A cropped story.

I took this sweet picture of Jack and Mara this morning.

And then I realized that I had cropped out the rest of the story.

The sweetest moments in life can be found 

even when there's a lot of poo.

No poblano... yet.

I finally started some pepper plants for my salsa garden. I'll have Greg make you the best salsa in 75-90 days, give or take.

And while I worked on this little project, Ike cleaned out my kitchen cupboards for me.

Makes you sort of wonder what he's doing while I blog this.

Goodbye, old friend.

My crock pot is dead. I'm a little sad. It was one of 3 given to my parents when they where married and then passed onto me when I went to college. I was delighted to own a never-used twenty year old HARVEST YELLOW crock pot. Vintage and brand new! It made me happy every time I used it - Well, until the last time, when it barely heated and ruined dinner. It was a good 12 years, old friend.

No more home phone for me...

...so just call my cell. In the meantime, I'll be trying to convince the boys why they have to learn a new phone number. Stubborn, stubborn children.

Hey, Doc...

Remember where we were last year? I'm pretty sure that this song was playing as we watched the sunset.

Or how about the year before? I can't quite remember what we did on Valentine's, but we'd just returned from here and it went something like this:

In 2006 we kept it pretty low key because Jack had just been born and Charlie was just a little squirt but adventures were just around the corner with my surgery, our new house, and our 'summer of fun'.

On 2-14-05 We saw our first ultrasound for Jack. Then, a couple of weeks later we took Charlie to California.

That's as far back as our digital archives go but realizing that this is our 11th Valentine's Day together and that I'm more in love with you than I've ever been makes me the happiest girl in the world. Who knows where life will take us but as long as it's with you it'll be good. You make everything good. Today though it'll take us to sushi then home to our 3 little men. What more than that could a girl ask for?

Love you!

Billi

What we've been doing this winter...

...Lots of Lego's (I love Charlie's giraffe)... and all manner of construction including post consumer recycled costume design:









Lots of Play Dough. While I was working one afternoon Jack set this on my desk and said, "Here, Mom, I made you a new mouse.":

Lots of light sabers or "life savers" as Charlie refers to them... and other weapons:

*Note the Dominican Republic flag doubles as an excellent Jedi robe.

**Jack took the photo of Charlie with the gun. Sweet.

Lots of snuggling to watch TV:

Lots of play dates:

Lots of longing for our bikes which are stored in the crawl space:

Midnight musings

Where the heck did these 3 little boys come from?

I tell Charlie everyday that he's not aloud to get any bigger. 5 is the limit. That's it. I'm serious. I put my hand on top of his head and push down and he just laughs and says, "You can't stop me from growing!" Dang.

It's going by way too fast.

Photos taken 1-15-09

Ike and I are the same

We feel the same way about folding laundry:

And would prefer to blog about it instead:

Because it's Friday

Make one here, it's fun.
Found on the rockstar diaries.

Status report 1:56pm

Bad guys eliminated...

...but still in jammies.

Really... it won't...

Image from here.
I'm having a bit of trouble doing it all right now. Let's be honest... I've never really completely had it together. There's always something, well, several things. And that's okay. Most days.

I may not get Christmas cards out this year. True story.

Home made neighbor and gifts? Not so much.

You didn't want those extra calories anyway, right?




Christmas shopping? Well. We're keeping it simple this year but I still have to actually do some shopping. But it's really really cold outside. Perfect for procrastination. Really.



This was going to be the year of the advent calendar tradition. Unfortunately, checking the TV guide for the Christmas show of the evening is as far as I've gotten. Oh, and starting to decorate the tree. And, we've read some Christmas books. Next week - a gingerbread house. WAIT - we made paper chains and ceremoniously cut them every day. The full advent calendar tradition will have to wait until next year for it's official introduction though. Maybe.






Even though things aren't perfect we're still managing to have some fun. A few jolly laughs even. It's our first Christmas with Isaac. Every time baby Jesus is mentioned I see the boys look at him. It reminds me what Christmas is about and that I'm grateful for what we have and especially for the moments that we enjoy together.

Now where did I put that blog of mine.....

OH! HERE IT IS!!!
HI! Did you miss me? Probably not because you're even busier than I am. But it's been fun, right?

IN MY HEAD I've been writing lovely little posts about the end of summer and easing into a great fall schedule (but then the schedule hasn't been so easy.. more mad chaos than anything and you know what? I'm not so happy with summer ending and all that anyways because I really wanted to use my Swimways Spring Float just one more time while the boys frolicked around the pool!).

You would have laughed at all the quirky little things the boys have been saying and doing too, I'm sure. Jack turned THREE!!! I'm such a jerk for not posting a birthday post for him. Jack, when you're older, and reading this (as I'm sure you will because this is after all for posterity), I'm very sorry. Mommy does love you, Jacker-bean.

You know where it really went wrong? On August 29th - which marked the 10th anniversary of my first date with Greg. TEN YEARS!!! Now that was going to be a post of all posts! I just needed to drag out some old albums.. and the scanner from the top of my bedroom closet.... and well... that's why it was the post that never was... it's actually Greg's fault!

Also, there's this matter of kid #3 soon to be arriving. I have a small group of people that I pay to tell me how adorable I look and to say things like, "you're not even wearing maternity jeans, are you???" Last week, my dentist said, "I didn't even notice you were pregnant!".... really?REALLY? Come on, that's a bit of a stretch now. IF YOU CAN'T SEE THIS ENORMOUS BELLY THEN HOW THE HECK CAN YOU BE SURE I DON'T HAVE ANY TINY LITTLE CAVITIES IN MY TEETH? Sure enough - no cavities. Anyway--- my c-section for kid #3 will be November 6th. But. For some reason.... he seems like the type to take matters into his own hands. I have this feeling that I don't have 6 leisurely weeks of life left before he comes. I just know he's going to come earlier. AND - we don't have any idea what his name is. I'm hoping he comes out with a "HELLO, MY NAME IS..." tag. It would make introductions go a bit smoother.

I noticed that I have 1165 new items in my bloglines to catch up on too... Huh. Don't think I'm going to be able to read them all tonight but it's been great chatting with you!

OUT LIKE TROUT!

"Happy Birthday, Jan!"

My birthday started off with my OBGYN congratulating me on my awesome weight gain... perfect validation for a pregnant girl. I did some shopping, painted my nails, watched a little HGTV. I got a stack of birthday cards, tons of e-mails, and a slew of text messages! The day culminated with a night out with just Greg (which always feels like a vacation), and a group of Cheesecake Factory waiters singing "Happy Birthday, Jan" over my chocolate coconut cream cheesecake. Hilarious.

29 is going to be a very good year!

My birthday horoscope: The months ahead are likely to start on a slightly dull note, but a new arrival on the scene may be enough to liven up October (MAYBE THE BABY WILL BE A WEEK EARLY?!!). There’s some good luck due in November, while a work or school matter in early December may require some inventive thinking (Work always requires inventive thinking and I'll surely be back to it by December). A fabulous development or lucky break might turn out to have a downside in January, and February could see you trying to pull off an impressive juggling feat when you’d be better prioritizing! Some personal space in March will help you to work out where you’re going in a particular relationship. Watch the spending in April! Don’t over commit yourself in May; June is fabulous for travel, while July is a good month for generating some extra cash! (I'm liking the sounds of that!)