4th times a charm!

So I had posted about Zeke's first real haircut a couple of weeks ago at Fantastic Sam's, but they did not really do anything at all. So a week ago Dan's mom cut a lot off of the back and made it kind of even all the way around, but there were some parts left over because Zeke turns to look at you while you are trimming. So then a few days ago i trimmed it more and made it even finally. But after this we realized we don't like it as much as when it was really long so we had it cut for the 4th time! Heather Weppler came over and gave both Zeke and I awesome cuts. She did a great faux hawk for Zeke and he looks so different now and we love it! Thanks Heather it only took a month of cutting his hair to get it how we wanted. I am actually really impressed that he sat still for her to give him a hairstyle! We probably sound kind of vain to work this much on his hair, but in his lifetime we have only cut it 2 other times! We grow it out all year and cut it in the summer, we were just a little late this year!

family pics

Today we went to the botanical gardens to take family photos with the Lance family. Dan's parents and Mike & Becky. Of course we pick a day when they are having a sale at the botanicals gardens, so there is no parking and like 50 people lined up waiting to get in. The morning went not as planned so when we got there I was a little stressed. We needed to leave at 8:40am and I was up at 6:45 feeding Sofia, so you would think 2 hours would be plenty of time to get a family of 4 ready, not true. In our case anyway, there were a few tantrums, poopy diapers, can't find my shoes etc. My favorite was Zeke in the bathroom crying just because, we asked him to go potty so we could go he says in a whiny crying voice, "mama I can't I am far too busy to go potty!" Wow and so the whole first 20 minutes of our hike through the botanical gardens was on eggshells as to not disturb the monster that was lurking inside Zeke.
The pictures actually went great once we got warmed up, Jon and Kathy took the pics, Jon took them Kat was the assistant. Thanks guys!
I am looking forward to seeing the finished product especially the ones where Mike and Becky were climbing in the tree, there were some interesting situations in getting up to the limbs!

I love Jimmy

Don't worry I still love my husband most of all, I was speaking of the band Jimmy eat world!! If you read my husbands blog you know we went to go see them last night at the Wiltern in LA. First of all the Wiltern is so beautiful and cool. It was built in 1932 and it has all of this cool filigree (Karen how do you spell that?) all over the place. Anyway I was very impressed usually we see a show at a ghetto location with a dirty building, this was a pleasant surprise! And we had cool comfortable seats, yes I am old, I like to have the option to sit while at a concert. I am way past the age where it is fun to stand squished on the floor next to 21 year old boys and girls who can finally order a beer at a show and thrash around uncontrollably! Don't get me wrong I will absolutely subject myself to that, but for only a select few bands, U2 always and forever, Jimmy eat World, The Killers, and Death Cab. There may be a few others you could talk me into.
Anyway Jimmy is so amazing, they sounded great and just put on a darn good show! My favorite of the evening was 23 off of the Futures album. They played some from the Clarity album like, crush, Blister, and For me this is heaven (can you still feel the butterflies is what I call it).
And I have to give love to Karen and Steve I can't think of anyone I would rather see Jimmy or U2 with than you guys. We love you.
Even though I am getting older and more cranky about shows, I still love to go and feel the energy in the place and how the music moves you to get up and dance. We were in the balcony and you could feel the whole floor bend and move with everyone as we danced! I love that music can do that for you, it has been a while, thanks Jimmy.

It's not easy being green

So today all of blogdom is supposed to blog about being green and saving our planet. Thanks Patti for the reminder!
So I thought I would just tell a little bit about what the Lance family does to be as green as we can. As you have all read about my cloth diaper complaints, you know we are not adding to the 2 million diapers thrown away daily in the U.S. (disposable diapers take 500 years to break down) YIKES! We use g diapers with a cloth inside during the day and the g diaper flushable at night.
WE have always been recyclers but my dear friend Karen inspired me to be a crazy recycler about a year or two ago. SO now we rinse out anything and everything that can be reused and recycled.

One of the hardest things for me has been giving up paper towels, you don't realize how much you use them until they are gone. So we use some towel type cloths from Traders for spills on floors and what not.
Dan went on a crazy rampage and replaced every light bulb in our house, I was kind of annoyed by it, I wanted to wait until the light bulbs burnt out then replace them. He did not agree.

We unplug everything when not in use, even just plugged in things take up a lot energy. Especially cell phone chargers, things with clocks, like coffee makers etc.

We educate our kids, Zeke knows what things to recycle and we read books to learn more and instill the green thinking in our everyday lives. We are still trying to change his mind about hummers but to no avail. Dan's mom said don't worry about it remember Mike (dan's brother) loved (really loved)wrestling and the wrestler figurines, but he got over it. So we will hope this obsession with Hummers will pass!

Using canvas bags at the grocery store and target. People still look at me funny at Target and try to ring up my own bags from home, asking do you know how much this was? I have to say beforehand these are my bags can you please put my items in there instead of plastic bags? It is getting better!
We started composting also this summer, I have to admit we have slacked lately with it, but someday I will make some soil and put it on my flowers!

We hardly water our lawn, it looks really brown all summer but come fall it starts to green up and the neighbors forget that we were the ghetto lawn on the block!

We try to do all laundry and dishwasher running during the evening or morning, not peak hours.

This one might be kind of gross but we have the "if it is yellow let it mello, if it is brown flush it down" motto. You waste less water by not constantly flushing, maybe that is too much information!
So these are just some of our everyday things we do to be green, it is a learning process and a sacrifice but so worth it when you read about water bottles taking 1000 years to break down! Use a nalgene bottle!
Happy green day!

Back seat driver

(This picture has nothing to do with the post, these are just my signature post pictures because they are stinking hilarious!)

So I guess I am getting a taste of my own medicine. I admit up until about a year ago I was a horrible back seat (passenger seat) driver. I would always and still do tell Dan to slow down or watch out. I would grab the dashboard for dear life like my mom and sister do in an anxious fashion. So it is coming back to haunt me through my son. If you know Zeke he talks a lot!!! He always has an opinion and lets you know if you are doing something wrong. He tells me to go faster, to slow down, to go the speed limit, don't drive on the dirt, watch out for the curb, don't run the yellow light, your sposed to slow down on yellow! Then he goes into the rules of driving, Mama remember green you go, yellow you slow down, and red you stop ok mama. Other rules include, going fast on the bump (speed bumps), use your windshield wipers, honk your horn if someone is going to slow, did you get on the grass a little bit mama? Our driveway curves and I admit sometimes the tires brushed some grass, and each time Zeke knows and points it out. It is funny most of the time, but there are times when I get tired of being bossed around. I admit I pay attention to driving a lot more because I know I am going to get a comment about it if I slip up! He keeps me on my toes that is for sure! He also knows his way around town better than I do, if he knows where we are going and I go a different way he will let me know I am wrong and off path. Good times.

I love Fall

I love fall because it means you start eating things like Pumpkin butter, it is from my favorite place Trader Joes or as Dan calls is Teeggg! If you love apple butter as I do and if you like pumpkin flavor you will loveeeee this spread! I have been eating it in the morning on toast or a bagel, it is so good. And does everyone else agree it looks cute with my halloween nails! My mom took my sis and I out last night to get mani and pedi's as part of our birthday gifts. I think I got one pedicure last year, and in the last 2 months I have gotten 2! What a treat, thanks mom!
My sister and I have our birthdays a week a part (3 years and a week) so we always celebrate together, fun now but when we were young my sister was always mad she had to wait to celebrate with me. Hers is a week before mine and we would celebrate right in the middle of them, what a good sister to share with me! By the way I am turning 25 this year! That is unfortunately not true Dan informed Zeke I was turning 30 and he periodically reminds me throughout the weeks, my birthday is still like more than 2 weeks away. I feel pretty good about turning 30 so far, I guess we will see when it gets closer, for now I am holding on to still being in my 20's!!!

The gray pride parade

So Dan and I looked at each other this morning and cracked up because we were both wearing all gray! Dan is always wearing these gray basketball shorts and I love my gray sweats, but we didn't intend to match it with gray shirts! I have to give props to Dan because he came up with the title, he is so funny! Anyway we had a little photo shoot to try to capture our hip outfits and we fell a few times and the first pic looks as if I am holding him, I am not.
While at home comfort is our name hopefully we won't ever think it is ok to head out of the house in these cool threads! Whats funny is I just looked at Zeke and he is wearing dark gray pajamas with guitars all over them, I guess it is a family thing, I am sure people are always commenting on how stylish those Lances are!

quiet house

This morning I am enjoying a quiet house. I can't remember the last time I have had that. Zeke goes to school MWF and Sofia sleeps in the morning. But I don't usually enjoy these quiet times. Mondays I work, Wednesdays I usually skip her nap to go to playgroup, and Friday Dan has the day off so we work on the house, run errands etc. So today we stayed home, and I basked in the quiet of my home. I fought the urge to empty the dishwasher, clean the bathroom, make my bed, wash the diapers etc. I sat down with my earl grey tea (with cream and honey) and read my Bible and wrote in my journal, uninterrupted it was great. I have to fight against my nature to get things done and instead do what I really need which is to be quiet. I love the chaos and loudness of life with kids but I also need a balance of time alone. I am lately trying to figure out what I need to be a better mom and wife, and time alone and stillness around me is one of them. It is not always possible but at least I can find snippets of every once in awhile. I think Scarlet needs quiet time too, she has to look over her shoulder all day with the kids around! She is peacefully snoring on the couch also enjoying the quiet!

our evenings

This last week we have spent our early evenings in this way. We wait out front for Daddy to get home from work. Zeke asks everyday "can I ride my bike out the front". So we ride the bike, sit in the grass, play and wait for daddy. Usually Dan pulls up on his Vespa and races Zeke down the street. It always helps to get outside and changes the pace because evenings seem to get long. Sofia is getting teeth and is fussy all afternoon and for some reason going outside causes us to all calm down. Even though I want cold fall weather I love that it is beautiful out in the evening for us to enjoy!

I had fun at work!

On Mondays I work at River Springs charter school as a teacher of Photography and Painting/sculpting. I have been with River Springs for over 5 years now and I feel blessed to have such a flexible job that lets me be home the rest of the week. I always seem to have to slap myself back into shape because I always end up complaining about having to work. I know I work one half day how annoying of me to complain. But a lot more goes into the classes and preparing than one day. Anyway today in my photo class we were working on our shutter speed and capturing action shots. So we went up to this field to mess around and take pictures of each other, and I actually really enjoyed my day of teaching! Lately it has been hard because I put a lot of time into the classes, but they are supplemental and the students could do nothing and have no consequences. So it is often hard to get them motivated to do anything at home, and how can they learn if they don't practice and explore their surroundings and their cameras! So today the kids played volleyball and did funny dance and jump moves in order to take shots of each other. It was so fun and we were cracking up at each other and just having fun. It was so fun to watch them feel so comfortable with each other and do weird things in order to get a good shot. By the way I teach jr. high, a grade I never thought I would love, but I do. I love that you can talk to them and that they 70% of the time want to learn new things from you! Anyway just had a good day at work and they have felt few and far between lately so I thought I would share.

Lazy Saturday

I love days when you have nothing planned, it seems in this crazy life those days are few, but this year we have really tried to keep a sabbath as many of you know from Dan's weekly update! So I won't spoil all the exciting things we did. But it was so nice because I kind of got to sleep in today! At least I was in bed until 8am!!!! I was not sleeping because the kids (Zeke) is very loud, but at least I was warm and snuggly in bed! Then we drank coffee, wrestled, built forts and just hung out together. Sofia had her morning nap and Dan suggested we watch a fun movie with Zeke. For your information the only movie Zeke likes is Cars. So we said any movie except that one, he chose Beauty and the Beast, I love this movie! It was my favorite movie in 6th grade and I know all the songs, Dan loved this since of course I sang along! Zeke actually enjoyed it until the end when he thought the Beast was dead and he started getting the quivering lip and began to cry a little, it was so sweet and I just held him and told him that the spell was broken and the beast is ok! Sorry if you have not seen it and I ruined it for you! Anyway it was so nice to relax. Then we began going through Zeke's old clothes because we know two people who are having boys in a couple of months and we wanted to hand them Zeke's clothes. This was so sad for me, looking through Zeke's tiny preemie outfits and blankets, made me miss those crazy exhausting times! Anyway it was good but so emotional for me. We figured people gave us so much when he was a baby we should pass on the love. I kept about three little outfits just to have, I feel good about the process. Dan is always wanting to clean sweep me and my things, and we often go toe to toe on quite a few things. But this was a good thing and I am so pleased to help someone else because lets face it, kids clothes are expensive! So this was our non planned Saturday, yay for time at home together!

Oh the frustration of paperwork

This morning after my dentist appointment I got to work on more paper work for Sofia's adoption. You might ask "Alyssa isn't she already adopted?" The answer is yes but there is so much more to do, it overwhelmes me just thinking about it! Since her birth certificate is in Kyrgyz we cannot read it nor can anyone else who is not Russian or Kyrgyz! So when she has to go to school or many other things you need a birth certificate for, it will be a problem. So we have to call and get paperwork, fill it out, file it with the court, get a court date, go get her name changed, do some more paperwork, send it off and then get her new birth certificate in English. This is only one of the things, there is her passport that needs changing, we have to apply for her Social security and more. With each process there are so many papers to fill out as well. So when I called to find out where to file our petition, no one, and I mean no one knew what I was talking about. I was on the phone for over an hour and I talked to, no lie, 8 people. I finally found someone who informed me that this is not what I need, but instead I have to re-adopt Sofia and do another home study, more paperwork, pay more money, and get a lawyer to do this. I am freaking out!!!! I have a call in to my agency so I am hoping and praying this is not true. I am so frustrated! Don't get me wrong, I would do this all day everyday for my baby, but it is hard, especially when Zeke is yelling in one ear about finding his hummer and getting him more cheerios, and Sofia is pulling my hair on the other side! Being on the phone for an hour is not an option with kids around. To be continued...

time flies

It is crazy to me that we have been home only 2 and a half months with Sofia. It feels like she has always been here, that she has been apart of us from the beginning. I love that.
Time goes by so fast she is almost crawling, she pulls herself along army style all over the house. When she is on the wood floor which is 3/4 of our house she just slides everywhere. She already looks so different from when we picked her up. For one she is chubby McJunkins right now! Her cheeks and thighs are so cute, I tried to put her in a pair of 9month jeans and she couldn't bend her legs, it was awesome she was already sporting the skinny jean, so in style! Also she is so active now, she doesn't want to sit still she wants to move all the time! And her hair is finally coming in, Yay!
Anyway just amazed that I have a daughter who is changing daily and is the sweetest thing. The pics are of her when we first met her in Kyrgyzstan, her cruising on our floor and Scarlet licking up her spit up, hey less for me to do right!

Things Zeke loves!

I was just thinking of the things we seem to do daily, actually more like constantly, and I thought I would compile a little list of Zeke's favorite things!
1. Unfortunately his hummer
He has loved this ridiculous thing for a year, we are very anti hummers, but he insists on constantly playing with it. We saw a huge one in Toys R us and he literally threw his in the back of the cart and said he needed that one his was old and too small. Talk about consumerism, how embarrassing!
2. The Lorax, by Dr. Seuss, our great friends Steve and Karen gave us this book for Zeke's 4th b-day. It is all about taking care of our Earth and what happens when factories take over. It is so cool, we read it not kidding 10 times a day, and it is not a short book. There are all kinds of fun things like Bar ba loots, and swomme swans. And he uses phrases like schloppity schlopp, and gluppity glupp. I highly recommend it! We have caught Zeke reading it to Sofia, so sweet!
3. Speaking to us in quotes from Cars the movie. He says things like "hey stickers you got me out here now what are we gonna do?", or "I am so not taking you to dinner mama." It cracks us up.
4. Playing pretend, it is mainly him acting like he is Lightning McQueen driving his dump truck around the yard.
5. His huge dump truck, from aunt Lindi, he absolutely loves this thing, he plays with it everyday all day. He wants us to yell out on your mark get set go and he takes off through the yard.
6. water: now that it is not as hot we don't fill up the water table everyday anymore, but he asks us to. He lives outside and wants to play in the water constantly. The bath is the same thing, he stays in as long as possible, until the water is cold and his feet are prunes.
7.Wrestling with Daddy, they do all kinds of real wrestle moves that he is not allowed to do on Mama, because I literally can't handle it. They do the full nelson and body slams, many others I do not know the names of but Zeke does and asks Dan to perform on him. Zeke needs at least 1 hour daily of wrestle time with daddy.

These are in no particular order, just some things that fill up our days here at the Lance home.

The first real haircut

Before
During
After

So Zeke and I went to good ole Fantastic Sam's today for the first haircut. Usually every summer we shave his hair into some short of stylish mo-hawk or fo-hawk, this summer we let it go! So as you can see from the before and after pictures his hair needed a trim. We actually wanted it cut a lot more than that, but what are you gonna do it is Fantastic Sam's. Zeke has been wanting his hair cut for awhile, he says like Daddy's but we are not ready to let go of his beautiful hair yet! (we live vicariously through his hair). When I explained to the girl what I wanted she described back some type of bowl cut which was not ok. We went into the hair cut with a lot of bribes riding on the outcome, chocolates, a long ride on the Vespa with daddy, and lots of praise about what a big boy he is. He did awesome except for when the hair dresser snipped his ear! There was a scream and "hey you hurt me" extremely loud! But he calmed down enough to finish. So when she did finish and it was not what I wanted I had to let it go so we could finish the first hair cut on a good note. We ended up trimming his bangs when we got home because I don't think she even touched them with her scissors! I was very proud of him, those of you who know him, know what a big step this is!

How did I get poop on my knee?????

What an afternoon! So lately Sofia has made eating time unbearable, she has always sucked her thumb while eating her afternoon veggies and her cereal. But now along with the thumb sucking she uses her free hand to grab the spoon and push it away, thush causing food to be even more places than before. Her bottle time after that has always been a clam time which I love. We sit in the rocking chair and watch Zeke play in the backyard. But now she is constantly sitting up pushing the bottle away, grabbing it, throwing herself back into me. It is no longer calm and peaceful. Well today as we were lurching back and forth Zeke came running inside yelling"watch out mama I gotta poop!" He ran into the bathroom only to return very shortly half naked and say "I got poop on my knee" I think my reply was "what the heck, how did that happen" He of course did not know. So Sofia and I walk in, (I am still feeding her at this point) and investigate the situation. From the evidence left in the bathroom I can only conclude that Zeke kind of made it to the toilet, kind of didn't. So somewhere in that chaos, poop ended up on the knee and many other fun places I got to clean! Oh the joys of being a mom, why couldn't this have happened just a few short hours later when Dan was home! I guess it will be another fun story to add to his journal that he can read years from now!

The Office YAY!!!!

Is anyone else so excited about The Office tonight!!!!!! It is the season premiere and I can't wait! That show is so stinkin hilarious, even when we watch re-runs and know what happens we still crack up laughing and sometimes pee our pants. Not really, but it is a possibility!
Anyway really no point to this blog except to say that I am excited and can't wait to laugh really hard!

Just call me America's Next top Model (p.s I love that show!)

Recently I have been trying to wear make-up again. I took a short haitus from it with a new baby and all. ( not that I wore it that often before Sofia) But my friend Trish was here last weekend and I said can you teach me to put it on right??? THis morning as I was trying to remember her tips as I applied my eye shadow I thought back to my first meeting with make-up. I think I was in 8th grade and I wanted to wear make-up so bad, so my mom ordered me this Jafra eye shadow compact, the colors were all purples, not kidding. Anyway she showed me how to put it on and I think I wore it for a week and thought it was too much work. I still had that eyeshadow when I graduated high school. I just relied on my sister to do my make-up for mid-winters and Proms! Anyway then about 6 years ago my best friend Annette was making tons of money doing Mary Kay :) and so she taught me again how to apply the make-up. Now this time it stuck I was 23 at the time, and I began wearing make-up almost everyday!
Fast forward to today when I wear make-up for church and work. But I have to admit when I know I will be staying at home or only running out to Trader Joes for some fruit and hummus, the idea of apply three different colors of eye shadow and curling my lashes sounds ridiculous! BUt since last weekend I wore make-up 4 days this week. ( Trish I have been using my brushes!) Of course I am still using my revlon eyeshadow from CHristmas, it was in my stocking, but I say hey work with what ya got right. Anyway here I am almost 30 and I am still learning to wear make-up! Good thing Dan loves me al natural! Just some random thoughts today about how in style and hip I am. Am I too old to apply for America's Next Top Model?

Sofia's first trip to D-land

So we went to disneyland today on a whim. It was supposed to rain so we didn't think it would work out but the weather cleared and it was a beautiful day! We only went for about 4 hours, but with 2 kids it was long enough. We actually stayed in California Adventure for the whole visit. We went on the huge Ferris Wheel, which I did not enjoy at all. It swings back and forth and we were so high, I was freaking out but pretending to enjoy it for Zeke's sake. He for the most part does not enjoy Disneyland until about the end of the trip. I think it is overwhelming and scary for him but he did great. We ran into friends, the Quesada gang and had fun cruising around the park together. We did the carousel, and Monster Inc, the boys did Tower of Terror.
Sofia did great, but both kids were so tired after the day was over.
Yay for living in So Cal so we can get passes, because I could not hack it if we had to stay all day!

Life lessons with Zeke

This might be a monthly installment since I am always learning things from him! He is 4 years old and so bright and hilarious! A couple of days ago Dan was gone all day and evening at Smashing Pumpkins, it made for a very long day with no adults to speak with and no relief from constant chaos. Anyhoo we decided to head out for a walk to break up the evening. As I was pushing our massive double stroller around our neighborhood, I realized that to be on the side walk and go up and down the drive way dips was ridiculously hard! The stroller is so heavy and it felt like it was going to tip over. I assume I was making a dramatic statement about how hard it was when Zeke said (in a soothing tone) "relax mama, your ok". I had to chuckle because he is always repeating me and it is just funny when your 4 year old can calm you and make you see how dramatic you might sound!
Anyway I can't keep track of how many times a day he cracks us up. Just this morning as we were taking care of business in the bathroom I said why is your poop green Zeke, he calmly replys "oh I was eating grass" Then cracks up at himself! Fun times and life lessons!

stinky pee

I just wanted to complain about washing cloth diapers for a moment. By the time I got around to this last batch of dirty diapers it had been too long. I keep a pail outside the laundry room door and it smells so bad!!! The smell is an overwhelming nose piercing pee and poop smell, but added to that is two weeks of stewing together in a warm pail. At least it has not been hot the last 2 weeks, oh wait... Anyway my laundry room reeks (sp?) now and it is nasty.
I know it is worth it, but on mornings like today when I was gagging I did wonder.

The girls are back in town!

That title should be sung in your head as if you are singing that song, "the boys are back in town"
Two of my girls from college came for a visit this weekend and we had such a blast. I met Trisha and Leslie about 9 years ago, and actually became close with them after we were out of school and livin' la vida loca in Redding!
We had a great time getting our nails done, eating yummy food together, and cracking up at memories we have of ridiculous things we did in college. I just love these friendships because even though we have not seen each other for 2 or 3 years we can just pick up right where we left off. It is so cool to see where we are now, in such different places but still linked together and able to share our lives with one another. Thanks girls for a great time! I will always remember hot doggy dog!

ahh a clean house

Is there anything better than a clean house? I just love going to bed with clean sheets, and knowing my house is clean. And I mean really clean! Tonight I went to help Dan with his Anthem show for a couple of hours, picked up the kids, put them to bed and got to work! I turned on some Killers (sam's town album) I love to rock out while cleaning! I cleaned the whole house more than I have in months. I mopped the floors on my hands and knees, cleaned the bathroom, did the laundry, and the dishes and I feel so great! Yay for a clean house and it will last more than 10 minutes because the kids are in bed. I am going to savor this because tomorrow morning by 7:30 it will be dirty, after the dog comes in from outside and Zeke heads out to cover himself in dirt and sweat. But that is the joy of kids and pets!
Right now I have a cleansing face mask on, I am going to jump in the shower and I just might treat myself to a no pudge brownie from Trader Joes!

just some pics

These are just some random pics I took these last few weeks, except for the one I am in obviously. They are all from camping at the beach!

Target is finally turning green!!

How excited was I when cruising through Target with the kids and I saw biodegradable diapers and wipes!!! We use g diapers for Sofia with cloth inside of them, because they are a little on the expensive side to use. We use the disposable g diaper at night and then cloth during the day. Dan and I have been saying for months why don't huggies and pampers produce biodegradable diapers, shame on them for making diapers that don't break down for 500 years!
Target now has these new diapers called Nature baby care, which are $9.49 for a pack of 40. I checked and pampers were $9.49 for a pack of 48. That is not a bad price for a difference of 8 less diapers! And the wipes were comperable (sp?) also. Now in my opinion you have no excuse if you buy diapers to not at least try biodegradable ones! So do it moms and dads!

carrots anyone?

I just had to post this picture of Sofia eating carrots! She is such a messy eater, she enjoys putting her thumb in her mouth after each bite, and so not only is her face covered but her hand also. She then proceeds to rub her eyes, and forehead, touch her legs and belly. She is a crack up, except that carrot does not come out of clothes very easily! Anyway I thought everyone would want to see how cute she is covered in carrots!

ball of stress, that is my nickname

It is so hard not to worry. I feel like it is in my nature to be a constant ball of stress and worry. To be consumed with the what ifs of this crazy world. I need so much help to turn this around, to start over and trust God to take control. It is so easy to say God will take care of it and he is in control. But the truth is that he is in control and his idea of a good plan is not always fun and easy. In fact it just might suck and be really hard. I guess what I need is to be ok with that. My husband who seriously saves me from going crazy told me to read Luke 12 this morning. I did and Jesus said these simple words which we have heard a thousand times, but I really needed to hear again. " Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows"
I don't want to be afraid and stressed out all the time, I want to rest in the truth of his love for me. Thats all, just sharing my struggle of a life time with ya all.

my toes hurt

I think I broke my toes yesterday. It is not even a cool story. The phone rang, it was Stacey, really it is her fault. ANyway I run to answer it and the dog runs in my way I jump over her and slam my foot right into the door. Let me just say it hurt like the dickens! I did not however let any words slip out because my son was present. I did scream loudly which was very upsetting to him. So all day yesterday it was throbbing, and Dan had to carry me around piggy back and do all the chores. Today it feels a little better since I iced it for hours last night. But as Dan said on his blog this morning was crazy, and my toes are partly to blame for that! I also have to admit that I am a wuss and have a low tolerance for pain. I hope my picture doesn't gross anyone out, just looking at someone else's feet is kind of nasty, so sorry for that.

butterfly mugs and tight jeans

This morning I was making myself some coffee with the French Press ( I am recently addicted to coffee every morning). And I was getting a mug out and I reached for my favorite and I had to smile because my long time friend Leila made me this mug as a present for my 21st birthday. And in about a month and a half I will be turning 30!!!! What the heck time flies. I still feel like I am 25 until I am at the plaza and make comments about the kids these days, and what they wear! Maybe I am just jealous that 15 year old boys can wear jeans I can't. Anyway it was setting in that I am almost out of my 20's and how crazy that is to me. Thankfully I have friends who are 30 and they look great so I have hope for myself! Leila if you read this thanks for my mug I love it, it's yellow and happy looking which I need in the morning!

Date night

Last night Dan and I went on a date for the first time since June! We think it must have been June, all of July was devoted to preparing for Kyrgyzstan, and then traveling and being there for 10 days. All of August was devoted to settling in with a new baby, getting used to a family of four, and I started work again, Dan had a few shows. You know life just keeps going, and we had to jump right back in to it. So it was so fun to go out last night. We did the usual dinner and a movie, but since we had not been to the movies since Pirates of the Carribean it was a real treat to go to the movies! We saw The Bourne Ultimatum, which we very much enjoyed, and had dinner at El Torillto, yum. We talked without interruption and didn't have to scarf down our food in order to help someone else or clean up spills and spit up! It was awesome. Family is so fun, but having time alone is so refreshing. Yay for grandparents!

camping!

So the past few days were spent with great friends camping in Santa Barbara. Yay for cooler weather, I heard it was 113 in Riverside on Monday! We have a group of friends who go camping every labor day weekend. We have gone for the past 6 years, wow times flies, we started with only 3 little kids, this year we had 11! It was a blast! Day at the beach, campfires, dirty kids, and only a few little fights. It added up to a great time with friends who I love and miss. (annie!)
Next time the pictures might look more orderly, I am still figuring out this crazy blog thing ( I am so old) and Dan is not home, if he were it would look much better!
These pictures are a small snipit of the hundreds of pictures I took of the weekend, as you can see there is a bit of a theme, Zeke and the dirt were close friends! But isn't that what camping is all about!