text + best friend = smile

Me: This is very important, can I borrow your Prices Right Wii video game
Em: LOL. sure its the older version though. but then so am i and you still like me.
Me: I don't just like you i love you more than my luggage.
Em: Aww thanks

Fake Doc Martens and sarcastic humor brought us together. Very few things keep us apart.... for too long.

Soccer Boy and Girl

A new season of soccer. Julia scored the "Dallas Cowboy" team, so far they look good (hair bows, soccer bag with names stitched on, t-shirts, custom waterbottles, matching head bands) but they haven't been much to chat about on the field. I think there is way to much forced positioning going on.

Jackson on the other hand is the opposite. His team has no banner, no shirts... nothing extra. They are 1-1 and Jack scored 2 goals last weekend. Enough for the coach to pull him and allow the other kids some elbow room. I called him ball hog super stud, Chad called him "good boy".

BTW I love both kids, no favorites here, Julias pictures did not go to my e-mail address so I doubt I will ever see them. Booooo hooooo

Nuff said!!

Fall..... I swear it's right around the corner...

I simply can not wait for fall. Since I have the pleasure of being up at 5:30am I have noticed the cool crisp smell and feel of the air and I can see it roll in before the blazing sun burns it off by 8:00am. The kids are living in layers and while I hate tracking down all the clothes.. I love the fact that the season is changing.

I wrote a summer manifesto and I think I need to do one for Fall. It always helps give me a GUIDELINE to the type of season I would like to share with my family.

So here it goes. I want to spend this fall 2010 doing the things I love best with my family and friends. I want to cook lots of soup, spend time working on my THIRTY THREE list, spend soccer weekends picniking during the games, get in a last camping adventure, eat apple pie, thrift some jackets, make apple cider from scratch, cook a few turkeys, spend time on the porch under a blanket with HOT COCO and muffins, read more to the kids or in Jacksons case be read too, relax on Sundays and kick back more on the couch, craft nights with Julia, garden fall veggies and last but not least chill out from the hot summer days.

Fall finds #2

Fall finds #2 by cv715 featuring a vintage coat

Fall Finds #1

Fall Finds #1 by cv715 featuring flats shoes

Lovely finds for fall! I just want to surround myself with all these wonderful things. They make me smile, they make me shine and they make my wallet super light. I may pick up a few pieces but I hope to find equally good finds thrifting.

kids music for a cause

I started reading Pacing the Panic Room a year or so ago and was immediately captured by the photography of Ryan Marshall. Over the past 16 or so months I have been a recent visitor and spent many a hours wandering through his postings, his photography and his video makings. This guy is good. One of his recent projects has been in support of his stepson LB and his diagnose of SMS. Ryan along with various musical buddies, a lot of time and effort and a ton of faith have created a kids album for sale on itunes.

100% of the proceeds from the sale of this album goes to a grant fund he established with PRISMS. The money will be made available to grad students who wish to make SMS their field of choice, the benefit of this is more hard research being done, which leads to more case studies, which leads to more answers for parents and researchers.

As part of a huge blogger movement I have added a widget to help support the launch of his CD. If you notice on the widget at the very bottom there is a Make a Donation feature. This is here for anyone that is moved to make a larger donation than simply buying the album. If you can mention it, or just draw some attention to the fact that it is there, that would be lovely.

For more details about SMS or Ryan and LB visit his blog. I promise you won't regret it. To purchase the CD click below. It's good stuff.

Camping weekend!

Styling a Bloody Mary bar and a Smore Bar. I know its not your grandma's camping but I am mixing two of my favorite things for my Birthday camping trip. I love to style tables and parties in general and this weekend I wanted to bring some "fun" to our camping trip. We have a few guests joining us so I thought I would add some fun details to the meals. Bloody Marys count as a meal you know.

So far I am beyond 20 ingredients for the bar and the smores have been upgraded a bit. My biggest problem with styling these bars is gaining height and since I am hauling everything with me I predict the same problem this time. So we shall see what come of this adventure.

I have so much to do that I sort of feel like doing nothing at all.

I thought I would make a list, because making lists is not on my to do list but it makes me happy.

1. Call Kaiser and check on babies stool samples.
2. Look up Teen Mom on MTV and post on message board about my dislike for Farrah.
3. Organize for back to school
4. Work on family calendar for Sept/Oct
5. Call sister about family calendar for Sept/Oct
6. Send thank you to Duana for super fun craft night last week.
7. Begin planning the Gabba Gabba party
8. Keep reviewing the ipod family (as I have been for 3 years) and continue to convince myself what a waste of time and money all these items are. Shit my CD player at home works just fine. And that ole paper and pen isn't out of style. What college students don't write in cursive....
9. Pick a day to start my Bikram classes and STICK to it!
10. Blog my Sacramento trip, cause it was fun and I want to remember parts of it, and forget one small part.
11. Start digging for treasure in random places because in order for #7 and #8 and #9 to happen I need to find me some GOLD.

2010-1977

2010-1977 tells me I am going to be 33 at the end of this month. I am not sure how I feel about 33. The number looks young, it sort of stands off the page a bit. It doesn’t match the death sentence that I think 43 would. 33 kind of sounds like I still have a chance to get it all back. 33 seems sort of like the highlight time. Like this year I could really make some changes and steer this ship onto a newer fresher course.

A LIST OF 33 BEFORE 34
I have seen other artists, bloggers and mothers do this and I thought it would be fun to try this year. Of course not all of these things can be accomplished, but it would be fun to try. Lets see how far I can get!
1. Mail out 33 postcards or hand written letters, and no Christmas doesn’t count
2. Find 10 new places to eat
3. Try 33 new recipes
4. Learn how to sew on paper and in journals
5. Spend 33 minutes outside on the sidewalk with chalk
6. Take 33 self portraits
7. Walk 33 minutes or more 2 times a week
8. Scrap 33 pages
9. Journal 33 prompts
10. Photo shoot with mom and dad
11. Do a week cleanse at least twice
12. 33 random acts of kindness
13. Craft a lot of my Christmas presents
14. Buy more Etsy and less Target
15. Build a nest
16. Wear more vintage house dresses
17. Wear my fun extensions more often
18. Spend 33 minutes a day working on crafty goodness
19. Photograph 33 new subjects in Macro
20. Eat 33% less taco bell
21. Plant 10 new things in the garden, starting with lettuce
22. Blog 33 times
23. Spend 33 dollars in a candy store (that one is going to be hard)
24. Find 33 different ways to tell the kids how much I love them
25. Take a 33 day challenge of some sort, maybe walk 33 minutes a day for 33 days?
26. Watch 33 movies, thanks Netflix
27. Once a month craft days
28. Once a month purge days
29. Host a girls only camping retreat in the cabin
30. Take a online class on a new crafting concept
31. Pick a subject to photograph and start a collage
32. Host a Porch Wine Night
33. Live in the moment and recognize it, journal it, craft it, express it, share it

4 weeks away and I already have my entire year planned!

Renegade 2010

It was really everything I dreamed it would be. I am exploding with ideas and ready to craft. Now I just need to find the time. I can't wait till next year!

Crafts.. crafts and some more stuff

Sewing sort of fell off the map of creativity quickly so I am making a second attempt to revive my interest. Rachel Denbow is teaching a beginners class to sewing and I am all over it.

Class description: Home Ec is not just for teenagers anymore, it's for everyone, everywhere!! Leigh-Ann, Courtney and myself have created this online sewing class for beginners and those who want to develop and polish their sewing skills!
We've planned 3 Guides, 26 step-by-step Projects with at least 1 new Sewing Technique in each, 3 Live Chats and a tips post on How to Invent & Adapt projects of your own!

I am super excited and can’t wait to pull out that machine, again.

I did some work on my front porch and now I found the most perfect do it yourself chandelier project.

Found in Sunset magazine, my favorite parts of this project are the mason jars and thrifted baskets. This will look perfect hanging from our front porch. My gut is telling me to paint it white however. And to look for colored gems.

I am super excited to attend the LA Renegade craft fair. I am sort of waiting to fall in love with EVERYTHING!!! Plus I like being around like minded crafty people and I think that is what I will find. Inspiration all along the way.

Summer time is so full of new expierences and fun....

Misc.. random... thoughts...

Nothing Compares – Next song on my Karaoke list….

James and I start Baby Boogie tomorrow. I am not quite sure what to expect with this community class. Maybe he will learn some new dance moves, the sprinkler that he has picked up from his dad and the head bob that he has perfected since he was 8mths old is getting old.

Country music bums me out sometimes. I mean talk about rejection…. Over and over and over again. It can get to you.

Do I really want to listen to a song titled Hillbilly Bone? changing channel….

The kids want to go to Hometown Buffet tonight. I want to run… away…. from Hometown Buffet. I screwed myself by saying.. “anywhere we have coupons for” and they found that one. Being thrifty will ruin my digestive track for a few days.

What is my current obsession?
Answer: celebrity bs, especially Lindsay Lohan drama… I am addicted to that patch of crazy.

What is the first thing I am going to do tomorrow morning?
Answer: When baby James wakes up I will bring him into each of the kids bedrooms so he can wake them up with “good mownin sissy, good mownin bruda”. They love it! So do I.

What am I looking forward to the most this weekend?
Answer: Spending sometime planning out the re-do of the patio. Figuring out how to do it FREE!!

It’s gray outside but I feel sunny inside. It has me confused.

Looking forward ...

_MG_7358, originally uploaded by cv715.

family time, new friends, campfires, cold drinks, hot sun, food, food, food, games, pool time and berry picking.

WANTS not NEEDS

I want to buy three pricey items. I have spent weeks, months and years looking over them, reading reviews, dreaming, promising Chad that I will use them, budgeting for them, re-budgeting for them, making pro and con lists.....I know that when I go through that much thought that it means that this is a want that is on its way to being justified as a need.

These items will not keep us warm (or cold as it is summer), they will not feed my birdies, they will not put shoes on their itty bitty birdie feet, they will not put gas in my car... they are simply a want that I really, really need.

Scanner - I need you to help me organize my paper monster that is threatening to take over my whole house. How lovely it would be to simply go through the mail and scan everything that needs to be "filed" and then shred the original. Scanning receipts, article, school papers.... I can scan it ALL!!!! But for a price tag of $250.00 is this really a need??

Camera - I absolutely have a camera, 2 in fact. But its old (like 6 years) and I want something new with a bit more umppphhh. I could use the money towards some better glass but I really want a video/camera combo. At $799.95 this one is a tough purchase but I really really want it and considering that I use my camera almost daily it's hard for me not to want to champion this buy. How many more times can I say want....

Diet - yeah I went there. I read about 1st Personal Diet about a year ago. I was still nursing at the time so I knew it wasn't something I could do but I always kept it bookmarked. It sounds kooky and crazy but I really want to try it. 12 weeks of a specific eating plan designed around your blood. I told you it was kooky. $249.00 investment in me?? Or waste of money?? Seems like I need to just dust off the pilates dvd's and maybe get off the couch a bit more. But is $249.00 really worth it for 20 lbs of won't freakin budgeness weight. maybe...

So back to the budget and the pro and con list. I don't see any of these purchase in the near future so I will just keep dreaming and hoping that my money tree sprouts some... money.

Random thoughts on a Tuesday

Organize Create Organize Create Organize Create
These two words are tumbling through my head all day long. I am never completely fulfilled in direction when it comes to these two things. Pricey scanners, simple sweet baskets, drawers with dividers, pom pom makers, new fabric, fun DIY tutorials, new lens, photoshop tips, piles of paper, recipes, purged clothes, new classes, cards, invites, parties to plan, soccer schedule, swim class, sewing, re-decorating, Baby Boogie Schedule, Dr Apts.

Go Move Go Move Go Move Go Move Go Move
It seems like I never stop, these two words move through me from the moment I awake to the moment I fall asleep. 45 minutes countdown, hair up, load, unload, buckle, buckle, buckle, drop off, rush, faster, slow down too fast, coffee, flip flops off heels on, hair down, and BREAK 60 mins to get it all done, back to work, the seconds till 5:30 and … go …heels off flip flops on, hair back up … Pull in, breath and walk into my life

Lists Dreams Lists Dreams Lists Dreams Lists
I don’t ever think I really sleep when I am sleeping. Ideas in the shape of dreams form in the night and pour out in the morning usually during my 45min countdown when the last thing I need to be thinking about are my mind clouds. The lists are where they find there way too. To do or not to do .. is that the question?, 3 family calendars and 1 for the mindless who shall go nameless, to do for work, to do for life, school papers, all different shades of pink and green, fill in the blanks, fill in the boxes, due dates, real due dates, making space, making time, feeling fulfilled, being fulfilled, connecting the dots between and making what is not reality into reality.

Music moves me.....

Just a few diddies that have been playing through my head:

1000 Awesome Things

So I stumbled onto this blog 1000 Awesome Things today and it really made me pretty darn happy. Not even through the first page and I already could relate to a few of the writers awesome feelings. It made me feel like no matter how different we all really think we are there are some things that can not be denied. Like how awesome it is to get a high 5 from a baby. Check it out and see the mini video about the site and book.

BTW my awesome thing today was a hot piece of BBQ Chicken Pizza when my stomach was growling for attention. Tart BBQ sauce and melted cheese over chicken with red onions... So eating good food when you didn't expect it and were really hungry!!

72 hours

After being away from two of my birdies for three days I always get nervous when I see them for the first time since our separation. Sort of that, I haven't seen you in forever how much have you changed nervous. It sort of feels like pressure, like I may explode as soon as they come into site. I mean really what can happen in 72 hours. Well, long lovely curls can be cut, wavy tousled hair can be shaved, you can literally grow 3 inches and out of your shoes. Sweet daughters come back with not so sweet attitudes. So much can change in 3 days and yet it only takes a few seconds to feel like everything is back where it should be. Well except for the long, lovely curls, those take a few years to grow back.

This weekend after James had been away from his brother and sister for 3 long days he made it clear that he did miss his siblings. After the pick up we stopped by the market to grab some dinner and James could not keep his hands off his brother, it was a shopping cart love fest. Jackson hanging off the edge with his arms wrapped around his brother and James leaning out almost ready to fall but being protected and held back by two straps. They were intertwined in this feverish grasp and would only let go when the smallness of the isle would not allow them to continue their embrace. James knew they were back home and he had missed all the sisterly and brotherly attention. He missed the nightly routine of hugs and kisses to each of them before bedtime. He missed being the cheerleader to their festival of Wii games. He missed putting on their scattered shoes that laid all over and stomping around the living room. He missed Julia in her role as little mother, he missed the extra pair of hands that would get him a snack if he asked just right. "Nack sissee, nack..peezzz"

The realization is they miss him too. Julia asked to spend extra time with James on Friday morning. I asked her why and she quietly and sadly replied, because we won't see him for such a long time. They experience what I do. They know that in 72 hours so much can change, baby's car seats can be turned around so now they can no longer see their cherub brothers face as they drive, they know curly blond locks can be trimmed down into a big boy haircut. They know that the chubby baby they left behind on Friday morning is now the taller lankier younger brother who can now reach the top of the dining room table and climb onto the couch by himself. For some 72 hours seems like a flash a blink of the eye but in our home, with our family 72 hours feels like forever and everything seems to change.

Cookies and Milk Party!!

Also called... a reason to eat cookies!

So I have been daydreaming about this type of activity for months. Spurred on by images from various blogs it finally took this blog post and offer of freebie artwork to get me to commit. So this summer I will host a Moms Club event themed "Milk and Cookies". I will probably host in July and make it a 2:00pm afar so that the kids can have time to bake/decorate cookies (hopefully while James is asleep) and play some games celebrating the wonderfulness of cookies!! All before Oprah is on. I will handout cookie cutters as a "thank you" for coming gift and my plan is too ask each mother to bring a dozen cookies for a cookie swap. I will also have a giveaway of a cookie jar for one lucky mom to take all her cookies home in. What a fun way to spend some of the hottest hours of the day don't you think? Well except the baking cookies part.. hmm I may have to re-think that option?

Oh and side note: Soy milk will be provided.