Our Little Artist

Both our boys love to draw. Lately, though, Cody has been quite the artist. I have a pink laptop with black pens marks to prove it. =)

Every time he is in my craft room, he signs and yells “paper” and signs for crayons. The funny thing is that he is picky about the color, too. It has to be either purple, red, orange or black. He isn’t too keen on greens and blues for some reason.

Here is the little artist at work…

He’s probably thinking about what his next masterpiece should be. Although, that smile is usually reserved for mischief. =)

Do you see how his lips are sticking out in the next picture? He seems to have a “thinking” face and sound. He does it quite often and it is cute.

There is no real purpose for this next image other than the fact that I love his Barni Rubble feet.

 

He loves to try to trace his hand.

The proud artist…

and his masterpiece…

A Great Band!

Christmas in our household would not be complete without Santa and his Marching Band!

For the past 4 years, Santa and his band have serenaded us with Christmas tunes. My hubby and boys cannot get enough of Santa and his band.

I have to admit the band is pretty cute, but I wish they sang and didn't just play their instruments! My favorite is the guy in the middle. :)

On the 8th Day of Christmas My True Love Gave To Me....

handmade ornaments for my tree!

I really look forward to receiving the handmade gifts from DJ at Christmas. This year, I was REALLY excited that both my boys would be gifting their dad and I with their handmade treasures that they make at school.

As a gal that enjoys crafting, I truly appreciate their personal handcrafted gifts.

DJ's Ornament -



Cody's 1st Handmade Christmas Ornaments -

And they smell like cinnamon! YUM!

Pretty Pink Little Cupcakes - All in a Row

It has been awhile since I made a cake or cupcakes, so my cousin Valerie's birthday was the perfect opportunity to get baking!

I can't even remember when the last time I made a cake from scratch was so I decided to make cupcakes from scratch. Valerie likes chocolate so I decided on chocolate sour cream cupcakes.

Here the cupcakes are straight out of the oven. WARNING: nudity - these cupcakes have NO icing!!!



One of my favorite parts of making cakes and cupcakes is the frosting. It gets messy, but the outcome is (usually) beautiful!

My first attempt at frosting these babies didn't turn out so well, but the 2nd one was everything I imagined - a pretty pink cloud atop a chocolate mountain of scrumptiousness (this may not be a real word, but it gets my point across LOL).



Here she is...all alone...by her lonesome self...



Now here she is with all her friends!



Although making these pretty little things was a lot of fun, I think I had more fun taking pictures of them.

Unlike the 2 other kids I birthed, they didn't talk back, run away, refuse to smile or stick their tongue out at me.



And lastly, my favorite picture of them all. Did I purposely stage the prettiest one front and center? Bet your bottom dollar I did!

Double Double Come to Mama!

It's no secret - I need to lose weight!!!!!

My cousin, Christine, and I have a joint effort to lose weight right now. Our diet of choice - low carb! We've both done it before so we figure we can do it again! :) We started our diet the day after Labor Day. We gave ourselves Labor Day weekend as the "last hoorah" to eat whatever we wanted! :)

Why am I posting this on the blog and sharing this with you? Because...if I tell people that I really want to lose the weight then I need to do it!!!!

Up until last Friday, I was doing great and lost 8 pounds!! WOOHOO!

Then last Friday happened and it started a carb-binging weekend. :(

Don't worry, though! I am back on track. Yesterday started a new week for me and I am determined to stay on track. Can you help me? How, you ask? It's simple - ask me how I'm doing. I won't want to lie to you and tell you I'm doing good if I'm not so I have to stay good just in case you do ask.

Today's lunch was a very satisfying low carb meal - In N Out Double Double Protein Style (no bun, just lettuce wrapped around meat and cheese) and a mini diet coke.

Isn't it beautiful? :)

And just in case you are wondering, it was DELICIOUS! I don't need no stinkin' bun to enjoy my In N Out! :)

First Day of School - Part 2

I think first days of school are meant to be torturous for parents. The kids always seem to do fine, while moms (and dads) worry about how they will fit in, whether or not they will cry, will they hate it, the list of "what ifs" is endless.

Monday was the 2nd time this month I had to experience "the first day of school". First with my 5 year old for kinder and now with my 2 year old for pre-preschool. (I am not sure exactly what it is called, but pre-preschool is appropriate.)

Fortunately, I do not have to leave him behind. I get to experience everything with him for the first 6 weeks. I think this is a great way to transition kids into the preschool environment. This way, he gets familiar with the school and the environment before I have to leave him by himself for a couple of hours a couple times a week. It doesn't mean it is easier (for me), though. He is only 2!

After the 6 weeks, my time in the classroom with him decreases. Instead of participating with him, I sneak into the observation room with the amount of time there slowly increasing as we get closer to the end of the 6 week session. At that point, he should be fully independent of me and in a "big boy" class.

Here is my big boy so excited to go to school!



I love the seriousness of his face. At the same time, he has a smirk that says "I'm so excited, but I'm trying to keep my cool".



He didn't hesitate to dive into playing. As soon as we entered the door, he was a blur heading for the free play area.



Recess time is always a hit. Cody found the coolest "ride" there.



He had a GREAT time at school and loves it! Today was his 2nd day and still no tears. I knew he would love it, but....he's still only 2! He's still my baby and I'm not ready to let go!!!!!!!

Discovery Kingdom

We recently had the opportunity to visit Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, CA (formerly Marine World). For the San Diegans, it is Magic Mountain meets Sea World.

As soon as we walked in, we were greeted by this little cutie.



Sylvester was being silly and stole DJ's hat.



Movie Star Alert - Bugs and Daffy!!!!



I was so excited for Cody when I saw the Thomas the Train section. He loves anything train so this little section was right up his ally!



There is just something about flamingos that is so beautiful.



This is Valerie. She is one of the elephants that you can ride on. We had such an exciting adventure riding on an elephant!!!



Isn't this little guy a cutie?

Beautiful Sky

While at my son's swimming class yesterday, I looked up to see the most beautiful sky.

Unfortunately, I didn't have a "real" camera on me. So, I grabbed my Blackberry and snapped this picture.

The clouds look so beautiful and I like how the sun is peeking through the trellis.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!