Regina Z's little corner of the world

Kindle Fire Charging Station

2012-01-10T11:23:00.000-08:00

We were very lucky this year for Christmas and the kids and I all got The Kindle Fire. We love them and I wanted to make a nice Charging station for them. So I re-purposed an old shelf I had in the Garage. It already had a grove in it for pictures, so my husband just drilled 3 holes in it for the cords and hung it on the wall super easy and it works great!

Brownies in the Microwave???

2011-07-29T08:54:00.000-07:00

This week it was our turn to cook. but I am sure you could guess that from my last post. I had my sister and her family coming out to help get our lawn put in for Pinky's birthday so I decided to cook something that would easily feed a lot of people, that was easy and of course most importantly super tasty. So we decided on pulled pork Sandwiches,Macaroni Salad , and some House of Blues Corn Bread. I slow cooked the pork for about 9 hours and the hubby shredded it up and we used some amazing Guy Fieri Carolina sauce on it. It is peppery, and thin, and not too hot – but had a good dose of heat. II loved the Macaroni Salad, but my husband was not a huge fan since it was full of tomatoes and olives.lol The other thing I had planned was a deviously sinful dessert. I made rocky road brownies, and in the microwave. lol They turned out amazing and the perfect partner was some french Vanilla ice cream. click the links for the dinner recipes and take a look below the pics for the Rocky Road brownie.

Microwave rocky road brownie dessert

1 cup walnut halves toasted

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks)

4 oz unsweetened chocolate

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 eggs

16 large marshmallows

20 milk chocolate kisses, unwrapped

Vanilla ice cream (optional)

1. Coarsely chop walnuts. Place them in a prep bowl; set aside. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in small batter bowl. Cut butter into pieces and chop unsweetened chocolate; place butter and chocolate into Classic Batter Bowl. Microwave, uncovered on high 1-2 minutes or until mostly melted, stirring every 30 seconds.

2. Add sugar and eggs to chocolate mixture; whisk until smooth using stainless whisk. Fold in flour mixture and 1/2 cup of the walnuts until incorporated using small Mix 'N Scraper. Pour batter into Deep Covered Baker, spreading evenly. Microwave, uncovered, on High 5-7 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean and edges are firm. Carefully remove baker from microwave using Silicone Oven Mitts.

3. Meanwhile, snip marshmallows in half crosswise using Professional Shears. Top brownie with marshmallows, chocolate kisses and remaining 1/2 cup walnuts. Microwave, covered, on high 1-2 minutes or just until marshmallows start to soften. Remove baker from microwave. Let stand, covered 5 minutes. Spoon onto plates; serve with ice cream if desired.

**To toast walnuts, place walnuts in large micro-cooker; microwave uncovered on high 3-5 minutes until toasted, stirring every 30 seconds!

Jambasta????

2011-07-26T11:40:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the late post,about our Wednesday night dinner. Time seems to be slipping away from me lol. So it was our friends turn to cook. Which is always amazing, its nice to know 2 times out of the month don't have to think about dinner. This time Jody Made "Jambasta" A supper yummy Rachael Ray spin on pasta and Jambalaya. It was so tasty, it had some heat and some great flavor. I am not a spicy person but this was just right. Just enough spice to awaken your taste buds and make you keep taking in another spoon full. If you like Jambalaya I really encourage you to try this unique twist on a classic recipe. EAT UP!!

Wednesday Night Dinner

2011-07-14T08:26:00.000-07:00

Wednesday night dinner our turn.
So this week it was our turn to cook and usually we have a plan in mind, but not this week. At first I wanted to do enchiladas,then I wanted to do a Mexican Cob salad. We looked through a few cookbooks Tuesday night and decided to make a chicken Mojito Salad. Fast forward to about 1 hour before dinner and we look at the recipe again and I just wasn't' feeling the chicken Salad. You know how that goes,you have everything set up the day before your recipe planned your ingredients in stock, then the time comes to cook the dinner you just are not in the mood. So back to the cookbooks we go. We finally decide on some Ultimate Peppercorn Burgers and Grilled Romaine with Blue Cheese-Bacon Vinaigrette Click on the links for recipes. We choose to use Cibatta bread instead of onion bread. I put on some avocado and Jody and Brian added a little Serrano pepper from our Garden to the ground meat. It turned out so good and the salad was a little awkward to eat due to the size but it was delicious as well. Both recipes defiantly a for sure repeat.

We have a good thing going....

2011-07-07T12:21:00.000-07:00

So for about a year and a half now, we have been getting together will our friends once a week for dinner. Our Friend Jason started it he would have some friends over to watch Sons of Anarchy and they would cook dinner, then it turned into we switched houses, still watched SOA and still cooked dinner. After the season of SOA was over we still cooked dinner and switched houses. After over a year it has turned it to one of the things I look forward to all week.SOAs new season still hasn't started yet Jody and I sure do miss Jax lol. More important then the TV show though is the great company we share. Jason, Jody and Jason's daughter

are not only our good friends but have become part of our family. The kids love them and so do we. It is so fun to get together and share a great meal and relaxing drink. It sure breaks up the week and makes the second half a lot more bearable. So I decided to start posting our weekly Wednesday night dinners on here with the recipe. Our dinner last night was at Jason and Jodie's house and we had her yummy meatball subs. They are so delicious,and as she showed me really easy to make, so easy in fact that I plan on making a ton of meatballs and freezing them for some quick and easy meals.

A lot time has passed....

2011-07-07T11:34:00.000-07:00

Wow its been a long time. A lot of things have changed while a few have stayed the same. My last post was us making Lemonchello, well unfortunately we never finished it lol oh well maybe we will try again another time.
I don't know why I stop blogging so much, I feel bad about it. I got really wrapped up in my Pampered Chef business and put a lot of time into that, its sort of my way to get totally obsessed about something lol I still don't know if that is a good or bad thing. While I am still a Pampered Chef consultant I have been able to find a good balance between office work and home life. I also stopped blogging as much because I stopped sewing and quilting and didn't really think I had anything interesting to blog about. Lately my life pretty much consists of just trying to run the house and take care of the kids. I will have to figure out what my blogging niche will be. I am thinking Most of my posts will consist of home projects,recipes,family,books,great shopping deals,and a few Pampered Chef posts. so look for more posts soon. Don't want to squeeze too much in one day lol

Limoncello Part 1

2010-05-31T09:25:00.000-07:00

What Do you do when you have huge bag of Lemons given to you?
Why Make a batch of Limoncello of Course!
A friend of mine Gave me a huge bag of lemons and they have been rolling around in the back of my car for a few days. Then I saw a blog post fromSonnet of the Moon. and my mind flashed back to last summer in Montana, where I had my first experience with the wonderful Italian lemon liquor.
Limoncello takes from 40 to 80 days to prepare so if you want to have some ready by August, you should start a batch now. Don't let the long time frame fool you...you have fairly little work to do along the way. And what work there is will be well worth it. Served straight from the freezer, limoncello is a light and refreshing treat on a hot summer evening.

Ingredients for Step 1~
-One .75 liter bottle of 100 proof vodka (you will need another bottle for Step 2 so you can buy them both now if you wish)
-14 fresh lemons. Look for lemons with thick, healthy, fragrant skins
-A one gallon glass jar with lid
-MicroPlane Zester( I of Course recommend the Pampered Chef microplane Zester it will zest your lemons perfect and it will help avoid getting to the Pith)

Pour one bottle of vodka into your freshly washed and dried jar.
After washing and drying all your lemons, zest the skins directly into the vodka. Avoid zesting the white pith as it is bitter and will affect the taste of your limoncello.

When finished, screw the lid on the jar and swirl all the zest into the vodka. Your zest will take up most of the space in the vodka and will turn it a cloudy yellow. Place the jar in a cool, dark spot for 20 to 40 days. Swirl your jar every few days if you can remember.
Check back for Step 2!~

Say Hello to my little Helper!!

Update

2010-05-29T10:46:00.001-07:00

May is almost over and we are headed into summer with no school and lots of fun!! Life has been hectic and crazy and moving right along.
Matthew has turned 5 and will be starting Kindergarten in August. He won the Lottery to get into our Charter school. I am so excited for him, the charter school is a Montessori based learning program, where the focus is on the learner and how they learn best. Its very hands on learning and really geared toward teaching the child about responsibility and accountability in there own learning process.
Delaney will be starting preschool 2 days a week in August she will be going to So-big were Matthew went, and I will be the 2 day Vice-President I will be in Charge of the Field trips and the Parents Work Schedule. I am really looking forward to being super involved in her school days.
Also I am relieved to announce that Riley will be starting in a special Day class in 4th Grade.He will be getting more help with his APD ( auditory Processing Disability) and his VPD ( visual processing disability) I don't' know how many sleepless nights I have had worrying about Riley and his 4th grade school year. I am constantly second guessing all my decisions I have made for him since he started preschool, but I have to keep telling myself that I made the best decision I could at that time. I can't change the past I just have to keep looking toward the future and try to just keep thinking about what is best for Riley and what will benefit him the most.
I am looking forward to summer and am hopping to keep the kids busy and hopefully keeping my sanity int he process. lol
As for me I am still doing Pampered Chef and loving every min of it.Please Check out my website, it has an online Catalog, recipes tips and an outlet section. I get the sense of accomplishment that I use to get when I was a working mom, but I still get to stay home during the day with my kids and am able to stay really involved with them.
I have been really slacking on my quilting and sewing, but I have a few projects that I have ahead of me mostly baby quilts and birthday shirts for Delaney and Riley. I was able to do another super cute Birthday shirt for Matthew he loved it and I really liked how cute it turned out!
Well I Hope every body has a safe and fun Memorial Weekend!!!
Hello Summer time can't wait to hit up the sand sun and sip summer drinks and watch the kids run through the sprinklers. :)

Holiday Cheer

2009-12-23T11:13:00.000-08:00

I am glad to say I am done with my Christmas shopping and My Christmas Homemade list early this year with time to spare. This year I didn't overwhelm myself with Tons of gifts to make. I Started a Quilt earlier this Year fully aware it was going to be a Christmas present and I got it done just in the nic of time. I also made some sugar body scrub so easy to make and it works great on poor chapped winter skin.

I am BAAAAACK

2009-11-02T12:17:00.000-08:00

Well I have been so bad about posting lately I have been so busy but that shouldn't be an excuse. So this weekend My Husband and I cleaned up the garage and cleared off my sewing table. If that is not a motivator to get back to sewing I don't know what is. So I have this quilt that I need to finish. I got the top done know I just need to figure out what I am going to do for the back and get the batting and get it all put together hopefully before Christmas. Yikes. Wish me luck. I love the prints I found some of them from Wal-mart and some I actually splurged and got them at pink Chalk studios online. I hope my bff likes it, even though her favorite colors are not pink and black, even though I thought they were haha. oh well I will have to throw some green into the back of the quilt somehow. I am not sure if I am going to do a pieced back or not. it might be faster no to. but we shall see.

no more bookmarkers for me!!!

2009-07-23T16:13:00.001-07:00

I finally got a Kindle and I bought it with my first big commission check from my Pampered Chef job. I love it and I got it for a great deal. I was able to borrow the Kindle 1 and after a lot of research and talking to another owner I am glad I bought the 1 and saved money instead of buying the kindle 2. I even found out you can download music to it so you can enjoy your favorite music while you read your book. My first down load was a free book that I thought I would down load first just to try and it turns out its a pretty good book so far.

Pay it forward

2009-07-16T10:52:00.000-07:00

So awhile back I was lucky enough to win a give away from the lovely and talented Crystal from Sonnet of the moon So here I am paying it forward.

The rules of this giveaway are simple.

1. Comment on this post by the end of the day Tuesday (7/21).
2. I’ll pick two names out of a hat and I’ll announce the winners on Wed morning.
3. If you win, you should pay it forward on your blog by offering the same sort of giveaway.

What you’ll win: something handmade by me! have a great day and remember its always better to give then to receive.

quilters Question

2009-06-16T13:42:00.000-07:00

To all my fellow quilters out there I send you a question. How do you pick what design for your quilt or do you pick a design first and then choose the colors. For the last 3 quilts I have bought a pattern or like for my first I joined a quilt along so it was pretty easy. I just had to get the fabric. Now I have some fabric but am unsure of the design I want to do. I was thinking of doing a coin quilt with these fabrics what do you think? or could anybody suggest a better pattern? some of the fabric I have only a 1/4 yard cut of.do they all go together good enough?

I want this to be a lap size quilt. any help or suggestions would be much appreciated thanks!!!!

latest quilt

2009-06-15T11:33:00.001-07:00

I fell like I have dropped of the blogging scene for so long. lol I had to keep this quilt a secret so I didn't really post at all. I haven't really been quilting or sewing anything really I just haven't really felt like it but hopefully this week I can get back into the swing of things. Well here are pics of the present quilt I made for my Mother-in-laws birthday. IT is the biggest quilt I have made and I really love how the quilting turned out. The binding wast the hardest part. Picking the colors was a lot of fun and I got the pattern from of fransson I really like it and it was really easy to put together. I added two squares in the border just to put my twist on it.

The Day

2009-05-30T06:09:00.000-07:00

My eyes popped open at 4:30 am and not because of a child crying, nope just from my nerves. Today is the the day of my first Pampered Chef show. I am nervous and anxious as would be expected so for that reason I knew I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep, so instead of fighting it I thought I would just get up, sip some tea and write. I have had so much going on in the past month just like any other month but now I added pampered chef to the mix. I know that as soon as I get into my groove things will be good, I just need to find my rhythm. I am by nature not a structured person it was not how I grew up. Things just happened when they happened. So for me its hard to get into a routine hard to have a schedule I feel trapped by it, some days just thinking about all that I have to do gives my such anxiety,but I found that writing things down and then doing my list helps. I might not get it all done but it is a visual aid for me and just that alone calms me down a little. Other than the Pampered chef stuff My beautiful daughter has decided it is time for potty training. It sure came as a surprise to me, my boys were much older and I figured she would be earlier then the boys but not by this much. She is 22 months right now and I thought around 2 or 2 1/2 she would be ready or at least show some interest. Well I was way off. Last month she just started ripping her diaper off whenever she went #1. So by now she pretty much for the most part catches herself before and goes on the toilet. She doesn't really like going on the potty chair, she likes going where ever other person in the house goes. She very much likes to fit in. She also sits at the big table with us, no highchair for her.
I love how smart she is and it makes me so proud to see her grow and change everyday, but it makes me so sad at the same time. She is my baby my little girl I just want her to stop changing so fast, its like right before my eyes. The other day she learned the word APPLE and she says it perfectly, it so cute. Now when Riley is at school and you ask "where is Riley?" she juts looks at you and plainly says "school" like duh mom you know that. I love all her expressions she is so animated. I love all 3 of my little monkeys!!!
Well its about 6 am the sun has just come up, and the wind is blowing hard. The house is so quiet. I will leave this post with a picture of my new picture wall. enjoy :)

I know where have I been

2009-05-26T15:08:00.000-07:00

I have been so lazy about blogging lately. I have been so busy I haven't even been able to quilt *Gasp* I know it so awful. lol I have a wip right now that I just need to do the binding on and I can post some pics. I have had a world wind 3 weeks. I started a new venture being a Pampered Chef consultant so all my blogging buddies if you need anything let me know*wink**wink. I have also been planning a trip to Montana we are leaving in June for a week. Driving there and back, with the kids. It is sure to be a memerable experince. lol
I have been walking in the mornings with a girlfriend we get our strollers and load up the kids and get our walk on. It feels great and it beats walking on the treadmill anyday.I don't see my life slowing down anytime soon but hopefully I can blog more often. keep your eyes peeled for new quilts pics coming soon.

new and Adorable shirts

2009-05-16T21:41:00.002-07:00

I finally got around to stenciling a shirt. I love how it turned out. I did a bird cause Delaney loves birds or "birbs" as she says. I used the Freezer paper for the stencil and is was super easy, a lot easier then I thought it would be.

Then I made this one for Matthew for his Birthday I will try to get some action shots of it tomorrow. I think I am going to make one for all the kids for their birthday's

new and Adorable shirts

2009-05-16T21:41:00.001-07:00

New Hats Old Friends

2009-05-07T12:27:00.000-07:00

So I finished up my wall hanging last night. I used strips from all the things I have made. Which is really cool because I can look at it and remember all the people I have made them for. Some are clothes I have made for my kids or blankets I made for babies. I found a selvage edge that was pretty cool "New Hats old Friends". I thought it summed the wall Hanging up pretty good. new Hat being the new Wall Hanging and old friends being all the old scraps from all the things I have made my friends and family.
&hearts

Blurry

2009-05-06T07:21:00.000-07:00

I am just waking up from a blurry blurry dream, the fog still in my head and the sleep still in my eyes. The feeling of the dream is still lingering in me and I am just trying to focus enough to make a pot of coffee and get my son off to school. These past 2 weeks have been so stressing to me for some reason. My kids are driving me up the walls and the weather is teasing us with the rain and sunshine. I am hopping today to get the kids off to the library for story time, and get some projects finished.

A Few hours later....
its 1:24 Delaney is down for her nap, Matthew is in the Garage playing Star Wars on the Wii and Riley is getting out of his school clothes and into his play clothes. I started writing this so I wanted to finish, even though I don't even remember what I had started to write about. so I'll just play catch up. Took the kids to the Library today, its a really nice library they have story time every Wednesday. I think I will make a routine of it, the kids like it and I have found a new pleasure in my life. Audio books. I can't believe I have never ever listened to a book on CD. It is so amazing. I am listening to INKHEART in my car right now and I love it. The kids like it too, they actually are quite(for the most part) in the car and just listen to the story.
I have two WIPS right now, a gift and a wall hanging. The wall hanging only needs the sleeve on the back. I'll have to post pics when its done. I have a heap of Laundry to get done, and then I might take the kids back to the Library for a 4pm story time.
Matthew turns 4 in 8 days and we are having a small party at the bowling alley. Delaney is about ready for potty training, she keeps taking off her diaper and yelling as she is running around the house "I nakky(naked)" I thought I might have at least another 6 months before she was ready( sigh). They all grow up so fast. well I better get to my heap of Laundry and hopefully tomorrow I will have pics up. Happy Wednesday!

Monday Blues

2009-04-27T12:46:00.000-07:00

I am feeling a little down today and I am not really sure why. I just not really feeling today. So I think if I write about my weekend I might feel a little better. Friday Brian and Dean helped Paint my living Room/Dinning room it seems a lot brighter int he pics, the other wall is a pale sunshine. it looks good and it makes the room brighter. We ended up stopping for a break and going over to a friends house for a bbq. The kids played, the adults drank Margaritas and ate, we had a good time. One the way home My middle child announces he wants to go home and eat and watch TV, and asks me if that is a good idea. I tell him Um no its 11:00 O'clock you all ready ate and when we get home its bedtime. He then tells me "Um mom I Don't care about clocks I just want to go home and eat and watch tv" Lol Brian and I couldn't help but laugh so when we got home we decided since it was a Friday night the kids could stay up. So about half and hour after getting home this is what the kids looked like. Saturday I headed out to napa to visit with Family. My dad took the kids and I to the Movies to see Monsters V's Aliens it was really funny all the kids were great. Delaney took her shoes socks off got her sippy cup and blanket and curled up in the movie chair and watched for awhile then fell asleep. lol Then I went over to my grandma's house to visit with my cousin she is pregnant and so cute!
We hung out for awhile and the kids played with their cousins. We left and headed home. Brian and Dean finished painting the living room and it looks wonderful. Sunday we hung out around the house and the kids decided to get muddy
Some more family pics - We took the kids to Mt. Diablo for a fun picnic lunch

And I finally got around to making a cute top for Pinky

broken A/C and Wahser

2009-04-22T11:14:00.000-07:00

Man This week has been strange. First Monday the Washer breaks then on Tuesday the A/C, so I am over at my MIL sitting in the A/C and doing Laundry. I should be home cleaning my sewing area and the house but we need Laundry done and I get so cranky in the heat. so I opted to come here and hopefully tonight after it cools down I can get some cleaning done. I sort of been in a sewing funk lately any way, most likely cause my whole cutting table is cluttered with mess and because I am working on a quilt right now but keep thinking about a wall hanging I want to make.Money is super tight especially now that we have 3 unexpected repairs, so fabric and supply shopping is on hold.
Delaney is talking up a storm, she is my mini me. She yells at Matthew(Mawboo as she says)and Riley and tries to boss them around the house. When I am driving and at a red light she is yelling from the back seat "GO". lol Its too funny. I probably shouldn't encourage her bossy behavior but sometimes I can't help but just laugh and give her big smoochy kisses. Matthew will be 4 in may and he wants a big party of course he is such my social butterfly. I need to start looking into pre-schools for him so he can start in the fall. Riley is almost out for Summer break,I can't wait.
Well buzzer just went off for Dryer, gotta dash.

bloggers quilt festival

2009-04-20T07:29:00.000-07:00

I don't know why I am even participated in this( I am sure I am way out of my league) Park city Bloggers quilt festivalexcept to maybe meet some more bloggers that quilt.So please check it out and participate! :) I have made a few quilts but I actually didn't call myself a quilter till I made this one->

I had some help from the Oh fransson quilt along,and I am so glad I did. I did everything by myself start to finish. It was my first attempt at stippling, and a pieced back. If you span through my blog you can see my progress from stat to finish.It Measures roughly 52X62 inches its the perfect size for me to cozy up on the couch with.

The newest quilt- Pink and Brown.

2009-04-16T10:01:00.000-07:00

I just finished this quilt for my cousins baby girl, I don't even know when her shower is, but when she has it I will be ready. I started it early thinking it would take me awhile to get it done but it actually only took me 2 weeks. Sewing on the binding took me the longest. I love it so much I wanted to keep it for my Daughter. hehehe. I am use to working with the minky fabric i have made
at least a dozen blankets with it but I usually put Flannel on the front and just do a turn blanket. I have never did it with a binding, I really like the results.A few of the blocks have green in them which I really liked. I wanted to try to make it not to baby-ish. So she can grow up with it, and use it for a long time.

2009-04-13T10:11:00.001-07:00

I can't wait for the new movie!!

my finished quilt

2009-04-05T08:30:00.000-07:00

My Binding is blue I think it really picks up all the blues in the block and add a breaks contrast to the back.

This is the back, green on top and bright pink on the bottom.

I actually finished a quilt in a month from start to finish, i can't believe it and I am so proud of myself. I learned so much from this project and I am so thankful I participated in this Oh, Fransson quilt a-long

next project

2009-04-02T09:36:00.000-07:00

So my next project will be a baby quilt, my cousin says her colors are pink and brown. I want to do those colors, but am having a hard time finding fabric(no surprise there) I want it to look girly and not to baby, soft and cuddly and not to grown up. Anybody got some fabric suggestions for pinks and browns?

2 really ?come on

2009-03-30T21:53:00.000-07:00

Two of my poor babies have ear infections. :) so its been a day of antibiotics and Motrin, runny noses and lots of cuddling.

Check out my FMQ

2009-03-29T21:20:00.000-07:00

So I got my quilting done I tried to do free motion quilting, and even with a few mistakes and some quality time with my seam ripper I was really pleased with my results. I went a lot faster then I thought. The down side was man you use a lot of thread and I went through at least 5 full bobbins worth. All in all I was very proud of my self.

Happy Birthday to me!

2009-03-26T11:55:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to me!! It's really hard to believe i am 32. people ask me and I forget and have to think about it haha

In the home stretch.

2009-03-25T16:31:00.001-07:00

I got my quilt top and the back all put together. The top isn't perfect but I think it looks pretty darn good for my real first quilt. I love the bright colors on the back. I think I am going to try to baste it today or tonight.

Tantrum Tuesday

2009-03-24T10:12:00.000-07:00

Well I got all my blocks done for my quilt and sewed all the rows together, Hung it up on my makeshift Design wall( a sheet taped to my living room wall) and found out that my middle sashing pieces are about 4 inches to short. GRRRR I dreaded cutting the sashing and new it would bite my butt in the end. Hopefully I can sew some extra pieces on to the ends and it won't be too noticeable.Luckily I am keeping this first quilt for my self, so I am not stressing to much, but I wish things would have gone smoothly oh well I am going to try to fix the mistakes and get my quilt top done by tomorrow so hopefully I will have some pics to share. :)

Happy St. Patricks Day!!

2009-03-17T11:25:00.000-07:00

Well half way through March all ready this year seems to be humming right along. Delaney is talking up a storm and Matthew is almost ready to start pre-school. Riley is sporting a new Mohawk, and he is all ready for summer. I got some more blocks done for my quilt. Block "C" C for challenge this was the trickiest blog so far, hopeful the freezer paper trick will work. :)

Block D which I find the least interesting and I don't know why.

and then I had to do these I couldn't wait to see what this block would look like. I Really think these are cool looking with the fabric

quilt-along Block B

2009-03-13T22:38:00.001-07:00

quilt-along Block B
Originally uploaded by "R" Things

Finished Block B, this one was a fun block. I was so afraid that the seems wouldn't match up. I was skeptical at first about pressing my seems open but it really made a huge difference.

The fun Sewing party quilt progress March 12th

2009-03-12T10:15:00.000-07:00

Got the first Block in the Quilt Along sewn together. I was very careful and got a perfect 1/4" seam on all but one block but they all turned out pretty good. I took some pics of my finished "A" Blocks and some sneak peaks of my sewing area. I got a spot in the Garage, our house is not ideal for my own sewing area :(. But I have a great cutting table and was able to set the ironing board up behind my sewing table so I just have to swivel around in my Chair and press my block, so super easy and time saving.

quilting progres March 10th

2009-03-10T20:45:00.000-07:00

so I was able to get all the fabric cut up. It took me a lot longer then I had expected. I worked on it for a few hours throughout yesterday and then a couple more hours today. I messed up on only one cut, but was able to fix it. The hardest thing to cut was the Sashing, which I have never done before. It was a really long cut and I messed it up a few times luckily I had enough to disregard the bad cuts. LOL So here are all the fabrics cut, and I am utilizing the organization skills that were suggested on Oh, Fransson. :)

My 12 Fabrics

2009-03-07T16:49:00.000-08:00

So I got my fabric I ordered and then hit up the LQS and found the rest of the fabric. I am super excited to start and on Monday we start cutting the fabric, oh I am so nervous. I plan on doing white sashing I think it will make the colors really pop.

quilt attempts

2009-03-06T14:00:00.000-08:00

I thought I would post some of my first attempts at quilts. here are 3 2 small ones I made for my boys and One I made from a kit.

quilting progress

2009-03-06T09:59:00.000-08:00

so ever since I have decided to try start a quilt of course that is always on my mind. I had no idea where to start which is the biggest reason I never really started quilting. I have made a few small ones for my boys but nothing really big or too involved. So I asked some of my online quilting friends and got a few really good suggestions. The one that seemed to really appeal to me was this one Oh,Fransson Quilt a-long that was suggested by sonnetofthemoon. It appealed to me because its online so I can take things at my own pace, and it was a sampler. I have most of the supplies that are needed so I just had to find the right fabric(not as easy for me as I would like it to be) I stayed up pretty late looking at fabric on-line and finally found some. I then went out and looked at the local Jo-ann store but they had nothing and then the Local quilting store they were way way over my expected budget. so I went back online and bought this...

I will take some real live pics when it gets here because I had her substitute one of the fabrics that was in both piles with a lime green dot. so i will ahve pinks greens and light blues, there on only 10 fat quarters so I need 2 more for the quilt top and some sashing. I found another close by quilt shop when I accidentally found my self involved in a March Madness shop hop, and they have some great priced fabric. I found some really nice Amy butler for only $5 a yard. sew ewe quilt I forgot how much I needed for the back and the sashing so I need to go back to buy the rest and find 2 1/4 yard pieces that match the rest I bought. So wish me luck and I will post pics of the rest of my fabric. I might if I have time try to post my progress as well.
Happy Friday everybody!~Regina

Half way thru the longest week. March 4th

2009-03-04T11:52:00.000-08:00

It is really bad to think about book characters more then once a day. lol I picked up the Twilight book in the airport while waiting for our plane on our way to our cruise. My Friend Carrie had been raving about the books and I thought might as well try to read them. I never would have imaged the impact that one decision would make. As soon as I finished the book after our 7 day cruise I flipped to the start and read it all over again. I have read the whole series 3 times since October. Some days I wish I could just escape into the world and never come back out. I have been having one of those weeks. Yesterday in particular was very hard I was getting it from every angle the stress was threatening to totally disable me, but I have a great support system in my husband and mom and was able to keep my head above the gray clouds that were threatening to bring me down. The rain was actually a nice companion it reminded me of the books I so love. my Baby girl is teething and sick and super cranky, my middle one is constantly testing his authority with me and I am dealing with my oldest and some issues with school. I am trying to function on little sleep and a lot of coffee, not really the best thing but I can only do what I can do. Today seems to a lot better so I can actually write this and not feel as overwhelmed as I have been,a nd writing for me has always been wonderful therapy. I have over 2 dozen journals I have kept since 3rd grade. Blogging is all quite new to me but is proven to be just as therapeutic. On the bright side yesterday was my husbands birthday he turned 33 on SQUARE ROOT Day. lol 3-3-09. We had a nice dinner from Outback steak house. So I am fighting the urge to dive into my twilight world and just keep reading my children of the earth books, and try to get out to my sewing machine. I have been itching for days to start a few quilted pot holders to practice some of my straight 1/4"seams and some FMQ. Now that I have a new laptop thanks so my hubby I can bring all my tutorials I find online out to where I sew. I also need to make some new pillowcases and maybe and cute new laptop case.

March2nd

2009-03-02T22:07:00.001-08:00

sitting on the couch typing on my brand new birthday present from the hubby. I love it!!! He is so funny he can never keep a present a secret. lol

Feb-27

2009-02-27T21:59:00.000-08:00

I am going to organize my fabric tomorrow and get all my scraps under control. I might just find some good stuff. lol

February 26th Almost friday

2009-02-26T15:29:00.000-08:00

I got a new keyboard for my computer and it clicks I love typing on it. lol So I have decided to give it another go at trying to make some quilts. so far I have been playing it safe and making small baby blankets a few easy whole cloths ones and a couple pieced ones. I am the type of person who that starts a project likes to get it done and see the finished project fast. so that is why I mainly stick to things like purses aprons zippered pouches. Things I can do in a day or two. With 3 kids running around I tend to only be able to sew in 1/2 hour increments. So trying to tackle a quilt for me is a daunting task. planning it out cutting piecing sewing pinning quilting binding, man that just seems like a lot, but after looking at the awesome blog Sonnet of the Moon I have to start quilting again. After looking at all her awesome quilts I have the urge to get back on the quilting wagon. I really want to be a more patient and meticulous person and I am thinking quilting might help me do that. I learn by doing and have been so afraid to start quilting and spend a lot of unnecessary money on the things I don't really need. So I am just going to stick to basic quilts for now and when I have more time space and money do more elaborate ones.
So I am not going to totally abandon my sewing of purses that I love making I might actually have to make a few more to sell so I can just afford a quilting hobby. lol
So my obsessions have changed yet again. I love being able to expand my interests and not pigeon hole my self as just a SAHM or just a crafter, before I even was a SAHM I was a copy/fax technician that got greasy everyday and played with gizmos and gadgets. I am still in love with gizmos gadgets and love getting greasy and tearing things apart and putting them back together( that might be like quilting)but now I love to create things with my hands that I can use. Like aprons and purses, and cute clothes for my kid. Well now I am off to browse through some new phones I am drooling over I really want this one,The blackberry flip, but i will increase my cell bill by like 20 extra dollars, just to have internet. its hard to justify that cause I am home 90%of the day with internet on my computer. Aww but one can dream. I am sure in a few months a new phone will come out that I will want to once I can I will try to practice patience.

February 24th

2009-02-24T09:43:00.000-08:00

Where the hell Have I been? I haven't blogged in over a month. I don't get a whole lot of time to sit down and write anymore its sort of depressing and probably why I have been in such a funk lately. I am feeling pretty Jadded against the world lately. I don't know why I care so much what everybody else does or has and I compare myself to others way to often. I need a better measuring stick. I do realize that there will always be some one better off then me and I also know that there are many others that are worse off then me and wish they could live my life. I don't have it that hard I am a very lucky person and I am thankful everyday but I can't help my feeling that float around in my head.
Well enough of the pity party. I have been up to some good. I sold some purses and a couple wrist pouches with matching key chains and I sold two Nursing covers and I have orders for two more. I made and sold and very cute cupcake apron,that I made this weekend.

I actually made two aprons this weekend while hanging out with my mom. She decided to some up Saturday and stay till Monday I was so excited, and Happy for her to come stay with me. my mom is my best friend I am the luckiest daughter. The kids are doing great, testing me for sure. Which most days I fail horrible. I need to exercise better control of my yelling. I never ever thought I would grow up and become a yeller but 3 kids will do that to you. Its a struggle everyday to not just throw my hands up in the air and yell I quit! but this is one job you just can't quit. lol Well I better sign off and get my house in order.

January 23rd

2009-01-23T19:03:00.000-08:00

Frustration Friday is the name of the day. Acultally its been a totally frustrating week. The most most recent cause of my frustration is a marker roll I have been trying to make. It shouldn't be so frustrating but I am trying to make one that is bigger then usual and I am winging it. so my seam ripper has been my best friend. I thought I had it finished last night but I wasn't 100 percent happy with it, it was ok and I should have left well enough alone. The problem though is if I am selling something and its not perfect I can't let go and I obsess so I ripped it all apart and stared over agian. So I fixed or so I thought as soon as ai finshed the last stich I tried it out with all the markers in it and UGH it wouldn't roll up, which is the whole point of a cool marker roll. So I am going to have to start all over again and with a toatlly differnt fabric. I shouldn't be so hard on myself, but that is my nature.
Matthew is my other source of frustration I need to find a better way to deal with him, the usaul time out and casual death threats just arn't working.
AWWW I am hopping tomorrow will be better I get to take a sewing class my first offical one. So we shall see what bad habits I am going to have to undo. I have been self-taught so far, but it will be nice to learn some new tricks and they might save me some time and relive some frustration. I can only wish
well the kids are killing eachother I better go interven soon before a tooth get knocked out.

Thursday January 14th

2009-01-15T10:33:00.000-08:00

Today and Yesterday I helped out in Riley's class. I have been testing the kids on their reading accuracy. Tomorrow I get to test them for the STAR exams. I really really enjoy helping out in his class. I am glad Brian has the job he has and can watch the kids for an hour or two in the morning so I am able to help out. I remember being a kid in elementary school and really wanting my mom more involved at my school. I really just wanted her more involved period. but that's another story maybe for another day.
Today I had to have Riley read to me and I thought at first that he wouldn't you know being its me he is reading to and at home he hates reading to me, but he was very professional and did a great job. He has his oral report today he did a great at practicing last night I took a video of him he gets so animated when that camera turns on its too cute.
Well I am on to try to do some work household chores and sewing.

January 13th

2009-01-13T09:14:00.000-08:00

Thirteen days into January all ready. Things just seem to be rolling along. each Day pretty much the same as the last. Typical life of a stay at home mom, full of laughs screams of joy and pain mostly from the kids of course. Matthew and Delaney love to play together but also fight a lot too. Poor Riley is so over his younger siblings sometimes. I wish he has his own space I remember what it was like being the older child and having to share a room with my younger sister. Ugh!
Riley is doing good in school the light seems to have finally come on in the way of his reading. He is a lot more confident in himself and he is comprehending what is is reading much more then just a few weeks ago. He has do do an oral report on his German Heritage this week. We picked that because out of all the nationalities he has he has German from both his dads side and my side. so it just seemed the logical choice.
Matthew and Delaney both have seemed to have gotten so much more demanding lately I don't' know why but they both hate when the other gets more of the attention.
Brian acquired and new vehicle yippy skippy. he got a shell of a 4Runner he is still unsure if he wants to keep it or part it out, but hopefully either way he doesn't drop a whole lot of money into it. Our house is falling apart. our dishwasher broke and now our microwave and Garage door just went down. Oh the joys of owning your own home.
As for me I am hoping to turn a little profit from my sewing hobby and start selling some purses and zippered wallets. I have sold a ton of blankets but I am hoping to reach more people on-line and sell other things. Wish me luck and check out my Etsy store or visit my MySpace page and look at the stuff and things I make pictures.

Myspace

2009-01-03T10:47:00.000-08:00

WARNING VERY PICTURE HEAVY, TONS OF PICS SO HAVE FUN LOOKING!
Sorry for posting so late lol but life gets busy after the holidays especially with three kids running around.
This Christmas was one of the easiest so far, I planned early and I got a lot of stuff done so I give myself big props for that. :)
Christmas eve was spent at my dads just like it has the past 3 years I am so glad we started going there and my mom joining us it has made it so much easier so much less travel for us. His house is getting bigger so the crowd grows as well. I am sure it gives him a ton of pride that he is able to host Christmas at his house and have all is good friends and his grand kids, and close relatives there with him. I know it makes me very proud of him. The kids had a blast as usually at Grandpa Dan's it doesn't even have to be Christmas for them to have fun there but the presents and having there cousins there to play with made it extra special. The next morning we woke up at home and had our family time with us and the kids. Riley got his DS he asked and its so fun I want one now. After that we Headed to Brian's parents house for another round of wild, paper shredding. The kids got a ton of stuff and we got just what we needed too. We are very lucky! We spent the rest of the day eating great food and hanging with the family. It was a wonderful Christmas. We ended up buying ourselves our Christmas present on new years day when we found a great deal on a 47" Lcd flat screen at Walmart. all I can say is wow the picture does it no Justice at all. Well better go the kids are screaming We are truly blessed and hope "09 is as good as "08 was to us. I will have to do a year in review post soon when I get a spare hour or two.

2009

2009-01-01T10:29:00.001-08:00

2009 another new year !!!!!!!!!!!!1

December 23 Christmas eve Eve

2008-12-23T12:09:00.000-08:00

Man what a December I got almost all my Christmas shopping done before December even got here, I finished all the homemade gifts last week, and now I just need to wrap all the kids stuff. I am so Happy I got it all done early, I think I will do that every year, it sure makes things so much easier. Yesterday Brian and I rearranged the living room and converted our 4 piece couch that seats like 6 people to a regular looking couch that seats 3 it makes our living room soo much bigger. I am trying to make space for the new Christmas presents the kids get. I am catching up on Laundry this week for some reason it just never ends Ugh no fun. Well Merry Christmas to all and Happy New Year

December 17 my homemade Christmas

2008-12-17T15:07:00.000-08:00

So I have been sewing up a storm for my the Majority of my Christmas presents. I can't post all of them here because I don't' want to ruin the surprise for the few people who read this that i made stuff for. so I will post a few things I made that I can post

This is a crayon Roll for my Niece including Crayons

This is a last minute Idea I had for my cousin Jacob He is on so I thought he might like a cool corduroy monster I might make some more and ad pockets for tooth fairy Pillow I was really pleased how this turned out, and it only took maybe 30 mins.
This is for my sister I made her a purse organizer, it has pockets for her wallet, lip gloss, camera, phone keys hopefully she will like it and it will come in handy.

Then I made some tote bags for my cousins. I am actually putting the real gift I bought them inside so they get two presents in one.One made one bought. These were super easy to make and fast, SO I might do it for more of the presents I am giving.
Hope you Liked the post and got an idea I made about 8 more presents I can't show. Maybe after Christmas I'll post a few
Merry Christmas everyone

Decmeber 9th BRRRR

2008-12-09T10:37:00.000-08:00

It was 29 degrees out this morning when I took Riley to school. My car windows were iced over and I could see my warm breath in my freezing car. But I am not complaining I love this weather. I would take it cold over hot any day. too me the cold is so refreshing I love walking in the cold and feeling in on my face and breathing in the ice cold air. I think that 29 is about the coldest I can stand with out wind, but still that's pretty damn cold. I have been colder standing at the top of a mountain with the wind whipping through me like shards of glass, but I still would take that over the sweltering 105 degree heat of the Antioch Summer. The Carribbean was a nice cozy humid warm I enjoyed that too, but I don't think I could trade that for the snowboarding we get here in California. I need to get up there this season and get my boys on some boards, I can't wait I wish I was filthy stinking rich sometimes.
Well I better get to the Grocery store I have a cookie exchange I need to make 6 dozen cookies for. Man that sounds like a lot I hope they all turn out good, I hope I don't' regret not just buying 6 dozen cookies, but I have this super cool pink Kitchen aid mixer I should get some good use out of. Well of to be Betty Crocker- later

December 2nd

2008-12-02T08:58:00.000-08:00

Well November is over and as usual it flew by which really sucks eggs cause its my favorite month. Thanksgiving was a blast. We spent it at my aunt and uncles house in lake port. There was about 50 people there and 18 of them for kids. lol they are almost out numbering us. there were 3 that were under the age of 2 . The kids got to ride the horses play with the 4 labs that were running around and visit with the pigs. Brian got to finally test out his shotgun and blew up a 250 pound pumpkin my dad brought up. I got to see a lot more of my family then I had expected which is always a super treat. It was crazy and chaotic but I wouldn't have had it any other way. We had a great dinner and then played a super fun game of APPLES TO APPLES ( for those of you who haven't played you need to!)
WE got home Friday afternoon and got some rest. Saturday my mom called and wanted to get out of town and go to Reno so Riley and I joined her and my niece meg for an overnight stay up there. We had a blast swimming in the indoor pool and playing the carnival games at Circus Circus. Long weekend for sure. Yesterday I got some much needed grocery shopping done. Other then then I have been thinking about starting to make and sell a few things. I really enjoy sewing but I really can't make that happen unless I make some money to fund my hobby lol so I have been thinking of getting a little stock pile of things together and starting an online shop. Hopefully I can make it happen who knows but at least I will have fun making the stuff lol Well Matthew beckons its breakfast time Happy Tuesday Yall !

Novmeber 25th

2008-11-25T11:27:00.000-08:00

Happy almost Thanksgiving~
WEll I got my new baby lol I went out on Saturday and purchased an brand new sewing machine. Its a lot of machine for me right now but it will be able to grow with me and take anything I through at it. I ended up getting the PFAFF 2046 OOOOOH AWWWW its a beauty
Know I can sew to my hearts Desire.
On another note this year is going to be the craziest Thanksgiving ever we are headed up to my Uncles House in Lake county and and almost my whole family is going to be there. I think about 40 not including all the kids. luckily for there are two houses and tons of land to run free on. lol For me its going to be one of the saddest too. My Aunt Meg who passed away close to 7 years ago will not be there and her birthday falls on Thanksgiving this year. When I was little we always had Thanksgiving at her house and those were some of the happiest memories I have ever had. I miss her so much and everyday I think about her in some way. I wish she were still here to see all 7 of her own grand kids and all 3 of my kids. It will be a day of many mixed emotions for everybody, but it will be good for all of us to be together and see eahc other. WEll off to do some Laundry and get lunch together.

November 22nd

2008-11-22T10:20:00.000-08:00

My new favorite song I can't get enough of it it is so beautiful~

November 14th

2008-11-14T11:52:00.000-08:00

SO I have been working on Christmas presents and I have about 6 finished so I thought I would share one I made or its actually 2 but its the same thing. So shhh Don't tell my Grandmas what they are getting.

SO my mom actually gave me the idea of getting my Grandma lois a journal cause she loves to write, so I thought I would get her a journal and make a cute fabric cover for it. I found an awesome tutorial

Hearts of Marry Blog

and I think they turned out pretty cool.

November 5th

2008-11-05T11:54:00.000-08:00

I have so many craft projects floating around in my head. my wish list for the x-mas is a cleaned sewing area and organized and a new Machine. unfortunately I need that before x-mas so I can make all the x-mas stuff I am wanting to make.

november 2

2008-11-02T19:52:00.000-08:00

ugh I am a little tipsy and a little bored so excuse the rambling. I am dreading the holidays I want to make a lot of presents and get the kids stuff they want and need. Not just buy them stuff to by them stuff you know. I can't wait for thanksgiving. its Sunday anther week down can't believe 2009 is almost here. excited about the upcoming election results. need money and more time. anybody else agree. wish I had a sewing room and a new machine. Santa hear that?

October 22

2008-10-22T09:02:00.000-07:00

Its Wednesday we got back from our cruise late Sunday night, and i am still trying to get back into the swing of things. The cruise was awesome. We had some rocky moments and I am not just talking about our rough seas. Yet we all made it back in one piece and more importantly we are all still friends lol. We meet Dawn and Kevin at the San Fransisco Airport and left there around 10 pm and we were on our way to Philadelphia for a connecting flight to Tampa. we dropped down in Tampa and the heat hit us like a brick wall all I could think was please don't let it feel this hot the whole trip. WE got a crazy insane taxi ride from a guy named "sam" to the port and we all were so excited to be there. WE got all our luggage checked on, and we waited to board the ship. By then we had been traveling for about 12 hours and we were tired hungry and in need of a shower ASAP. We were able to get on the boat early but didn't have our luggage till almost 3. but being the smart people we are we found the food and the booze pretty quickly. WE got to check out our room and discovered that we had gotten upgraded to a balcony. it was so wonderful to have a balcony. The first day was mostly just looking around the ship and getting all our stuff together. The second day Dawn and I laid out on the the deck to sunbath. The sun felt great and it was nice to able to just do nothing and soak up some rays. Even when it rained on us we still laid there and let it rain. We got a lot of sun, Dawn a little more then me poor thing was burnt from head to toe. The first two nights we saw huge lightning storms stretching all the way across the sky, it was an amazing site to see from a ship in the middle of the ocean. The third day we got went to Grand Cayman in the Cayman Islands and we did a pirate ship excursion. We boarded the Jolly Roger and got to shoot at all the other cruise ships in port. We as much Rum punch as we could and watched a woman get tied to the ship and soaked with freezing cold water. Then we got to walk the plank and swim in the warmest bluest water I had ever been in. It was so amazing. I will never forget it. When we got done with that we ate a grossly overpriced lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe and then wondered around and did some site seeing and shopping. The next day we went to Cozumel and did a shopping site seeing tour on a nice air conditioned bus. We drove around the whole Island of Cozumel and stopped at a local town and saw a Maya fertility temple, we went to a beach and hung out there and then did a Tequila factory and did some Tequila tasting. We learned a lot about the Island and it was nice to see all the different places and People. The next port Belize was canceled because of rough waters, so we stayed another day in Cozumel and went to La Playa Mia and soaked up some more sun. It included an open bar we could use all the water equipment free. Dawn and I tested out the Kayak that was a lot of fun for us and for probably every body watching lol Then after Cozumel we sailed on to Isla Roatan. When we woke up the next morning docked there it was a beautiful site. A Island covered in dark green forest and just an outline of a small town with brite colorful houses and shops. Dawn and Kevin had plans to snorkel there so Brian and I decided to just walk around shop and eat some local food and drink some local brew. We found a great bar the Blind Tiger and has some lobster and fried plantains it was so good and cheap. We did some shopping and found so many awesome gifts. WE had to leave Roatan at 3 so we got on board early and I took a nice long nap. All the ports were beautiful and the ship was so cool. The Best thing about cruising is all the things you can do on the boat. We a lot of comedy shows drank lots of alcohol( damn Sail and sign card) and did some gambling. Dawn and I got to play Black Jack Kevin played a lot of craps. Dawn and i played a family feud game and Brian and Kevin even got on stage and danced with 8 other guys. lol it was so much fun. WE danced in the night club and ate pizza at 3 am once. We had so much fun at dinner with good food and some really funny conversations. I am so glad I got to go with some of my best friends and I can't wait to go again.

October 6th

2008-10-06T09:21:00.001-07:00

So its only 5 days till our cruise. I can't believe it. I really shouldn't even be on here. I have so much stuff to do. The list is long, which is one of the reasons I am sitting here. lol That is my procrastinating side taking over. I still need to get disposable diapers (*sigh*) for Delaney and food for some dinners I want to freeze for the kids. so my mom and in-laws don't have to do too much work. Make some yummy beet pancakes and some vegi lasagna. Make sure all the bedsheets are nice and clean and double check my control Journal and make sure all the contact info and the instructions for the kids is all correct. Plus still pack. 5 days might sound like a long time, but I still have my normal everyday mom duties to attend to. I wish I had more time to just sit and write.
On a more more fun note. My best friend and I went and got pedicure's this weekend(Thanks for my B-day present) and my feet look and feel amazing. I was so nice to just take a few hours to ourselves and get away from the hubbies and the kids. Awww I really hope to make it a monthly thing.

October 2nd

2008-10-02T09:27:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't been on here as much. Life is so busy and each day just seems to blend in with the next. Last Saturday we had a baby shower for my sister. Good thing too because she went into pre-mature labor on Tuesday, luckily they were able to stop her contractions and put her on light bed rest.
Here are some pics from the shower.

The same Day Riley went to a cub scout activity A water bottle rocket Derby. He almost didn't get to go but luckily his Brian's parents were able to take him. I am so glad they did because he won 4 1st place Ribbons for his water bottle rocket. He sewed %80 of the whole thing. I help a little. I think it turned out pretty darn good. He got an award for most creative, most artistic, a judges award and most extravagant. I am so proud for him. I am super sad I missed it, I know he must have been so excited.

The rest of this week has just been me trying to clean and clean and oh clean with a little bit of trying to get my house in order so when we go on our cruise things will be taken care of. Only 8 more days I can't believe it. Well I better get off my lazy butt and get some stuff done.

September 25th

2008-09-25T10:42:00.000-07:00

long week frustrating week. ready for the weekend. throwing a baby shower for my sister. hope it all goes good. made 3 blankets this week two scoodies 2 diaper caddies a jacket for pinky, PJ pants for Matthew and nothing for me. lol Riley has cub scouts today and no game this weekend yeah. 2 weeks from Saturday we are going to be getting on a plane to Florida and our cruise yippy so nervous and excited at the same time

Delaney walks

2008-09-18T12:54:00.002-07:00

She has 4 teeth

2008-09-17T11:21:00.000-07:00

She has 4 teeth and Really long hair lol

September 15th

2008-09-15T09:31:00.000-07:00

Why is it so expensive to be green. Sigg bottles, expensive Organic food, expensive
Hemp shower curtains expensive. its crazy. Even green cleaning products are super expensive. Its ridiculous it drives me crazy.

September 12th some of my Crafty things

2008-09-12T09:49:00.000-07:00

some of the crafty things I have been up too...

A scoodie. I found this on this site --> Just Tutes I thought it looked super cute and easy to make so I tried it. what do you think?
I also have been making some baby blankets here and there. I made a super cute one for my Friend who is having a baby next month it has little owls all over it. I am so into Owls right now for some strange reason. can someone tell me what owls represent.

And of course some cute things for little miss pinky of course a cute diaper and a cute little tutu

If anybody wants any home made things just let me know baby blankets are awesome baby gifts and little girls always need tutus and of course with winter around the corner everybody needs a Scoodie.

September 10th

2008-09-10T10:12:00.000-07:00

updates short version....
Riley started second grade and is doing great. Along with tutoring and a good teacher I have noticed a dramatic difference. He gets his homework done at lightening speed and he does 90 percent of it on his own. Plus he is reading to us at night which we love. He is holding up really well with his full schedule. he has tutoring 3 days a week M-W-F cub scouts on Mondays and soccer practice every other Tuesday every other Wednesday and every Thursday. Wozzers huh. Plus the weekends consist of cub scout events and soccer games. His schedule alone is crazy, I am afraid to get Matthew involved in anything.
Matthew is getting more charming everyday and is growing like a weed if you can believe that. Yesterday on our way to pick up Riley I hear from the back seat " Hey mom I have hair on my legs and on my arms why?" I just started Laughing and then I heard " Hey whats so funny why are you laughing at me?" lol Of curse being a 3 year old his Favorite word in Why. Ugh I love how curious they are but oh my gosh It can get a bit old after a while if you know what I mean. He if fully out of diapers and is doing great he is even night trained all ready. He is learning his colors and numbers and ABC he catches on super quick. Everyday he amazes me with something he says or does. He can be a handful I will be the first to admit that but he brings such laughter and joy into our lives every day I would take all the craziness he brings just for one of his amazing little smiles or extraordinary hugs. Every night he snuggles up to us and says in his angelic little voice " I love my family very much" and names all of us off mommy daddy Pinky and he says even Riley haha.
Delaney "Pinky" she has four teeth and is practically running around the house. she has to feed herself now and has a little fit it you don't let her. Actually she is getting a little attitude about a lot of things. Yesterday I wouldn't let her play with scissors ( I know how could I) so she threw her arms down at her sides in protest and began to scream and me. I just laughed and thought wow it has all ready started. haha she is talking more and babbling a lot. She loves to play hide and seek with Matthew she giggles so hard its too funny. She loves her daddy and really likes when he brushes her hair, which is so long now I can put it in a little pony tail in the back. She has stopped nursing and has started sleeping through the night woopee for the sleep. She is still in cloth diapers and its is so much easier then I had thought. Her little tushie thanks me for it. lol
Well if you can believe it, that is the short version haha

September 9th

2008-09-09T09:45:00.000-07:00

I think I have officially stopped Breastfeeding, and I am a little sad about it. Breastfeeding came so easy with Delaney she really made it a great pleasure. she wasn't a hard baby at all in that department. I heard it was going to be so hard to stop nursing her, people would tell me it took them so long to wean, but it was so easy to wean her I had to stop and think wow am I really done is it over? She has started sleeping through the night now for the past 3 days. I put her crib bumper back in her crib and I think that has a lot to do with her sleeping so well. she is in wool covers over her cloth so her little bum gets a lot of air flow which I think is so much more comfortable for her, and she is walking like crazy now so she is pretty tired when her little head hits the mattress. My baby is growing up so fast. I am starting to freak out. Today I was talking to my Grandma on the phone and I was telling her how freaked out I am about going on a the cruise and I almost started crying. I am so scared to go and have something happen to us, I can hardly write about it now without crying. (luckily no body can see if I am or not). I am such a worry wart I know, but I really can't help it. Sometimes I think I have mild OCD when it comes to stuff like that I almost feel like I have to worry or over think every thing. if I don't' worry something bad might really happen. Its super hard to explain, I am sure others out there can relate and explain it so much better then me. All I know is that I can't be one of those people that are everything is going to be fine Cause what if its not. Then what huh. I have these lame conversations with my self all day everyday back and forth the two little Reginas in my Brain arguing with themselves over what to worry about and what not to worry about. I see why some people just snap. Can you just picture two little Mes yelling at each other lol oh just that thought alone mad me smile Thanks self I needed that.

September 5th

2008-09-05T09:33:00.000-07:00

I have never really been one to stress to hard about money, but man its so hard not to now a days. Everything is getting so expensive! every where you turn people are loosing homes, major business are shutting down. Just to drive around town to run errands it cost and arm and a leg in gas. Its hard to save for the future when you can hardly pay for the day to day stuff. I know that me going back to work won't even help because it will cost more to put the kids in day care( which I cringe at the thought of some stranger watching my babies) then I would bring home in pay. Plus my old company I use to work for just got bought by the company that Brian works for, so I wouldn't even be able to go back there. Times like I just want to pack up and move to a small town where we can walk ever where grow our own food and let go off all city life stress. It is my goal to get my family out of this state in the next 5 years trade it all in for a nice quiet life in the country were the kids can run and play in the sweet outdoors and just be outside and free. I would miss my Cali friends and family, but it would all be worth it if my kids can have a less stressful carefree life. I am sure that sounds a little naive and people say it would never be like that but I willing to try to make it happen.

September 3rd

2008-09-03T11:36:00.000-07:00

Good bye August! Man that was a busy month. Riley turned 8 on Sunday the 31st we had a small but exciting Birthday party for him He got a huge Jumpy house, Cotton candy machine and a spin Art Machine. The kids had a blast. The got loaded up on cotton Candy and jumped there little fannies off in the jumpy house. Saturday we went a really nice back yard wedding and had way way too much fun, and paid for the next day while we were trying to clean the house for the birthday party. Delaney is really starting to walk a lot, last night while I was reading the boys a bedtime story she decided to walk all the way down the hall while holding onto her sippy cup to come and join us for the story. It was so cute and she still has her little sumo walk where she lifts her leg up really high and slams it down and then lifts her other leg up and slams it down lol it cracks me up. She can walk side ways and even back wards all ready too. She loves to dance and shake her head to the music its really funny. All the kids are doing really well. Riley is reading so much better now and he says he really likes 2nd grade we shall see how long that last once real homework starts. He starts up with cub scouts again and soccer is still going great, lots of practice and meeting conflicts with the two but we will be able to work it out. Matthew is getting the cutest little personality he is such a charmer and so very smart. I have such a soft spot in my heart for him, and he knows it. Everybody says he is a little devil but I know that he is just a curious rambunctious 3 year old. September is upon us and I have so much to still do this month. I am trying ot plan my sisters baby shower and get my house in order for our trip, and write out instruction for taking care of the kids. I just got an e-mail about my passport and they said it will be her on or around 10-6 which is just 6 days before our trip that makes me sooooo nervous. Ugh I hate stress. well that's my weekly update now to get back to my life

August 26th

2008-08-26T09:15:00.000-07:00

Got some more ink done last night. OH the pain but its so worth it

I also made Delaney a cute little tutu she loves it.

August 25th

2008-08-25T11:47:00.000-07:00

Riley started 2nd grade toady, he looked so cute in his school uniform. He has another kid in his class that he has known since pre-school. Hopefully the don't goof off too much. luckily they sit way across the room from each other.
Friday we had a family day in San Fransisco. We rode in on Bart and then took trolley to get to pier 39. we tripped around the pier saw a magic show some sea Lions and rode on the merry-go-round. The kids were a lot better then I had anticipated we lost no one and had no injuries or bathroom accidents. Next I think we are going to take them to Alcatraz.

August 21

2008-08-21T08:42:00.000-07:00

The house is quiet and so peaceful right now, it makes me think of the times when I didn't have 3 kids. Its hard to image life with out them and all there wonderful noise. but I do cherish these times of quiet, and i know that I also should cherish all the noise as strange as that sounds. I know how fast they grow up and sooner then I know it they will be teenagers and will rarely be home. I wonder what kind of parent I will be when they are older. I know for sure I am going to be a worrier. I think Matthew will be the hardest to tame lol he has such a strong personalty all ready and he is only 3, but I also know he will be the one who will come to me for anything, he will be the kid who I can have the late night conversations with. I really hate to think to far into the future I really want to just live in the moment and love every second with them. I want to give them boundaries and rules but I also don't want their lives so structured they hate it. I hope I can really find that middle ground and as a parent that is so hard to do.
This month has been flying by Riley turns 8 next week and he starts school in a few days I will have to post a picture of him in his new school uniform. October will be here before we know it. We got our passports all sent off and hopefully get those some time in the next few weeks. our airline tickets are purchased and now I just have to do some clothes shopping and we should be all set. the only thing we need is money to spend on the vacation. lol well I better start my day and get as many chores done before the little ones wake up. :)

august 15th

2008-08-15T08:11:00.000-07:00

so I got up Early today well actually Delaney got up early today I had no choice but to get up. lol I was thinking of all the "things" I really used as a mother,and all the "things" I thought I needed but really didn't so I am making a list in hopes of helping all my friends who are becoming new mothers them selves. So they can save the money they spend on the things they don't really need and spend the money on the things that really do help. These are just my opinions what works for me wont' work for everybody

These are the tings I have never stop using over the years with all 3 of my kids.

*A good sling here are some great links for good slings- www.peppermint.com, http://www.nurturecenter.com/home.html
I used a sling with all 3 of my kids. With Riley he had colic and would not let me put him down, for Matthew he was a cluster feeder and wanted to nurse all the time, and with Delaney she is such a chunk wearing her takes a lot of stress of my back. It took me a while to get over the learning curve but once I did I couldn't live with out my sling.

* A bouncy seat
I like the bouncy seats they are a great portable sleeping place. The move easily from room to room and you can keep a close eye on them wherever you are.

*For nursing moms you need some comfortable fitting nursing bras, don't' get fooled into buying the most expensive either, I found mine at motherhood I bought two that were $20 a piece and a year later they still are working great.
Also good nursing pads I love the lansolin.

*a good bassinet,crib,play pen. I think a good sturdy simple one works you don't really need all the toy attachment and crazy stuff. just as long as it portable and sturdy

*A changing table
To me I thought this was not a must have until my back was aching from changing my son on the bed.

* baby legs
I just discovered these for my last baby and wish I would have found them sooner. They make diaper changes so easy, and when they start crawling they keep your baby's legs protected.

*something musical to play in baby's room to help them sleep. I got a baby mp3 player from Playskool. its nice portable and you can put any music on it and it holds a ton of songs.

* clip on baby chair the ones that clip onto the table used for all 3 of my kids

* Last but not least a magic baby Blanket Made by Me lol

Here are a few things I thought I really needed but really didn't
*diaper Genni
used but only for a few months

*bottle warmer
Waste of money

* wipe warmer :(

*lots of toys
yeah toys are fun at first but babies lose interest really fast. to me all babies really like for the first year are happy smiling faces, rattles, music,and food. I thought getting all the cool toys would keep the baby occupied and I could do things around the house, but no toys are good unless you play with the baby too.

* swings
I am on the fence about swings I had one and used it but I hated it cause it wasn't portable. I use the bounce seat more. to me they take up a lot of space and take a lot of batteries. @ out of 3 of my kids liked them but they also like a bouncy seat just as much.

* Fancy TV baby monitor

*co-sleepers
uncomfortable

Well I am sure there are many more I can put on both list but that is enough for now. The thing I do know after having 3 kids is As a mom you do whatever you need to do just to survive! Being a parent is tough and you have moments but those moments pass and the good days always out weigh the bad.

August 12

2008-08-12T23:16:00.001-07:00

Its late Tuesday night, Delaney is still awake and crying poor baby. The boys are asleep. Its only Tuesday and its all ready been a stressful week, well actually its been a stressful month. I can barley think about the day to day stuff much less the stuff I need to plan for a month down the road. It's sad but I hope next year will be a little less caotic. The most stressful thing right now is the cruise we have coming up in October, isn't that suppose to be the less stressful thing. lol
on a high note This past Sunday we had Delaney's first birthday party and it went pretty well. It was uncomfortable hot and the all the kids got a little too crazy but it turned out to be a great day. Delaney was in a super mood the whole day and she seemed to really enjoy all the people.

Here is a cute picture of her and her cake.

August 5 ! were did July go?

2008-08-05T07:19:00.000-07:00

Summer time is almost over. August is one of the biggest months for me. Delaney turns one on the 8th, my baby sister turns 28 on the 13 and Riley turns 8 on the 31st.
Riley also starts school this year super early on the 25th. This will be the first year he gets to celebrate his birthday with his classmates. I am pretty excited about that. I am hoping this year I will be able to volunteer in his classroom more then I did in the past.
on side note I got more more done on my tattoo. its really starting to take some shape it looks so 3D now, can't wait to see the color in it.
We are getting ready for our cruise to the Caribbean, its right around the corner. I have so much planning to do, and on top of planning for that I still have to remember all the day to day stuff I have to do. Soccer practices and games, birthday parties to plan,daily tutoring sessions for Riley and the list goes on and on. ugh I don't know how some people do it. I got up at 6 this morning just to start my day early so I could get a head start on my cleaning and laundry before all the kids got up. I shouldn't even be on here lol

July 26th

2008-07-26T08:14:00.000-07:00

Saturday is here and the house is quiet, Brian is at the store getting oil to make our weekend breakfast. Yummy homemade Dough nuggets. Riley and Brian make them for the rest of us and they are soooo yummy.Riley is out of summer school, so now he just has his daily tutoring which seems to be going good. He likes it and is excited about going and for Riley that says a lot. He has his first soccer practice on Tuesday so Brian's parents are going to get him a new pair of Soccer shoes today. Brian is going to work on a friends car and I think I am just going to lounge around the house, maybe do some sewing or do some de-cluttering. I am been keeping on a schedule for about 2 weeks now thanks to a very helpful website. WWW.flylady.com I actually looked it a few years ago but it just wasn't for me then, I then stumbled across it again and it has been a life safer. My house isn't always clean but it is so tidy now. I don't have those piles of crap everywhere. and you can actually walk through the living room without stepping on toys. My bedroom is getting more and more de-cluttering every day you can see my dresser and Brian's dresser. The desk is visible and the mounds of papers are getting smaller. The felling I got from all the stuff was a suffocating feeling, and it is gone. Now every night before bed my kitchen is clean and my catch-alls are cleared. I am even having the boys pitch in. I have certain chores for certain days, not really chores but more like tasks like Wednesday is clean out the fridge day and Thursday is strip diapers day and Friday is clean out the car day. Doing the little things that take minutes on different days makes it so much easier then doing it all at once when I remember to do them. So i have journal now and I write everything I do down and it has helped me figure out a great routine and schedule for my family.
Tomorrow I have a baby shower to go to I made the cutest blanket for the new baby, I Hope the mom likes it lol. well my hubby is home and the baby must have heard him cause now she is awake Dough nuggets here we come haha

July 22nd

2008-07-22T10:23:00.000-07:00

July 11th

2008-07-11T15:46:00.000-07:00

Today was a pretty good day. I am finding it a little easier to get up in the morning thank God. I still haven't been able to keep a schedule, the main problem is Matthew and his naps but everything else is falling into place. For the past two weeks I have been itching to get my arm Tattooed. I want a half sleeve on my left arm,All Flowers with some wispy black and Gray smoke behind them. I all ready have a Rose on the inside now I just want the rest done.
The heat today was bearable but for some reason now at 4:00 pm its starting to heat up YUCK. Antioch is a hot place even when its windy.

July 10th

2008-07-10T13:52:00.000-07:00

Aww Thursday the day before Friday. today has been pretty uneventful. just doing my laundry and chasing the kids around. Delaney is getting more and more mischievous. She like to push the buttons on the T.V. She thinks it is really funny when she does it she claps and giggles. I think we might have our hands full with her. She is all ready getting a little attitude.
Today for Breakfeast Matthew had Bacon with Peanut butter on it. lol he said it was Yummy. well I was just happy he was eating.
Thats about it we have the air on and we are just trying to stay cool.

July 8th

2008-07-08T09:21:00.000-07:00

Well Delaney is 11 months old today. Only a few more weeks and she is going to be 1! Time flies by so fast. She is trying to walk. She was giving my zurburts(sp) last night and laughing her head off. I need ot get that on video. She already teases us, she gets going down the hall and when we go to catch her she turns laughs and crawls even faster. its hilarious.
I got up early and got Riley off to school, then came home and cooked some beet Pancakes. I know sounds sorta gross if you don't like beets. but you can't even taste them and it makes the pancakes a cool color red. The kids just eat them up. Matthew is doing pretty good with going on the toilet. Well I am going to try to get ready for this super hot day. I am going to take advantage of the heat and dry my cloths on the clothes line.

July 7th

2008-07-07T10:21:00.000-07:00

July 7th already. My father turned 57 this past weekend. We went downtown for the Fourth of July to watch Riley be in the parade with his cub scout troop. He was so cute on the parade, when it got to our section he was super shy and just barely raised his hand to wave. lol Then we go to leave and we go to my car and oh my god where are my keys?!! Oh they are in the car in the ignition. I was in such a hurry to get Riley to his float on time I left the keys in the car with it on not running but just enough to drain the battery. REGINA STRIKES AGAIN I am such a idiot sometimes. Luckily Brian and his parents were there to help. we ended up having to go home twice once to get the keys and then again to get extra long jumper cables. We got home and since our breaker box is broken and we have no microwave or oven Brian cooked a fabulous dinner of lettuce wraps YUMMMMY on the BBQ. Then on Saturday we headed out to Fairfield to watch the UFC fight. The night was fun my best friends niece and nephew were out visiting and it was a really treat to see them since i haven't seen then since they were babies. Matthew of course went straight for my Friends niece( he is the little ladies man already). we got home and I went to get Matthew ready for bed and noticed a rash on him and the next morning he woke up with it all over his body. we ended up going to the after hours Doctor and turns out he has Hives. No idea how he got that, but at least he is still in a good mood. Last night I noticed Delaney getting another tooth and during dinner Riley lost one lol.
The past week has been good just trying to keep up on chores and trying to stick to a schedule. Brian and I sat down and tried to figure one out that would work for both of us. and we got it pretty figured out. Its not a min by min thing but its just a rough idea of eating and sleeping times. now its just my job to uphold it. the hardest part is figuring out what to have for dinner every night. That's the frustrating part.
Riley is going to be starting Soccer soon, and his 8th birthday and Delaney's 1st birthday are coming up next month. So I have a lot of planning to do for that. LIfe goes on everyday, the life of a house wive might seem boring and mundane to others but its no where near that.

June 27th

2008-06-26T12:05:00.000-07:00

having a slow day. just kind of meandering around the house, not really doing any of my chores I should be doing. I got up and got Riley off to school. I am finding that I really am enjoying doing this. I think its because its just him and I. We get up early eat breakfast together talk on the way to school and its nice and quiet. When the other two kids join the mix its always hard for Riley to get a word in and he gets very frustrated. I think I really need to do more one on one time with each one of my kids and so does Brian. It really gives us a chance to get to know them a lot better, and it would help them to get all the attention once in a while.
I have also ventured in to the land of cloth diapering. I have been going slow I still use disposable when I go out of the house and for at night. I haven't gotten enough cloth diaper covers ( I only have one) to feel comfortable going to the sore in a cloth diaper and she still wets a lot a night for me to be sure she will be comfortable in a cloth diaper. I have been wanting to change to cloth for some time know and I wish I had done it with Matthew but I wasn't as well informed as I am now. So I have decided to to cloth for Delaney and really really focus on getting Matthew in underwear. he is doing really well so far. I think he likes his disposables cause when he goes in them he gets attention when he needs a diaper change. So we are really trying to encourage and reward him for going on the toilet. I also think he get busy doing stuff and just doesn't want to pull himself away from things to got in the potty. Man life with 3 kids is hectic and I never stop worrying, but its also so rewarding and wonderful. :)
Her are some cute pics!

June 20th

2008-06-20T09:44:00.000-07:00

Well its Friday I survived this week, I can't believe I still have my sanity. On Monday my niece came out to stay for the week. She is 5 so I had 4 kids this week. Luckily she is a huge helper and doens' talk back or whine. She had only two moments of home sickness and they she was very easy to comfort.I was very proud of her. Delaney had been fighting a fever over the weekend I thought it was her breaking her teeth in, but on Tuesday morning she woke up at 5 am with a terrible looking rash on her face and upper body. So the kids and I headed out to the doctors to get her checked out. Turns out she got Rosiola somehow. luckily the rash is the end of it and the next day she woke up just fine. She was a little fussy but not too bad. Tuesday night I forgot to shut or Garage door and some one came into our garage and stole Brian's laptop. I felt so awful, and stupid. So Wednesday was a pretty rough day, I was feeling terrible so in turn my negative vibes rubbed off on the kids and they were all acting up. So at 3 I decided to get them out of the house and head down to the Library for a cool Bug lab they had going on. The kids all got to hear and learn about bugs and how important they are even though they seem really icky. they even got to touch and hold the bugs if they wanted to, which to my surprise they did. They had just to name the ones I remember. A Madagascar hissing Coach roach, a huge Cricket, a couple walking stick bugs and a Millipede. There were a few more but I can't remember what they were. Then we went home and tried to keep cool. I think it got to about a 100 degrees. Thursday we got up and ate and headed out to pump it up and fun place for kids with jumpy houses and big inflatable slides. They had a blast and I had fun just watching them. Then the kids got a Happy meal and headed home to relax. then around 6, Brains uncle came by and dropped off a almost new washer and Dryer and fridge. So we got to work cleaning out the old fridge and trying to get the new one in. OH my god its a huge fridge Brian ended up having to cut a strip out of the counter top to make it fit int he place the old fridge was. So here it is Friday its 10 am the kids just had breakfast they are sitting down watching a quick movie I am goint to go exercise and then head of to a nice shower. to get my busy day started. WE have to clean the house get all megs clothes together and sorted, then go check Riley's summer school to see what class he is in, then head out of town with our first stop being my Friends carries so I can finally see baby Robbie, then to my dads work to visit and pick up some tickets, then to napa to drop off Meg and visit with my mom and sis, then to my cousin Suzy's house to show her house to use a Met tie, and then hopefully home before nine. haha I must be crazy. Well I am off.

June 10th

2008-06-10T11:04:00.001-07:00

Feeling a little sappy
I don't know if its the two cups of Coffee or the heat but I am feeling extremely sappy right now. For those of you who know me well I don't ever ever drink coffee, but thought it would help me today sense I got up at 6 am and only slept about 4 hours last night. So far its helped a little. Any ways back to my reason for writing this. I just wanted to say to all those mothers out there and all those soon to be mothers I know( i think the total is now up to 8) I just want to say Being a mother is the greatest job I have ever had. I am sure you would all agree. The pay is the best cause it is paid to us in love and kisses and the wonderful joy of accomplishment when we witness our kids doing great. Even the smallest things make your day. unlike my other jobs I had were you get a good pat on the back and a nice piece of paper saying you did a good job, now I get I love you mommies and hugs and kisses. Even though some days are harder then others I wouldn't trade them for anything. On the nights were my daughter doesn't sleep or the dayswere my 3 year old refuses to eat anything I just remember how lucky I really am to just have there smiling faces in my life and how I couldn't image a time without them. For some reason this year I have been looking at life in a new way. I dont' care really what others are doing or what drama is going on. I just want to be present in my own life and be aware of what I have going on. I don't judge people as much ( i never really did too much) anymore and I don't hate on people either. Just those actions alone have made me a better person and so less likely to stress out. I use to look at others and think in my head man I wish I had a nice house like that or new fancy car. But I came to realize that I have everything I need , food, shelter., insane amounts of love. I don't need anything else. My kids are happy and healthy and well taken care of. Maybe they don't have all the newest toys and coolest toys but they have a family and friends that care a lot about them. As of right now in this stage of my life I want to just live day by day and not think to much about what is going on down the road. Thinking too much ahead makes the days now go by way too fast. love to you all

June 9th

2008-06-09T22:15:00.000-07:00

aww wonderful Monday. Got up and got Riley off to school and took Matthew along. Matthew and I had to attend a "raising a reader" meeting with a Librarian as a speaker. the Librarian didn't show up ,but Matthew still ended up getting a new book bag and I got 8 new canvas bags that were left over from the program. So now I hve new canvas shopping bags Yeah. Just those alone were worth going to the meeting. by the time we got home it was a little after 9 am and I had a messy! house to clean. I tried to walk on the treadmill but the house was getting to me so I cut my walk short and started cleaning. My main goal of the day was to get the kids rooms consolidatedand get the clothes and good unbroken toys together to donate. Then purge all the old and broken toys. I got that done and the rooms are so nice now they might actually get played in. My other Goal was to get Matthew to take a nap. Whoa what a crazy goal huh. I have been so lazy about this one, but for the last 3 days (except Sunday) I have had him up by 7 and down for a nap by 12 in hopes he would go to bed by 8 or 9 so I am able to be in bed by 11 pm at the latest.
on another note Delaney is now 10 months old and is just a preciouse little girl. I started to notice yesterday a sharp little point in her gums, looks like she is finnaly going to get a tooth.And she is still such a happy baby. WEll I am off to bed its 10 pm and all the kids are asleep and now its my turn yeah

June 8th

2008-06-08T19:51:00.000-07:00

June 8th we headed to Contra Loma Park for Riley's Graduation from being a tiger cub to a Wolf cub. it was a hot day but a fun one. The kids ran around and played Frisbee, catch, played in the sand and flew a kite. Had a nice lunch and had a little ceremony that the parents got to participate in. it was really cool

After all that we headed home and Riley and Matthew played on the slip and slide.

June 6th

2008-06-06T10:09:00.000-07:00

I am tired but in a great mood. Had a really rough night with little miss Delaney who didn't want to go back to sleep at 4:30 this morning,so I had a early start today. Which turned out to be a good thing because I had to get the little kids up and out to go to Riley's school for an awards ceremony. He received 2 awards. I was so happy for him, he got one for perfect attendance for the last trimester of school and a certificate of achievement award for his compucat tests. What a great way to start of the weekend.

Other then that everything is irritating me. Especially the Damn dog. I get so cranky when I don't get enough sleep and that is happening way to much lately. I get so mad when I have to be the one up trying to get the baby back to sleep while the boys go on snoring and sleeping so soundly. I am really frustrated with how often Delaney gets up at night, I know she can sleep through the night if I just stick to my guns and not nurse her down every time she wakes up. Its just so tempting and easy to just feed her and put her back to sleep. The one thing I haven't done is put her in my bed to go back to sleep she has always slept in her own crib, she is just so much more comfortable in there and she has her music which helps lull her to sleep. The week that Riley gets out of school is when I am going to buckle down and try my hardest to not nurse her back to sleep. Wish me luck. !!!

June 4th

2008-06-04T10:26:00.000-07:00

Well The time is here, As of May 30th Delaney figured out Crawling and boy can she scoot. She is fast and fallows the boys and I everywhere. She is also pulling herself up onto things like the couch and chairs. She pulls herself up in her crib, so now in the morning when I go in to feed her she is standing there with her big beautiful toothless grin. Its so adorable. I am so proud of her she is such a smart and happy baby. she is so interactive too. Every night at dinner while Riley,Brian and I are talking at the dinner table she is over there in her High chair playing peek-a-boo with Matthew and giggling and laughing. If you ask her "where is Pinky?" She puts here hands over her eyes and laughs and then flops her hands down, we all clap and laugh and say "oh there she is" haha its so much fun.
She still is nursing wonderfully and I am debating on if I want to stop nursing at one or keep nursing and just take a week of when we go on our cruise and then pick back up nursing. I guess I will play it by ear and see how things go.

May27th

2008-05-27T09:40:00.000-07:00

Well May is almost coming to an end. what a crazy month. Yesterday was memorial day and I had a wonderful day. Actually the whole weekend was awesome. Friday Riley and his cub scout troop put flags on all the war veteran's grave markers. It was a great and humbling experience to say the least.
Saturday the family drove up to Sacramento for a family Birthday /BBQ.
Then on Sunday we drove out to Stockton to hang with our friend Malia,Adam and there adorable baby boy Devon. That was a lot of fun just kicking back talking laughing and having some great food. Monday we got up super early packed up the family + our neighbor Dean and headed out to Fairfield, Brian and Dean were going golfing with Kevin and his co-worker. Dawn and i hung out for a min at her house and then my mom called and convinced us to get the kids and come out to Napa,to BBq at my Grandma's house. When we got there my mom had a hair brain idea to go out to the golf course gets some golf carts and harass Brian and the guys. So of course we did we had to bring the extra golf balls. We knew they were going to be loosing a lot during there 18 holes of golf. We had two golf carts 3 adults and 5 kids you do the math. haha we looked so pretty crazy. After tearing up the golf course we went back and had fun at the park with the kids and cooking with my mom. We didn't end up getting home until after 10:30 last night. Then we woke up early again and Brian had a work meeting and I took number 1 to school I better get to cleaning the house and cooking lunches. whoo hoo good time with family and friends!!

May 22

2008-05-22T11:36:00.000-07:00

its so crazy windy outside right now there are tumbleweeds blocking my front gate. It knocked our power out this morning. I didn't notice cause I was sleeping
Do you think Matthew is comfortable. lol

May 20th

2008-05-20T11:51:00.000-07:00

Tuesday May 20th. The weather has cooled off a lot its now really muggy and windy. I am watching Lilly today. She just went down for a nap, and Delaney is sleeping too. Delaney should be waking up soon. It's been a crazy week. Saturday we had Riley's scout-o-Rama that was a ton of fun. They had booths set up and the kids got to play a ton of cool games and learn some new things. Riley tied a square knot launched a treveshe(sp) and made a water bottle rocket. Matthew got to do join him so it was so cute seeing them do that stuff together. Then we headed to a birthday party. Sunday we had Matthew party, and I have to say it was the funnest party I have had here for the kids so far. WE had a jumpy house,played pin the nose on the clown and had a pinata. The kids had a blast and my mom cooked her famous Hamburgers in a hot dog bun. I am very lucky to have such great friends and a awesome family. I am so grateful for the simple things in life. I have been learning recently that rushing through life and wanting everything now isn't' the best way of life for me. I am learning to take thing slower. and to really look at the big picture. Life just goes by way too fast, and its not worth getting all angry all the time and stressing over every little thing. I just want to have fun while I can. I know that sounds pretty childless but if I am an Adult about all the things I need to be responsible for I can have fun in every other part of my life. I just have grown out of wanting Dram a in my life,now I just want to sit back and enjoy the ride. have fun with my kids and my Husband.

May 14th

2008-05-14T09:39:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to Matthew today he is 3 years old.its amazing that its only been 3 years. Matthew as a little guy
This was taken today

Well today's post might have you laughing or not,haha
So I got up and because Brian had a meeting this morning I took Riley to school. I got into the car and the radio was on Alice. The D.J Sarah was talking about how she thinks of her life as a movie, and how all day long she has a running narration going on in her head. The male D.J's couldn't believe it they didn't understand. I was sitting there going OMG that is what I do all day long. lol I totally talk to myself in my head, I think about all the things I would love to write down and tell people, then when I do go to write them down its not as funny as it was in my head. I have arguments with myself I go through things I would say to someone if I had the courage to say it. I know there are others out there just like me. Constantly thinking and talking to that little voice in your head.
So on the way home from dropping Riley off at school I was even narrating this in my head of what I was going to write in this blog. OMG am I sad or what. I am sure its not as interesting as it was in my head. haha
So if there are others out there please comment and tell me so I don't feel so retarded. here are some other things I do maybe you can relate
- If I am shopping and I find something I don't really need but want I carry it around with me and if by the time I get to the check out if I still am not sure if I want it I put it back.
-I have fake arguments in my head with my self
-I can't stand the feel of newspaper or even brown paper bags
-I have a real hard time throwing things away, it makes me so nervous sometimes I just can't do it. I know if it wasn't for my husband I would be like those pack rats you see on those cleaning tv shows.
-I have to sleep with at least a sheet on even if its like a million degrees at night
-I love to read but I can't spell worth a crap if it wasn't for spell check I would be doomed. oh there are so many other things I can't even remember right now.

May 13th

2008-05-12T12:23:00.000-07:00

Well I had a great mothers day! My mom came up Saturday night and spent the night and we had Brunch with Brian's mom and step-father. he made the best eggs benedict. My favorite breakfast ever. The rest of the day went well, relaxed in the back yard sunbathing in my hammock with a margarita. Monday was a good day, I got up and got my butt on my treadmill. I didn't' want to I never do. I got on and I actually jogged for 10 mins which is a big accomplishment for me. I couldn't believe I did it. I felt great and very proud of my self. Then Brian, I and the kids went to get Riley and went to Wal-mart. Saw some live action drama take place. A woman got caught shoplifting and when the undercover security guard tried to take her in to custody her posse started trying to fight the security guard. oh it was great.People are so stupid sometimes it amazes me. Then after all that we went shopping and then went home. I tried to get some sewing done but that didn't go so well. Then we went out to dinner and had an nice family dinner.
Today is off to a slow start. Matthew is in time out crying and Delaney is trying to take a nap. I still need to walk and get stuff together for Matthew's birthday party this weekend.

May 9th

2008-05-09T17:37:00.000-07:00

Woke in a horrible mood today. Its really bad when you start your day off like that. I got very little sleep last night( what else is new right?) Delaney woke up around 3 and wanted to eat and then I put here back to bed and I couldn't fall back to sleep right away so like a crazy old lady I am packing Riley's school lunch at 3:45 AM. When I got back to bed Matthew was in my spot and wouldn't give it up he ended up kicking me in the face, nice huh? I just had no motivation today and my poor house looks like a tornado hit it.
ON the bright side Riley and I started on his Cub scout projects, Since he joined late we have to do all the Den activities at home which is actually quiet fun. We just did a food pyramid, and we started a family scrapbook. We did a leaf rubbing last night which turned out pretty cool. We have to do a lot more so he can graduate in June but it won't be that hard. He got his little tiger paw last night so he can start putting his beads on it. My mother -in-law found Brian's old cub scout uniform that she kept, it was so cool seeing Riley wear it. His face just lights up and you can tell he is so proud of himself when he wears his uniform, its too cool.
We are going to have a big BBQ with the Neighbor tonight, some pork loin and tiger prawns yummy. Tomorrow Delaney and i are going to pick up Dawn and head over to a friends house for a purse party. Friday started off Rocky but it seems like its going to end up OK.:)

2008-05-08T13:40:00.000-07:00

This is too cute Delaney saying Da-Da. She says it all the time and usually claps and laughs too. Brian gets so happy when she says it when he walks into a room. She interacts so much now and Matthew is her constant showtime circus performer. He is always acting goofy for her. I tried to get her on video acting like a monkey and picking at his hair and eating his imaginary fleas. it was too funny. she seriously looked like a little baby monkey with his head in her lap and her little fingers picking through his hair. i couldn't stop laughing. But every time I got the camera out she wanted to play with that instead. oh well one day I will get it on film so I can embarrass her and Matthew later. lol

May 8th

2008-05-08T10:35:00.000-07:00

Whoo Delaney is 9 months old today. We just got back from her Doctors apt. She is now 19lbs and 10oz and 27inches long. She is growing great and is right on schedule developmentally. she got two shots and is sleeping now.
I love Thursdays, Riley has cub scouts on Thursdays and I love taking him to that. He feels so grown up in his cub scout uniform. and all my favorite shows are on Thursday night. so thanks to my Tivo after I get all the kiddies down to sleep I get to veg out and relax in front of the T.V. Then come the very welcomed Friday.

May 7th

2008-05-07T10:27:00.000-07:00

So glad its Wednesday. I am looking forward to Mothers day. i hope my mom can make it out. I haven't spent a mothers day with her in almost 3 years. I still have a card I bought 3 years ago. It's hard with the gas prices to go out and see her as much as i would like, and its hard for her to get out here too.
Its been 3 days on my new exercise , eating plan. Its going good so far. I just have to keep my ass on the treadmill. its hard but once I get passed the first 15 mins it gets easier. Plus My best friend and i are keeping each other encouraged. Every day I send her an e-mail telling her how I have been and asking her how she is doing. It makes us accountable to each other. For me its good writing to her everyday because its like I am also telling my self to keep on track.
No major plans for today just get my stuff done around the house and keep the kids entertained. Delaney woke me up around 6:45 with her little coos and Da-Da. She says Da-DA all the time and sometimes it even sounds like she says Dad. its so cute. its funny when Riley and Matthew try to get her to say mamama. She will be ( months old tomorrow. still no teeth and not crawling yet, but she gets around good. she just scoots herself on her little behind. She also has a walker and she is all over the place in that thing. Matthew woke up today around 9:30 and the first thing he said when he say me was "You love me mommy?" he just melts my heart, then 20 mins later he is breaking a DVD and having a melt down. haha
The weather is perfect outside, I think I am gong to go clean the kitchen and get the kids outside to play.

May 6th

2008-05-06T13:06:00.000-07:00

Delaney is sleeping and Matthew is relaxing watching a movie. I have a few minutes before I have to go get Riley from school. I have been so frustrated lately for now apparent reason. my mind is pulled in a million different directions. I have so much I want/need to accomplish during the day its hard for me to focus on one thing. I don't know how people do it some days. I did get a good healthy Breakfast and lunch on the table today and exercised for a good solid 30 min. Thank Goodness Brian was home till almost 12 to help clean the boys room and the kitchen.

I want to be able to be like one of those mothers that has everything organized and the family ona schedule. I try but its hard for me since I have never been like that. I think the first step is to get up at the same time everyday. That is my biggest hurdle only cause Delaney still isn't sleeping through the night yet. hopefully soon when she is I can get a good solid night sleep and be able to get up and start my day off on a good start. I just feel like my day goes a bit more smoothly when I can get up before Matthew and get some things done.

may 2nd

2008-05-06T12:43:00.000-07:00

Took a nice long walk today with the kids and Brian to pick Riley up from school. It turned out a lot easy then I thought it was going to be. On the way home Both Delaney and Matthew fell asleep and Riley didn't complain once about having to walk. The weather was perfect it was not too hot and the sun was covered by the clouds. I am hopping to do that at least a couple times a week. Depending on what I have to get done during the day. It took us all together about 2 hours to walk there and back. I am not exactly sure what the distance is but I am guessing about 3 miles round trip.Thank god for my deluxe duo Cadillac of strollers. We are going to BBQ tonight and my friend Kelly is stopping by to pick up a Blanket I made for her to give as a gift at a baby shower. Looking forward to tomorrow. We are headed to Santa Rosa to a surprise 30th birthday party for my cousin. Should be tons of fun.