Happy Valentine's Day!!!!

This is Jade's way of giving Valentines to her class. We made beaded-wire hearts for the teachers, and handmade cards with chocolate hearts inside for Jade and Joshua's class-mates.
I never get tired of her little drawings..........

Poor Eddie is a bit sick, or it might be from the 4 bulging teeth that look like they will all explode any day. So it's a low-key holiday for us. The kids requested Heinzen cake, california rolls, miso soup, edamame, and a few spicy shrimp tempura rolls. Isn't that romantic?

The kids love to help make any kind of maki roll, so there is love in the air with sushi!

My neighbors win.......

Maybe I should have posted this one last, so you could see the difference in the pictures on the next post from the day before. Anyway, this is from this morning, it was beautiful after the storm.......
I think I have the best neighbors, they should win an award. Honestly, EVERY one of my neighbors as far down as I know, are AWESOME people. I shoveled the snow several times yesterday, to keep it from building up too high. But still, by morning, there was nearly 10 more inches where I had shoveled. 6:30am I am getting all geared up to go shovel so Bill can get his car out, (he would do it, but I insist he not so he can keep his nice suit from getting ruined) Before I get out there, I hear a snow-blower in my drive-way. My sweet neighbor from across the street is taking care of the snow behind both our cars. HOW NICE!

I appreciate this sprinkle effect on our yard from the snow-blower shooting the snow over the perfectly fallen snow-covered grass.

Just to give you an idea.... I put these out during my second snow-shoveling run yesterday, and this is how they looked this morning.

I had a serious pile of snow again in our driveway after I cleared my car to take the kids to school, (on top of more snow from Bill's car). I had to go get them breakfast and then I was going to get to the big piles. But the school called and it was postponed 2 hours due to the snow. So I put off the task. By the time I went back out to shovel the big piles of snow, some neighbor, I have no idea which one, had already shoveled our ENTIRE driveway, even the piles by the garage, AND our walk-ways, side-walks, and mail box. There are a number of people who could have done this, so I'm just going to have to make cake for all of them. :)

The thing is, this is not the first time, and I'm sure not the last, that one of our neighbors takes extra time to spread a little love. :)

Yesterday.....

Yesterday, Eddie got into the Valentine candies the kids had for their classes. He figured out if he sucked hard enough, he could get to the chocolate inside the wrapper.

Yesterday Eddie learned about my addiction......chocolate.
AAAND yesterday, ANOTHER snow storm. (I am beginning to REALLY miss my California home)
Snow storm means I go out several times to shovel the snow, I can't stand it building up higher than 1/2 a foot because it is so much harder to shovel. Eddie looks like a poor neglected baby looking for a real parent to adopt him.

But then he sees his one true love....... ME! The world is survivable.

Our old pal Jav

For those of you we grew up with, and you know who you are, remember this guy? Javier Mackey. He is stationed in Afghanistan. He is a cool bro, with an amazing little family, and has always been a good friend. So those of you who remember him, and want to check out his blog, let me know. I will send him your email address so he can add you to the list. You can check out his blog and leave some comments for this poor, lonely, lazy bum. :) hehe

(Actually, he is a Special Forces dude, so he is anything but lazy over there)

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breakfast cereal?

Many of you know I LOVE fine foods, I love to cook good food, (although I do not always cook), and I am a bit odd about WHEN I eat it. My kids will tease me about giving them cereal or toast for breakfast, then I eat the leftover steak and pasta, make a chicken salad, or eat cheese, meat, and bread, etc. (but Jade sometimes joins me) And I might make french toast or an omelet for dinner. I think part of this came when we lived in Spain, they eat a bit differently than we do in the US.

Well, I discovered a little gem at Costco, and I have been hooked! This was my breakfast this morning. I normally do not shell soybeans, I like the fun of eating them the way Japanese do. But I wanted to sit down and browse blogs while eating, this made it easy. :)
I have found when I want something salty, these little bowls are SUPER easy to prepare, I can add as much sea salt as I want, and it's way healthier than chips or crackers. My kids love them, so they are also a great after-school snack.

I also made another yummy discovery today. Alyse's daughter might have Celiac, so I found this really cool website from another mom with recipes and info. I have to admit, this woman's food makes me want to cook like she does, even though we do not have food restrictions, her recipes are so easy, yummy, and HEALTHY! It's good to get kids used to healthier flavors when they are young, it will make it easier for them to accept that food as an adult. (i.e. I prefer whole grain cereals over sugar cereals ANY day, thanks to my dad always making whole-wheat veggie pancakes, and other odd stuff like that. :)

http://www.elanaspantry.com/

HELP!!!

Well, I am going to start on something I have wanted to do for years, and I'm taking baby-steps.

I want to come up with a "name" for myself, for my some-what "business". I need a good, cool, long-lasting name, and I will start by using it on a blog just for my creations and info on where someone can purchase my wares.

I also need to figure out how to make one of those really "cool-looking" blogs, I already have some good info to start, I just need a good business name and then all of you will have to help me and put a link on your blog to my funky-crafts blog. :)

So I need some suggestions. :) Thinking something like "Book Jewelry, and other unique gifts", "Terra-Art", "Gotta Create!", "*Posh-Crafts* but not really", "Sandy Views", "TeeKay Art", "Jade's Sandy Corner", "Artisan Mom’s place". I'm a bit lame with blog names, I know, that's why I need help! :)

I want this to be a name I can keep, and eventually use when I reach my goal of mainly selling pottery. I want to be able to create a stamp/logo with the name that I will place on all my tags, cards, etc. And be able to make a simplified version to stamp into clay someday.

There are a ton of seasonal boutiques in this area, some cool artsy shops, and a few other venues I am looking at.
So far, I'm going to work on selling my beaded bookmarks, girls purses, Webkinz carriers, carved wood blocks, watercolor cards, sewn mixed-media wall-art, sport-team gifts, holiday ornaments, library bags and totes, and pretty much anything else I come up with while I clean out my art-supply shelves. (I always get lots of ideas as I clean out junk and think of ways to recycle stuff)

OK, you guys get the idea, so leave a comment with some thoughts, there are no bad ideas!!! Even if I don't use your idea, you never know when that idea might inspire someone else to come up with something brilliant they would have never thought about on their own. :)

Thank you for all your help! I feel pretty good about using my hands to create stuff, it's just using my brain with words that I'm not so good at. :)

Let the fun begin!!!

If I did not have to change dirty diapers, this stage would be PERFECT! Jade came home today and let Eddie try some of her Capri Sun drink, he loved it! (he even dug the empty one out of the recycle bin and started sucking on it. I think he is hooked!

He loves to do "biiiiig boy!". I wish I had a video of him playing "peek-a-boo" in a door frame. That is his favorite spot to hide his head and pop out to "surprise" us.

He will be a reader like big sister, if SHE has anything to say about it!

He has such a sweet relationship with his big brother and sister, I am so grateful for that.

Now I just need to get Jade and Josh back to that time when they were like this too. :) They are NOT like this now, (well....sometimes they are, and I treasuere those "moments")

Jade got her ears pierced!

A bit of "mother-journaling"

I just have to post this, since this blog is becoming my only form of journaling what goes on with my kids. Jade is the only one with a very simple baby-book. Poor Josh has nothing. At least Eddie gets this blog we will download at some point and keep as memories.

So some little sweet moments I want to treasure........

I do not know if a little boy could possibly be ANY sweeter with his mommy. My angel-heart Joshy is ALWAYS looking to please me. At any moment, while I'm in the kitchen, even if I'm doing something for just a minute, he will drag a stool behind me and start giving me "mashazes" on my back or a head rub. I LOVE the feel of his small fingers, not really doing much since he hardly applies any pressure, kind of just squeezing my shoulders in the same spot, or messing up my hair in some crazy fashion while he gives me a head "mashaze". "Is this belaxing for you mom?, does this help you feel better?" It is just the sweetest thing for me.

He is CONSTANTLY insisting that he can help me do ANYTHING, just so he can be near me, and lets me know why...... "mommy, your my LOVE, and I'm your mamas-boy". (he is OK with Eddie being my "mamas-baby-boy".


Almost daily, he comes up to me, telling me to close my eyes, and presents me with yet another treasured work of art.......... he just created......... and it's JUST for me.

My favorite thing about dropping off for school in the morning is the daily exchange between Josh and I. He always has to blow me a kiss, make sure I "catch" it in my hand, then I have to blow him a kiss which he in turn catches. Then he usually says something so sweet like, "Mom, take care of yourself, have a good nap, have a great day, take care of Eddie, and mom...I love you"

The other sweet thing he said to me this week, he was leaving to go the the neighbor’s house, and he came back in really quick at the door, and called out....."mom, mom....keep this in your mind.....I love you".

Also, I am still in love with his "huggies and kissies" every night before I go to work, as he hands me a sandwich baggie he filled with different things for me to have for my "lunch" during my break. It is usually filled with a combination of pretzels, dried fruit, cheese sticks, granola bar, and baby carrots, all in the same bag, (although tonight I found a PEZ dispenser tossed in there as well!), with a separate bag half-way holding a bottled water. He feels this is such an important service for me, he even asks if I'm going to work on the weekends so he can prepare my "lunch".

I get sad at the thought that my "mamas-boy" might someday not want to be mine!

*I know this may be boring to some of you, but I don't want to forget these things. so you just have to put up with this post, and a future one I will do about Jade. :)

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY! :)

Flashback moment.......

I was just browsing through some old pictures this evening and I noticed that the dates on these pics are from one year ago. Pretty crazy what kind of changes can happen in one year, isn't it?

This was right after the "fun 2nd trimester" ended, and after this, I was not smiling as much, I just wanted little Ed OUT!
btw- I am not as small as I look for being 8 months along, it helps to have the camera at nearly ceiling level looking down, it's much more flattering at that angle. :)

We were trying to get something good for Valentine cards since I missed Christmas cards that year. Seems like so long ago.......

I really don't miss my hair, in case you're wondering, but I do have days. :)

The SASSIEST 10 yr old on the block!

This was an impulsive move. Jade has been wanting a hair cut for some time, but we have been putting it off. She wanted her hair as short as mine! Thankfully, one of the other major females in her life, her Aunt Lindsay, also has short hair, and it's pretty sassy. We took a look on her blog at her new hair-cut, and then Bill ran Jade down to the corner cuts to get a similar style. Jade said she wanted her hair "bouncy, bold, and out of control" just like Aunt Lindsay's hair. So I took this picture today at church.

Go ahead, tell me how cute she is.... I already know it, but you can say so just the same. :)

Home Depot perks.....

Working at home depot at night has it's perks, and finding really cool boxes is one of them. (develping muscles where I forgot I had any, it another) :)

If you can't tell, there is a "neighborhood", a "resaurant", a "toy shop",............... and what box city would be complete with out a "rocket ship"?

on friday I found another great big one, it's still in the car, I'm saving it for monday afterschool to keep the kiddies busy. :) It's alot of work for these guys to create and decorate a city!

grandparent time!

The kids had a special "Grandparents and goodies" reading celebration a few weeks ago, as well as Jade's "This is the Place" presentation about Utah. So Bill's wonderful missionary parents came on their P-day to be with the kids. It is always a treat to see them!

Josh really was SUPER excited to have grandpa Ed come to his school, this is just a bad picture. hehe

I love this picture of Jade and Velda.

Grandma getting in some snuggle-time with Eddie-boy

Jade was dressed up as a Utah Miner.

So cute!

Kid's Art

This is one of the posters she is working on for an Anti-tobacco ad.
This is Jade's folder cover

of course.... another cute comic that her mom loves

Last, but not least, my brilliant boy......... his amazing robot!

My real look-alike

So...I went to a better website; and this is my real look-alike (97% match). Tori Spelling didn't even come up on this one.

-Bill

hmmmm....I really have better things to do

Thanks for the idea Jess!
I never really thought about this before. Bill would say I remind him of Salma Hayek or Catherine Zeta-Jones, but that might only be because those are two actresses he thinks are "pretty" and tells me I look like them just to be politically correct.


I had to laugh about this one. I was only going to put one celebrity look-alike for each of us, but it was just too funny that Tori Spelling and Renee Zellweger came up as look-alikes for Bill. What does that say about them? hmmm.... I used to think he reminded me of Colin Firth, who I fell in love with after seeing Pride and Prejudice. :)

hehe, this was a fun little diversion before I hit the house-cleaning. :)

Danielson Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Family photo sharing - Printable family tree

Danielson Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Free genealogy - Family history

Danielson Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity - Collage - Morph

VELVET MITT IS HERE!!!

The moment came today, when the VELVET was unveiled.......... I was the first to join Alyse and see it with my own eyes.........it felt AND smelled divine!

Is this not the best picture of us? This is what you get when a 5 yr old is the professional photographer :) hehe We were a bit overwhelmed with the coverage, but, at a moment like this, who cares?


This is THE exclusive interview of Alyse Loomis, concerning the Velvet Mitt Portrait

sorry.....I could not contain my laughter at the end.....this is just so incredible, it is ACTUALLY in her home! Her husband is a hoot to boot, gotta love him!

www.velvetmitt.com

my 100th post!

Why are little boys like little puppies?

Why, when after a nice long shower, do they insist on walking right up to my shoes and peeing on them? .......RIGHT before I need to leave for work? I just needed ONE minute to grab a diaper, just one! .....and there was PLENTY of time to pee during the 25 min shower!
AND they ALWAYS act like they just did the greatest thing on earth!