on december 2nd...

we finished up our Christmas lists for the boys :) Still no purchases made but at least we have a plan of attack! Still all sick here. Zackie is about over the edge - so tired of being sick :( Poor baby. No progress made on cards yet but my list is at least done!

PS, this is the most recent layout I posted at the BHG Digi Blog - check it out if you haven't already discovered it! There are also some really informative blogs on stamping and photography if you're interested.

on december 1st...

our Christmas cards arrived. hoping to put a good dent in the envelope addressing tomorrow!

I've certainly done little else in preparation for the holiday.

I did place a good sized order at 2Peas for some Christmas goodies though...hoping it will motivate me to do something crafty in the next 24 days :)

the real Jake vs. the school Jake

So here is goofball School Jake with his cheesy fake smile and his tilt-your-head-just-a-bit-to-the-left-and-now-chin-UP pose. Sure, a handsome little devil but so not Jake. It's obligatory right? That we still order the photos even though they are cheesy and goofballish?


And here is At Home Jake. Still a goofball but this is the REAL Jake. This kid doesn't smile for "real" without his eyes all scrunched up. I love that about him. I have tons of photos that *I* took with the fake cheesy grin but I'm also the only one that can, on occasion, get the real Jake. I also dig the traditional Indian headdress courtesy of the lovely Mrs. Morse at his fine little school. Some school traditions really rock. Please ignore the fact that he is (inadvertently? let's hope.) flipping me off.This time last week, I expected to be hyperventilating over the pre-Thanksgiving to-do list yet to be concurred. Fortunately, I realized this time last week plus one day that the list just wouldn't be done. And that's cool. The food is accounted for as is the family. Sure, there are a few things I'd like to do still but if I don't have festive little place settings and a season appropriate wreath hanging on Thursday, the world won't end and we'll still all have a fine time. We have much to be thankful for this year. I'm sure (with my posting record) that I won't be posting again before Thanksgiving so to all my friends, enjoy the holiday!

lets just start slow...

since my last real post was a month and a half ago :p let's pretend this is a logical progression, shall we? From paper prototype to "real" Halloween costume execution :)


Cute, no?

sorry guys...

We got our keys early (yay!) but not expecting to get them until this coming weekend means we weren't anywhere near prepared! SO, we are in now (still tons of painting and unpacking to do) but our internet is up as of this morning and I plan to start going through my emails this evening after the boys are in bed. If I owe you one, you'll have it by the end of the weekend!

any ideas what these two might want to be for Halloween?

They've had their costumes picked out for months now. I'm on the hunt for overalls and fake mustaches. Should be fun (Carlos doesn't want to be Bowser for some reason..I'm perplexed)


Sorry for the lack of posts...I don't expect to be able to update much between now and the move. Thanks to everyone for the congrats - we're beyond excited to get in and make it a home!

OK, so about Friday

We closed on our house :)

We've been in the process of getting pre-approved, house hunting and closing for what seems like ever but now, we are so, so, sosososososo close we can taste it. I was close to talking about it earlier but I didn't want to jinx us by sharing before it was a done deal. And as of Friday - it IS!

We've been actively searching since June (July?) It's been awhile. And in this market, with pre-approval, you'd think we'd have an easy time finding something! In typical fashion for us though, every step of the way we had to overcome some hurdles. We ended up making offers on THREE houses in total.

The first was beautiful, had a large yard and was less than 10 years old. Not in a "cookie cutter" neighborhood but nearby a nice new development that would provide lots of playmates for the boys. We made our offer, found out later the same day that the house was a mere 3 days from going into foreclosure (sad for the sellers but hot-damn! good for us!) prepared for a possible (but unlikely) counter-offer and basically, just felt fortunate that we had found such a great deal! Then, 2 days later, we found out the house had already *been* in foreclosure for a couple of days when we made our offer. And the bank hadn't yet decided when they would be considering offers on it. So, we were basically out of luck.

The second house, while in a nice neighborhood and already empty just felt not-quite-right to me. I had a feeling that maybe the sellers would be a pain to deal with. The house had been on the market for 18 months and they had an abnormally high deposit requirement. We liked the house and saw a lot of potential though so again, we made an offer. And the offer expired without them ever responding to it (and let me say here that it was a VERY reasonable offer...below asking, obviously, but not outrageously so. My former-real-estate agent dad assured us it was a fair offer) Your house is up for sale for 18 months and you don't even take the time to counter? Huh?

So finally. This house. This is the one I wanted to make an offer on from the beginning. An elementary school in the neighborhood. Quiet but still lots of young families and kids around. Walking distance to the town area (not a tiny quaint little walk-around town but people, there *is* a Starbucks within walking distance!) At the end of a street that ends in a cul-de-sac. A beautiful kitchen/dining area (that I will change eventually but it works great for now) Four bedrooms (my own office - FINALLY) all small but all perfectly adequate. A large family "hang" out area. It's perfect :) The owners though. They didn't want to let go. They fought us every step of the way (apparently, they were working under the delusion that this is a *seller's* market. Um. No.) And we weren't too keen on meeting them for closing. I won't get into too much detail but there were tears involved. Oh, and the title company's representative telling us something to the effect of "this was the first time ever that I thought the seller might not sign their papers" Lovely. But in the end, they did.

And now, they have till the end of the month to GET OUT. Because it's our now. And they're renting from us :) And we're busy making plans for decorating (little by little...starting with the boys' room so they have something cool and completely finished to welcome them) We haven't packed yet but basically, we never unpacked so we don't expect it will be too difficult!

Oh, and the house meets all of the boys' (OK, Jake's) requirements for a new house. There are indeed stairs.

So, as we take possession and start redecorating and moving in I'll share more pictures. This is just the front, taken from the realtor's site when the house was still listed. It's not listed anymore though. Cause we bought it :)

(Oh, and the digi goodies from scrapgirls and scrapartist)

one whole hand

and now this one's five. Five hit me much harder than three...this was the hardest birthday yet I think. Five is just big. His processing and logic, his verbal skills, his maturity (most of the time...ok, some of the time) and just size period. He's tall and strong. I just can't believe it's been Five whole years. Five years. Five. Crazy.

He started his day by watching his favorite lego-reenacting-german-metal video on youtube. C'mon, I know your 3 and 5 year olds no the lyrics to Rammstein, right?


Then it was a dentist appointment (yes, I'm the awesome mom that scheduled a dentist appointment on her son's birthday) where he told me to stay in the lobby...he could go in by himself :( He did amazing without me. I was a nervous wreck but he did fantastically well.

Then a trip to the grocery store to pick up the cake ingredients...he wanted "mamilla" cake with chocolate frosting (at least one tiny part of the day that affirmed that there's still a bit of little kid in him). Then Target to spend birthday money. Then lunch and home. Grandma and grandpa came over after dinner to sing and observe the annual blowing out of the candles.


It was a good day for young Jacob. Happy birthday to my big boy :)


Tomorrow, I'll share the story about last Friday...(I chose B - I did good!)

thursday random...

because sometimes, that's all that fits.

I've run across some interesting people lately.

<<--These guys. Who are only doing their job but I took a picture because I immediately thought of oompa loompas when I saw them. And nothing puts a smile on my face like a good oompa loompa song!

And then the woman I saw roller skating the other day.
"roller blading? big deal! lots of middle aged hipsters roller blade to stay fit!"
Oh no, but she was roller SKATING. 4 wheels. and sweat bands. and Three's Company style shorts.
"Well surely she was just skating through a neighborhood, minding her own business in a private, secluded are."
You'd think, wouldn't you? Nope. Right down a busy street. In front of a middle school no less. Crazy. No shame.

And I think my favorite. The woman I saw at Tubby's yesterday. The one that was wearing a business suit and heels and couldn't have been more the 4'11" I guess she didn't want to dirty her hands on the garbage can so instead of using a napkin to push open the garbage door, she PICKED UP HER FOOT AND PUSHED IT IN. Please, take a moment to visualize.

OK, now despite me being insanely jealous of her nimbleness and balance, that's not the typical response to being a bit of a germaphobe, right? I immediately scanned the restaurant hoping someone else had seen it as well. Someone whom I could lock eyes with and connect on a meaningful "did you see that crazy bitch?" level. No such luck though...everybody else had their back turned so I was forced instead to hide my snicker lest someone thinks me the crazy one...sitting their giggling to myself.

Finally, tomorrow I have to do something that involves some people that I've never formally met, but whom have still managed to be a complete PITA to the Hernandez Collective the past few weeks. Do I a.) give them the cold shoulder making it perfectly clear what I think of them and their shenanigans or b.) turn on the charm and kill them with kindness?

B, right? That makes me the better person (ha!) and makes them feel like assholes for being such, well, assholes for the past month.

OK, enough weirdness for one night (Carlos is watching House of 1000 Corpses and DWIGHT is in it! Awesome! OK, now *that's* enough weirdness.)

August 25, 2007

*sob*

and now he's three.


We went to breakfast at ihop and had his favorite 'funny face' pancakes. We went to his favorite store (Target, of course) We made cupcakes.











And they were good.


























He still wears diapers (totally fine with that...Jake wore them until 3.5 and then, overnight was potty trained) He still sleeps in his crib (again, totally fine with that. He *can* get out but just doesn't...and Jake was climbing out before he was a year old so I'm happy to get some mileage out of the thing!) I love that I can still see some baby fat but man is the boy growing up. Apparently, 3 is the age is self-confidence. Today, he said "he-yo, my name is Zackie" to every person he talked to. From the hostess and server at ihop to the cashier at Target to every person that called to wish him Happy Birthday. Make no mistake about it, his name is Zackie!

Other than birthday, I've been working my way through this:


(a gift for someone that reads my blog so I can't show it until they get it...I love that ribbing though!)

And I'm getting ready to turn this:


Into this.

And, I'm also working through this:


Which includes a few kids books and a few books that I've finished but for the most part...lots and lots of new reading to get through :)

Oh, I've been working my way through a metric ton of those things in my banner too...I didn't think I liked them when I bought a box of a bajillion for the boys but I guess now that they're "33% real fruit juice" they've morphed into some kind of magically addictive mood enhancer. And, only 25 calories each so I can replace a meal with Freeze Pops on a daily basis :)

And now I need to do some work. There's my update for the month I think! lol

nope, I got nothin'

Apparently, I'm a very boring person. I'd love to share some interesting story with you all but I'm drawing a blank. So, I'll just share a layout :) I finished up a couple of layouts for the mid-month Garden at 2Peas and decided to play around with a bunch of digital goodies I've collected from scrapgirls, scrapartist and jenwilson. A different look for me but my digital layouts almost always end up a lot "messier" than my paper.

I've been keeping busy reading and knitting and just hanging out with the boys. The Summertime Tunic is done (yay!) but no pictures just yet...still have to pick up some ribbon. I ordered some yarn to cast on for Wicked so that'll be my next sweater project.

Summer is winding down...sigh. Lots to do in the coming weeks though - eventually, I'll have news to share! Have a great week!

is it bad?

that my stash of scrapbook paper get used more to serve as a backdrop to my knitting progress updates than to create layouts? This is my Summertime Tunic...about 50% done I'd say. Lots and lots (and lots and LOTS) of stockinette in the round but that's ok because when it's this easy, I can read while I knit :)



(frames are from scrapgirls)

I wish I had more news to share...I keep thinking about updating this thing but I've got nada. We're having a pretty low-key summer (the way I like it...and because I know as the boys get bigger, we'll have less time to 'do nothing') Now that we're through the majority of the birthdays, anniversaries and holidays, we don't have much planned. There is the annual Cedar Point trip in a few weeks (falls between the boys birthdays...it's become a regular refrain every time they ask if we can go to CP...'for your birthday') We always look forward to it - hopefully the weather is more cooperative this year (rain and a 50 mph hour wind gusts last year :p)

Jake yesterday (we were talking about...something. Can't remember what now! The point is, I *was* right):

m: I think I'm right
j: I think you are not right!
m: no, pretty sure I'm right. I'm always right ;)
j: no, you're not right!
m: nope, positive I am
j: no you're not
m: yes I am
j: you're fired

No idea where that one came from but it was good for a laugh :)

why I scrapbook...

If you have a free hour sometime, listen to this. If you have only a few minutes, listen to the segment called Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Rat.

do you see them too?

I took this a couple of weeks ago - a bracket on the playset in the backyard - because, well, it looks like a face. A funny face that is kind of saying "neener, neener...my function in life is to secure a structure that provides *hundreds* of hours of exuberant play opportunities. what do you do?"

Do you see faces everywhere? In clouds? Or the recesses created by textured walls or carpet? Or mundane household objects? Maybe you saw them as a child. Particularly after watching a scary movie probably not intended for someone of your age.

Like an optical illusion that defies you to find either an old woman or a young girl depending on your perspective...I challenge you to find something unexpectedly familiar from an abstract source. Just do it for you (but I'd love to see the results if you take a photo!) And if you need some inspiration, check out this flickr group or this one (do you love how they have so much personality?!? I can tell by looking at them whether I'd like to be there friend or not...I mean, if they were people :p) And, for some science behind it all, this NYT article. Also note that a grilled cheese sandwich with a likeness of the Virgin Mary went for 28,000 on eBay...so this isn't a frivolous waste of time - you could make bank, baby!

I'll just call this one, 'Random Sunday Rambling.'

finis

It's done :) But too small :) But that's OK :) Because it's now become my earliest Christmas gift EVER (echo, echo, echo)

And, I knitted it supah-fast so I'll happily do another one that actually fits (and honestly...I don't know if red is *really* my color anyway :p)

Jennifer and Andrea :)

Send me your addresses so I can send you some goodies! Thanks for playing along in my stash buster challenge :D

Rusted Root is done. I'll share a photo tomorrow! CHA rocked. The company was amazing. I took no photos. That about sums it up :p

rusted root

is coming along nicely...hoping to finish it up before I head out tomorrow afternoon! just a couple of more inches at the bottom and then finishing the sleeves and neck hole :) Then, I can figure out my next project - yay! I think it's going to be a little small though. I'll definitely be able to get it *on* but don't know how comfortable it would be. My gauge was right on though so either a good blocking will take care of it or the pattern runs a little small. It may become a gift but since it's come together so fast and I really enjoy the pattern, I'll have no problem knitting it again to actually fit me!

I've decided to give you until Sunday at midnight to link me to your stash busting layouts since I wouldn't mail the package out until early next week anyway so you still have time :)

Oh, and if you work at a funeral home, it's really important that you double check the number before you dial...just sayin'

the world according to Jake...7/12 edition

while watching max and Ruby, I commented on Ruby's pretty purple dress (which was totally sarcasm...because purple is hideous) Jake looked down and furiously patted himself from head to toe in pseudo dismay; "Where is *my* purple dress??" I asked him if he'd like me to buy him a purple dress and with a wave of the hand and appropriate eyeroll said "No mommy, I'm not pretty enough!"

___________________________________________

playing in the backyard, stomping bugs; "Mom, I totally (without a doubt his favorite adverb :p) GOT that bug!" "Yup Jake, you like bugs, huh?" "Yeah, I'm a great bugger..."

Truer words have never been spoken...

___________________________________________

and ps, if you're going to rip a chainsaw sounding fart out of your trucker ass on the faux leather chair in the middle of a quiet IHOP while your trucker buddy defiles the IHOP bathroom for 15 minutes (entering said bathroom with the paper tucked securely under arm) expect that the 4 year old in the room will call you on it. Loudly.

___________________________________________

pps, thanks for all the kind words about Bonita :)

ppps, I have some goodies to give away...stuff I bought that I just know I'll never use. And my simplified scrapping deems it necessary that I get rid of them. So, scrap a page or 15 using some old stuff. I know "old" is subjective so go through your stash and just use something you've had for awhile and post a link to it in the comment section on this post. One entry for every layout you do! I'll draw a winner before I go to CHA so you have a few days. Hop to it!

over and out.

please don't judge me for my dirty mirror...

Holy crap, that's bad. I had to bring it up from the basement though - it's the only mirror in the house besides the medicine cabinet :p I thought the spots wouldn't be as noticeable in photos but damn was I wrong! If it were just a couple, I'd photoshop those bad boys out...it's late here though and I don't have that kind of time (or talent!) So, be good friends and pretend you can't see them.

My poor attempt at capturing Bonita. A self-portraitist, I am not (and no Ashley, I *don't* know how to use my timer!) Like I said, a little shorter than I would have liked but over a tank, not too bad. It's growing on me and I think I'm at the point where I would actually wear it out of the house. It's nice and light - perfect for summer. I think the i-cord bind off for the neck and collar is awesome - so neat and smooth! Finished it last Sunday and started Rusted Root on Monday. And I'm *loving* Rusted Root. Here is my progress as of yesterday. Today, I managed to get a couple of inches into the body (past the armhole) I'm flying on this one and the pattern is so much easier than Bonita. This one will get done in a flash!

And we had a nasty storm blow through yesterday...sun and super hard rain. It was a little windy too - these are sitting on the windowsill in our kitchen and this is how they looked after the storm passed:
Oh, and the give-away...that'll start on Monday and run through Friday! I'll give you the details tomorrow but in the meantime, dig into your stash stuff!

because I know you just come for the pictures

I'll include one from last weekend. Jake was a maniac in the sprinkler and then raced over to drench Carlos :)

It's completely unrelated to anything in my post but I had to suck you in somehow!

We've been busy the past couple of weeks! A surprise birthday party for my mom, a surprise party for my step-grandma, my nephew's 3rd birthday, a trip to Algonac to visit my camping parents and watch the freighters (and a wicked sunburn as a souvenir...all three men in the house turn golden brown after a couple of hours in the sun. Both boys (especially Z) have taken to pointing out that they are brown and mommy is white :p) A trip to the petting zoo that isn't really a petting zoo (no touching allowed!) Hess Hathaway also has a pretty cool playground that turned out to be the real attraction for the boys. While there, we ran into a little boy (probably 6) who was carrying around a wooden board with a face painted on it. He called it "Plank" (which is clever, lol) but he talked to it and had it talk to other kids. Like "hey kid, Plank says hi!" And it wasn't just for a few minutes. It was for the duration that we/he was there. Awesome.

On the knitting front I FINISHED THE BONITA SWEATER and immediately casted on for Rusted Root :) I don't completely love it but for a first effort, I'd say not bad. My finishing skills leave a lot to be desired but I'm hoping they improve with each subsequent project. I'm glad to be knitting a top down sweater so I can control the length a bit better. I'd like to have Bonita a bit longer but it's way too late for that! It's not terrible but - if I hadn't just had a baby (three years ago) my belly could handle the length a bit better ;) I think Rusted Root will go quickly though! I'll try to share pictures of both soon!

Hmmm, what else. I'm thinking of getting a haircut. I think maybe I want to try bangs. They've always been a miserable failure in the past but I haven't humiliated myself with them in a good 15 years or so so maybe it's time to give them another shot! I've been on the hunt for some good shots of styles I like so I can work my photoshop magic on them like last time but I haven't had much luck. If you have any good links for slightly-above-shoulder length hair with cute bangs, hook me up!

Ooooh, so last week, I was totally pissed to discover that I couldn't watch the This American Life show anywhere - wasn't available on iTunes and the Showtime snippets weren't working for me. *Today* my Tuesday iTunes update email tells me that it's now available for download - woohoo! So I immediately purchased the season and have already watched the first two episodes. I highly recommend it. And if not the TV show, than at least do yourself the favor of listening to the Podcast each week. I have a major nerd-crush on Ira Glass :)

Also sucking up my time lately? This site recommended by both Mel and Shelby. Holy cow - I'm totally addicted! Essentially, you create a list of all of the books you have in your possession that you're ready to part with. People request them, you mail them at your cost (media mail - like $2) and for each one, you get a credit of your own to spend on someone else's book - genius! I uploaded 16 books when I signed up a week ago and I've mailed all but one! That's a lot of books folks. And the best part is they have all kinds of books - anything with an ISBN is fair game. So there are children's books, craft books (lots of knitting and sewing books on my wishlist!), cookbooks - whatever you're interested in. And the books you receive are yours to keep or swap again once you're done with them. Love it. I anticipate Ravelry taking up a lot of my online time as well once I receive my invitation!

Oh, I have some more stuff to give away too but you have to work for it this time. Just a little scrap stash busting exercise (and who among us doesn't need that?) I'm tired of typing though so I'll fill you in on that tomorrow (or Saturday or the third Thursday in September...basically, whenever I get around to updating again :)

Later gators :)