between staying with my mom in san jose, and staying with my sister in san francisco. she lives two blocks from fishermans wharf, and two blocks from north beach. perfectly dreamy situation as far as i'm concerned!!

due to my large belly, i wasn't able to walk/sightsee as much as i would have wanted, but i did manage to visit a few of my favorite "haunts".
boudin bakery. sigh. i am a sourdough bread girl through and through. and bread has been a serious craving throughout this pregnancy (am i right or am i right, stephan??). i enjoyed every last bite of the delicious clam chowder served up in a lovely sourdough bread bowl. yum.

trader joes. okay, yes it may just be a grocery store to some, but when you have to live without one (here in colorado) and you get the opportunity to shop at one...you take it, as much as possible!!!
i wonder if they would ship those yummy green juice drinks to me? i miss them so....




now for the party.
it was sooo beautiful! my mom has an amazing group of women in her life, and sitting there talking, celebrating, just being together was definitely a highlight of my trip.
nichole and i decorated. my moms girlfriend catered the affair with the most delicious faire. i wish i had gotten more pictures of the food and the company.
it was absolutely delightful in every way!

(man, i'm huge!!!! doesn't help that i'm standing next to my skinny-mini mom and sister)

yes, i had to do the token 'heart on the belly' pregnancy shot. it's done by virtually every pregnant women in the free world, but it's a shot i've been waiting to do (and i think earned) for a while.


isn't this cake heaven??? and the taste...ahhh the taste....i have dreams about this delicious cake. it was amAZing!

thank you mom and nichole for a beautiful trip. i love you so much, and am so totally thankful that you made it possible for me to be with you this past weekend!

snow days bring out the june cleaver in me

we got dumped on yesterday...oh and it's still comin' down. tons of fluffy, perfect snow. the amount that keeps everyone on lock-down, shuts down business', schools, and any other activities. (except steph had to go to work - booo)
i, of course, love days like this!!! so cozy. so perfect. the kind of day that completely inspires me to CREATE!!


and the kind of day that inspires kids and dogs to play...






now to the june cleaver part of the day:

baking...



and crafting! i have very basic crochet skills. like scarf and blanket making skills only. but i've always wanted to learn how to make cutsie hats. so i googled "how to" and learned how to make this little beauty from youtube.

you like?


i'm kinda partial to the lovely pink flower that adorns it.
can't wait to wear this!
happy continued snow day to all my fellow snow-bound friends.
and if you are elsewhere, many happy, snowy thoughts to you!!

our first annual halloween party...

i love halloween. i think i've mentioned that before. love it. truly.
so, it would only make sense to celebrate it to full capacity with good friends, right?!
yes!
so we decided to have a halloween party. a costume party.
let me just say...it was a blast! the planning, the doing, the celebrating...tons of fun! my only regret is that i did not take more pictures (especially of the decorated house :( live and learn)
but i did get this gruesome scene that stephan set up in our yard. (i hope it didn't frighten the little ones too much!)



oh, and next year i really want my older boys to be there (they were at their dads).

so here we are in costume. truth be told, i was giddy about my costume. until i made it, and then realized it was a bit unclear about what i was. i was going for pea pod with pea. but the top part of the pod wouldn't stay put, so i think it looked more like peter pan meets mid summers nights dream-ish scenerio. oh well. it worked.
stephan was supposed to be the farmer. get it. i thought it was clever, and maybe others might have too if he looked a bit more farmer-esque, and less modern cowboy. oh well. it kind of worked too.
noah was originally a storm trooper. and he does have the costume. but about half way through the party his primary teachers came (he is so enamoured with them!) and he changed outfits approximately five times. umm...he was a cowboy, then a sort of indiana jones, then back to storm trooper, then some mystery getup, then p.j.'s. which is what he ended the night in, hence what he's wearing in our picture.


and here are some of our guests (i regret there were a few families i didn't get pictures of - dang!)
i think my favorite part was seeing the great things grown-ups came up with.
somehow when we have kids we lose that part of us that goes to costume parties. why is this? well, no more for this family. we will have a halloween party EVERY year. and costumes will be a must!!
thanks to all our friends that came and had fun with us. you are all good sports!!

halloween quilt

i am feeling quite festive with this halloween season (it is my favorite holiday). so i thought our couch needed a festive quilt.
hmm...maybe i will make one for all the holidays....

art trading cards

i started making atc's a couple of months ago, and i have to say, you get hooked! i did a swap when i was with scrap 'n art. sadly, i sent mine out, but did not receive the promised cards in return :(. huge bummer.
so, i've just been making them for my own keeping. BUT, if any of you out there would be interested in doing a swap, let me know!!!
oh, if you don't know what atc's are, basically the only rule is the size: 2.5 in x 3.5 in. other than that, play away! you can do themes, quotes, paint, draw, collage, whatever is YOU!


so this was my first atc. (the one i sent for the swap. it was based on favorite quotes) if i make one for someone else, or a swap, i always do a "series" so that i have my own to keep.






summer time theme....



halloween theme (this one was so much FUN!)...



and this is going to be a series. taken from a general conference talk on the "ity" virtues. kind of my way of journaling about a really good talk!

let me know if you want to do some swappin'! :) trust me, you'll be hooked!

last week

my husband pointed out that i haven't updated my blog in awhile.

well....

when i blog, i do so for posterity purposes first and foremost. but i have felt a bit conflicted because of the rollercoaster week i've had.

last sunday in the wee hours of the morning i awoke with a horrible pain. worse than the standard cramp. i sat up in bed because i needed to get up and go to the bathroom. when i slipped out of bed i made it to my knees, felt dizzy and sick, then passed out. i awoke lying on my back with stephan over me calling my name. weirdest feeling ever. long story short, i was fine. went to the doctor, and he found nothing. the baby is healthy and kicking. but the week was peppered with boughts of sickness, dizzyness and extreme fatigue. weird.

that same sunday, in california, my mom took my sister to the ER. she spent almost an entire week there with what turned out to be acute kidney failure. i can honestly say i was really scared. i wanted to be with her more than anything. she is fine now, back at work, back in the swing of life.

but...

for a week i really wasn't sure.

now my sister and i are close, even if we don't talk that often and see each other only a few times a year. she is my baby sister and i love her more than i can express.

it's just strange to me that i had my "episode" right at the same time she was experiencing probably the worst pain of her life.

i really believe we are more connected than either one of us knows.

after a week of many sincere prayers and lots of faith, all is well again.

it is experiences like these that make me realize how blessed i am. how much i have to be thankful for. how much i love my family...all of them.
times may still be tight and a bit scary (financially), but i am rich beyond measure.

we're having....

a boy!
surprised?
i know i was.
all is healthy and looking great.
i am happy....
and at a total loss for a boy name.
any suggestions?