project 365 - day 51

Logan got to help mom bake cupcakes today!

I think this was his favorite part.

Although he did like pouring the ingrediants into the bowl and turning the mixer on and off too.

project 365 - day 50

This is one of those days that you just want to crawl back into bed. Logan was fussy, whiny, and defiant all day. Here Logan was taking a bath and decided that he would not let me wash him. It was a morning that he had been telling me "NO" since he woke up. Finally after a struggle to wash his little body I took him out all wet and gave him a time out.

Then the project 365 instinct kicked in and I wanted to take a picture of him to represent my day. He on the other hand wanted nothing to do with the camera. He pushed it and myself away, hid in the closest and did not want me to take the picture. Well mommy won on this one, b/c I still got the picture.

After his time out he got back in the bath, screaming as I washed him quickly and got him out.

Pretty much the rest of the day was the same...

I guess you win some and you lose some!

project 365 - day 49

It was a special treat today to meet Grandma Sheryl for yogurt in Davis. I think we stayed at the yogurt shop for 2 hours. The kids got a bag full of Valentine goodies from Grandma which kept them busy and getting to love on Grandmas was the best.

I realized that it is only a 20 minute drive to Davis and that we need to do this more often. It is a great mid-week outing to look forward too.

project 365 - day 48

This is the only picture I have for today. It is a random picture that Logan took with my phone that I never knew he took until I was looking for pictures to upload today. We are at AWANA's waiting for sisters to get out of their classes.

project 365 - day 47

Logan = 30 valentines, Abbey = 35 valentines, Emily = 40 valentines

Total: 105 custome cute Valentines

(wow thank goodness I don't have 10 kids)
Logan had the "you make our world colorful" valentine, Abbey had the candy cane heart sucker valentines, and Emily had the "ipod" Valentines

project 365 - day 46

Been working hard on Emily's valentines for school...

yes these are "ipod" valentines. When we saw this idea on the internet she says "those will totally be easy to make". Then as we are making all 40 of them she says "these are harder to make than I thought". too funny. I did on the other hand know how hard they would be but was willing anyway.

She got a ton of compliments on them at school though. They did turn out pretty awesome.

project 365 - day 44 & 45

Okay I'm totally slackin off. Nothing for 2 more days. Crazy. Oh well, guess that is just life!

project 365 - day 43

Skyping with cousins!

We all definately look forward to our skype time with Julia, Jessica, Uncle Chris and Auntie Pam.

project 365 - day 42

no pic today! kind of sad looking back that I didn't get a pic today but I do know that I was still so sick. Of all the days to miss I give myself a pass today.

project 365 - day 41

Tonight Abbey and Logan earned their AWANA vests. Logan has been working very hard to learn his Cubby key verse and motto. Along with a couple other important verses. He knows that "God loves us... and sent his son" 1John 4:10. His motto is "Jesus loves us". "all have sinned" Romans 3:23 and "while we were still sinners...Christ died for us". He rocks!

Abbey is a rockstar too, she memorizes those verses immediately and got through a ton on the first day of class. This is definately the challenge she needs.

Another great thing about AWANA is that all 3 kiddos get to go which means a date night every Tuesday for Jim and I. Whoot Whoot, even though I was sick tonight I toughed it out so we could have a little date night. Panda express in the car and went to the Bible book store. nothing fancy since I wasn't feeling well but I really wanted to go out on a date tonight.

project 365 - day 40

Today Abbey wrote a letter to the author of the A to Z mystery books. There was a prompt at the end of the book for the kids to write to the author. Of course my Abbey girl wanted to write the letter (I have no idea what she wrote though b/c she sealed it before I could read it).

I am curious to see if she will get a response or not. The book was copywritten 10 years ago.

project 365 - day 39

Em and I chillin on the couch both sickies staying home from church today.

project 365 - day 38

Story time at the library with Daddy today!

Love it when Dad get's to have a day off to enjoy the day to day stuff too.

project 365 - day 37

I'm so excited that my idea worked out. Since the trip was so last minute I didn't have time to make little autograph books for the kids. Emily wanted to print out a picture then have everyone sign. That lead me to the thought of bringing a mat from a picture frame and having them sign that then put in a picture from Disneyland when we got home. I LOVE IT! Turned out exactly how I wanted it to. Now instead of never looking at the autographs again the kids will see them everyday and be reminded of the magic!

project 365 - day 36

Last day of our adventure we got to have breakfast with Goofy and then play at the hotel pool/slides. The place was empty which meant that the characters would stop and play with the kiddos. It was great!

project 365 - day 35

Day 2 in Disneyland started off with "Mickey's Morning Madness". Again Logan was so excited, he danced when the characters danced and did not take his eyes off of them.

In the pic above, I love how Minnie gets down on the kids' level and signs her autograph. Too sweet!

project 365 - day 34

It was an awesome day at Disneyland! There were NO crowds at all. Plus we got early admission into the park today, we literally looked around and saw maybe 10 other people there. It was crazy. Looks like our last minute trip was a super duper fantastico decision.

Logan had the biggest smile ever when he saw Mickey and his gang. I just love the huge smile and look of magic on his face. Definately PRICELESS!

project 365 - day 33

I know funny! We've never stayed at the Disneyland Hotel before (maybe as a child, but I don't remember). I was just in aww at how magical our room was. It was just an ordinary room, nothing extrodinary but they brought little pieces of Mickey everywhere you looked. The picture above are the bathroom lights, then the sheets had faint little Mickey's , the bathroom tile. And the firework lights over the bed. It was all so magical. I don't know if I will be able to go back there without staying at the Disneyland Hotel.

project 365 - day 32

Just the beginning of our luggage for our super duper last minute Disneyland Vacation!

We decided today (Sunday) to go to Disneyland tomorrow. The girls were super excited and it was a total no stress trip. No time to think about anything or plan anything out, we just packed and went. Abbey didn't believe us at first, but was so excited when we finally convinced her it was true.

project 365 - day 31

Jim playing with Lucy!

project 365 - day 30

Today Logan put himself to bed after crying himself to sleep he woke up a happy boy.

He wouldn't stop throwing a fit so I told him to go to bed, he did which I was surprised at. But when he woke up, he was a happy guy again.

project 365 - day 29

A REFLECTION...

This picture was taken in Sept of 2010. I have been going through for hours now and uploading pics to print. I have gotten way too far behind, which is not like me for the picture department. Everything else yes, but not pictures. I used to not even delete them from my card until they were saved on the computer, 2 discs and printed. (OCD I know)

I came across this picture and had to share. I can't believe this was a year and 4 months ago. He seems so little and now he seems so big. I'm having a really hard time with my last baby growing up so fast. =(

project 365 - day 28

Love, Love , Love this little armoire. This is the one I scored at the thrift store (brand new still in package). I had no idea what it looked like inside but thought I'm a handy girl so I'm going for it. This cost me a woppin $15. I got the 2 they had and will paint the other one a deep orange for a cool accent piece in my front room.

project 365 - day 27

YAHTZEE!

While waiting for the girls to get done at AWANA we played games and had starbucks. Logan played yahtzee for the first time and he got 3 yahtzees. We thought for sure he was going to win but then Jim got a couple yahtzees right at the end to win the game.

project 365 - day 26

A stellar performance!

The girls had their first music concert tonight. They did great. Emily played the flute and got to also perform a trio. Abbey played the violin and also got to perform a solo playing "Jingle Bells". It was such a great evening!

We were all so excited that Grandma Sheryl and Poppa were there too, it really made the girls feel so special.

project 365 - day 25 bonus

This is just too funny not too share!!!!!

project 365 - day 25

Getting Ready...

to celebrate Abbey's 1/2 birthday at school tomorrow.

We've found that Abbey kind of gets the raw end of the deal for celebrating her bday at school. If she is lucky the teachers will do a big celebration for all the summer bday's at the end of the school year but she doesn't get a special day to celebrate at school. So we came up with the idea of celebrating her 1/2 bday instead.

We are making neopoltin cupcakes. Brownie on the bottom, strawberry cake and vanilla frosting on top. Oh so yummy!

Happy 7 1/2 Bday Abbey!!! :-)

project 365 - day 24

Celebrating my sister Sara's 38th bday!

Had yummy dinner at Chevy's then all played Bingo together. Super sweet for the birthday girl she won $300.

I love my big sis she is a great role model, mom, and sister and friend.

Glad I could celebrate with you on your special day!

project 365 - day 23

Library Day!

I can not say enough how much I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE our library. We have been going to story time since we moved to Fairfield and I will be sad when Logi is in Kindergarten and I have no more kiddos to go. The kids get to listen to stories, music, dance and end with a craft. Doesn't get any better. We love our Ms. Julie (and Kristen too)

project 365 - day 22

DONE!

...well almost...

This is Logan's baby album, I mean baby albums yes plural. I think I was determined to not let Logan get the short end of the stick when it comes to capturing his first year. I remember comparing my baby album to my sisters albums (I'm the 3rd child too) and I was always so sad that I didn't have as many pictures and that my album was not as complete as theirs.

In all fairness though, the kids do have about the same amount of pages in all the albums but with Logan I have drastically changed the way I scrapbook and now have thicker embellishments. (that's my story and I'm stickin to it)

Anyway all that to say that the project that I have had out on the table now for 5 days is finally complete enough to put away. Phew!!!!

project 365 - day 21

This is my favorite! I love when Logi puts his head back and gives out a full belly laugh. He got his ticklishness from Daddy. One little tickle anywhere on his body and he will laugh like crazy.

Tickle, Tickle, Tickle!!!!

project 365 - day 20

Peacocks!

Yes, we see these beautiful birds every single morning in our court. We live next to a peacock preservation area and they roam the neighborhood. I love it... the kids every day are so excited to see them. We count how many there are and if they are boy peacocks or girl peacocks.

If you didn't know, the boys are the ones with the pretty feathers like the one in the picture.

I so love my neighborhood (and not just b/c of the peacocks)!

project 365 - day 19

Just a little inside joke from Poppa!

Emily wouldn't stop singing "It's a Small World After All" when everyone was here for Christmas, since Poppa was staying in Em's room, before he left he hid lots of these little papers all over her room. Let's see it is Jan. 16th (so 3 weeks later) and she is still finding them. Her count is up to 24 so far.

We all know Emily though right, yeah she got him back too.

project 365 - day 18

Abbey doing a little Sunday afternoon craft. We were all relaxing today. Em had a friend over, Jim watched football, I had a nice relaxing hang out time on the couch, then did a little project for Em's class at school. Top it off with pizza for dinner and ice cream for dessert.

It was a great Sunday!

project 365 - day 17

A cool pic from Clear Lake! I love the way the sun is piering through the trees.

project 365 - day 16

The beginning of a great relaxing weekend with friends!

So glad I could go and hang with my girl friends and catch up on life.

project 365 - day 15

Poor Emily! Today Em started her orthodontia process. She got her spacers in today and got molds made (picture above) for the spreader. She's got a major overbite that needs to be corrected while she is young.

She has 2 more appts next week then in 2-3 months she will have braces on her 4 top front teeth.

The whole process will take about a year.

She's in a lot of pain tonight, but I think a smoothy tomorrow for lunch at school will cheer her up.

(hey who says the picture has to be top quality, sometimes the phone camera has to work)

project 365 - day 14

Emily's class and their 2nd grade buddies made over 300 valentine cards for the troops serving our country. Since I'm "room mom" I got to glue all the lollipops on the cards tonight. Luckily though I have a great team, we all worked toghether and got them done fast. Thanks Team Millard!

project 365 - day 13 bonus

Bonus Picture!

How could I not share this one?

Apparently someone forgot to tell him the #1 boy rule about handling guns: YOU NEVER STICK THE GUN DOWN YOUR PANTS...

project 365 - day 13

This picture has a couple things going on here. Not only does it capture our school morning breakfast rush. The girls all dressed ready for school, Logan and mom still in pajamas (you have to just imagine me behind the camera in my pjs. LOL). But this picture also represents what I want to do every morning... DEVOTIONS!!!! We have let morning devotions slip away into never never land and I am bringing them back. It literally took 2 minutes to read the devotion and a verse. Then we chated about why it's a good idea to Trust God instead of ourselves as we got out the door. How easy and a perfect way to start a day together.

project 365 - day 12

My little guy has learned how to use the mouse and play Disney Junior games on the computer. He picked this up in one night very quickly. I'm amazed at how smart these little guys can be. I do love that he sits on my lap and we play his little games together.

project 365 - day 11

Yipee, yipee, yipee!

It is looking soooo good right now. I still have so much work left but so far I am beyond excited at the progress. Next I have to put a top coat on, then sand and paint the legs black. Chairs are a whole different ball game, we are going to scrap the chairs that came with it and try to find some other used ones to match it.

project 365 - day 10

My new project has begun!

I got this table from my in-laws and it really fits perfectly in our new dining area. I can't afford a new onek so I am refinishing/painting their old one. This table is 25+ years old and all in all is in great condition. Day 1 we put a paint stripper on to get all the varnish off, let it sit overnight then scraped it all off on Day 2. Also on day 2 we cleaned it and sanded it.

Hoping that tomorrow on day 3 we can start the staining process. I've repurposed furniture but never like this, never stained wood before, but at the end of the night both Jim and I felt pretty confident that it's going to work out. I didn't post a pic of the table once we sanded it tonight b/c it got too dark but I'll post one tomorrow. Yippee! I think I will have a new table in no time!

project 365 - day 9

Mommy look at my owie!!

Yes my son came just like this to me this morning showing me his owie on his finger.

How do you not stop to take a picture!

project 365 - day 8

Today was a day that ended a lot of fun anticipation!

All the items above are things that I've been wanting for some time now. I got my new phone today (mine has been so slow for a long time). I've been wanting purple thickers (a scrapbook addiction heehee). I got the items I need to put together a 365 project photo album the album itself isn't in the picture b/c I had to order that one online, and the awesome Smash Journal we wanted to get back in June but couldn't find them anywhere, even on line (that one is for Abbey).

Love it when you've been wanting to get something for a while and when you finally can you care still super excited. It's reassurance for me that it is a good purchase.

project 365 - day 7

I love Jammy shots! The kids were all hiding in Em's bed this morning, when I found them and was tickling them all I quickly said "hey stay right there" I heard the complaining "Aaaa she's going to get her camera" LOL way too funny. They know me too well. I had to bribe them all with an M&M to get them to look at the camera for me. Hahaha, oh the power of a little round M&M.

project 365 - day 6

I couldn't just choose one!
Today we had a "Staycation" We all got to choose one thing we wanted to do today, the only stipulation was that it couldn't cost anything.
This was our agenda today:
1. Go for a hike at Pena Adobe, found an awesome tire swing, had lunch and played with our walkie talkies - Jim's idea
2. Got a little treat and took it to the park - Logan's idea
3. Played reverse hide and seek in our court - Em's idea
4. Made pizzas for dinner
5. Played a new game, Sequence, that Santa got us for Christmas - My idea
6. Colored on a big piece of butcher paper - Ab's idea.

We had so much fun today and only spent $6 on our little afternoon treat! Days like these are the best.

project 365 - day 5

My hubby and I!

Today we were supposed to go to Bodega Bay just the 2 of us. Plans often change when a kiddo gets sick...so no Bodega Bay but we were still able to spend the day together just the 2 of us. We hung around our hometown and went to the movies had a great lunch at a restaurant we had both been wanting to try (Spice Kitchen is yummy!), shopped a little, hung out, played games, and got to go have coffee together. It was a great compromise to our original get away plans.

I love this man and after 14 1/2 years of marriage I still love to go on dates with my amazing hubby!!!!

project 365 - day 4

We got this puzzle after we had to put one back together at Grandma Reva's house b/c Logan demolished it. The girls (especially Ab) had fun figuring out Grandma Reva's. But once we got this one going and we were at home they both got bored after a few pieces. Can't blame them, but I found a new found enjoyment for puzzles. This one is now done and I'm ready to get another. We got this one at the Good Will in Healdsburg, it was a double adventure. One just putting it together but the other was to see if all the pieces would be there. LOL