home

so i've been in the mood to do some shopping lately. typically, i don't like to shop at all. but its always fun to find something new for the house. (or myself, of course) i've been looking at csnstores (those awesome folks who sponsor those giveaways) and finding stuff from le creuset, these super cute removable chalkboard circles, and just about everything else under the sun.

remember back when i was mentioning wanting something for my kitchen... a cabinet, preferably red, etc...

well guess what we found sitting by a dumpster.now its time to shop for some new dishes for those shelves. maybe some sort of unique art for those bare walls...

and then all i'll need is a personal chef and my kitchen will be complete.

but the home improvement doesn't stop there. stay tuned for part 2 which involves my husband and all his hard work at making the kids room look a little less like pepto bismol vomit and more like a super fun place to build all your childhood memories.

pictures to come after i do some serious cleaning...

so don't hold your breath or anything...

that will all be after i do some more shopping at csnstores. and then i'll come back and tell you all about what i got.

i know, you can hardly wait. (neither can i!)

lunch date

so guess who we had lunch with today?

(mom, that's eddie cibrian (actor) and leann rimes (singer))

ok, so not with them. but with them. they were only a table away.

there was once a day that eddie and i were going to run away together.

back when he was jimmy doherty, hot new york firefighter from third watch. (you know, back before he was an adulterer and left his wife and child for a beautiful singer.)

but alas, i've grown up since then. so as he was gazing wistfully at me across the tables i simply had to shrug my shoulders and say, "sorry to break your heart, eddie. you missed your chance. i've moved on to bigger and way better things."

and i held anthony's hand as we walked out to the parking lot, past his porsche, and climbed into our minivan....

and rode off into the sunset.

and we lived happily ever after.

VBS

so i realize i've been a little absent from the blog lately.

its just that there are so many things to do... friends and family to see, books to read, beaches to visit...
the summer has been full. and relaxing too.

this week was VBS.

monday started a bit insane for my liking. i put mason in the nursery so i could help out.

naturally, it didn't go so well. and if you leave my son sitting by himself on the floor, crying hysterically for over an hour, he won't be coming back. k?
and since i was serving in the craft room (clearly, not well thought out... crafts???) and it happened to be in the 2 year old sunday school room, mason could just come with me and play in the corner with the toys while i helped 85 thousand 4 year olds glue owl eyes on paper bags.

i was relieved of my VBS duties after mason tore down the decorations and threw a book at a kids head.

i then became a lady of leisure. what to do for 3 hours while the older kids are in VBS?

well, of all exciting destinations to chose, we started at the DMV. i have yet to get my california driver's license. the law says something like 10 days after moving. 10 days, 10 months. what's the difference?

and after 40 minutes and the list not even a third of the way to my name, and after mason had exhausted all attempts at entertaining himself with the 3 crayons, 2 cars, stale play-dough and bag of jelly beans in my purse it was obviously time to head to the mall.

sorry, state of california, someday...

so... the mall. it was fun except for the fact that everything i want is either way too expensive or i'd have to stop eating until at least december for it to actually look any good on me. oh, and then there was mason pulling things off of hangers and throwing his shoes at that cute elderly couple...

the mall wasn't the greatest option either.

i could have headed home. there was plenty of cleaning and laundry piling up. in fact, bennett said to me this week, "mom, i really need more clothes." umm, what? this kid never asks for clothes. "yeah, there is nothing left in my drawer."

oh, that. oops. yeah, you can wear your dirty stuff.

so now that it is friday afternoon and VBS is officially over, i'm rather looking forward to next week. i much prefer not needing to be anywhere at any specific time. and i like to take my time in the morning eating breakfast, cleaning up, getting ready for the day and wasting a good chunk of time on facebook and reading favorite blogs of mine.

and then there's plenty to do... the beach... the zoo... coffee with friends...life around here is pretty good.

july was...

...the month we wore sweaters (and amazingly, this time not because we were doing the freeze out method with our air conditioning in order to cool the house as much as possible before the time-of-use program began at 12:00 and the cost of electricity went through the roof for the afternoon)

and the month i discovered mason is completely obsessed with watermelon.he can't seem to get enough.

this was right after he woke up. he headed straight for his high chair and got started. before 7 am.
it never occurred to me one of my children could have such a passion for this non exciting fruit.

because in the words of ella, "i don't care much for watermelon. it really tastes pretty much like nothing."

i couldn't agree more.

picnic night

i probably haven't mentioned lately how much i don't miss phoenix.

(dear loved ones not included) last night, we went to the park for a picnic dinner. it was pretty much like a perfect fall day. except it's july.

it was overcast, cozy, i was wearing a sweatshirt and i was still really chilly.

it was completely fantastic! it has not escaped my attention that my friends and family in phoenix are facing heat advisories.

was it really so long ago that i was once among them? whining and hating the very existence of deserts everywhere?

anyhow, park picnic night was super fun. squeals of laughter, lots of exercise, and no dishes.

and...

we headed home for a nice cup of hot tea to warm up our insides.

happy summer, everyone!

"what did you do in sunday school today?" boys vs girls

ella:
it says: "i love bennett mason daddy mammy"

and its patriotic, Jesus, lovely.

bennett comes running up to me with his:

"mommy! this is daddy. this is his gun:
... and i put a bullet in it! just in case there are any bad guys or dangerous creatures."

so watch out dangerous creatures and bad guys. apparently "love one another" might involve a bullet in your head if you mess with bennett's daddy.

my men are natural protectors.