Hotel California

Beverley & Lewis - February 27th, 2010

I slept almost the whole way home from California so Im ready to blog. The wedding was lovely. They had picked the cutest little Italian restaurant in San Diego and we had the whole place to ourselves. Because of the rain, they moved the wedding ceremony inside to the restaurant. Lewis's friend, Paul, married them in a small (family & close friends) ceremony. They exchanged vows and rings and there were lots of happy tears shed. I dont think I've ever imagined Lewis could be so emotional.....it was very endearing though! We had a great time visiting and getting to know his family and friends. The kids played and had fun.....it was very laid back and relaxed - just like the newlyweds!! I didn't get a lot of pictures but I love the ones I did get. It's very evident the love that these two have for each other and we wish them a lifetime of love and happiness which Im sure they will have 10 times over!

Mommy & Me

We're getting really excited about Beverleys wedding this weekend in California. I took the car in today and got it ready for the 4hr drive down to San Diego. I can't believe my little sister is going to be married. I'm so happy for her and I know she will be a beautiful bride and wife. I think Lewis knows the crazy family that he's marrying into and we're glad to take him into the madness. Mandy has a cute picture of them on her blog that I thought about stealing but didn't.

Kami and I decided to take her little bike with us so when they did the work (which included a free car wash -in and out- that was DESPERATELY needed) we could go for a little walk. It was so fun....... We packed a "picnic" which she ate while we waited on the oil/filter change and then we went for our walk over to Michaels Craft Store while they cleaned the car. She was very cute on her little push bike and we talked the whole way. On the way back she was feeling much more comfortable so she waved and put her hand out to stop the people in cars around us (we were on a pretty busy intersection - by walmart for those of you who know about where I'm talking!). She was excited to wait for the little green man to signal we could cross and people started waving back and pointing.....hopefully in a good way?

We don't often get to do things like this. We spend a LOT of our time in the van running from A to B to Z so it was definitely a treat to talk and laugh with my little one and she maneuvered the bike really well!

Sticky Notes

When I was cleaning the girls room, I found a packet of sticky notes that sam had given to Baili . There was some notes in baili's handwriting.

One was checked as follows:

• Bed Made
• Room Clean
• Hair Done
• Clothes On
• Socks On
• Big Smile

I love that Baili is never fully dressed without a smile! Cute!

The other one was also so typical of our Baili and how she thinks......

REASONS WHY I SHOULD NOT DIE!

1. I am too cute!

2. Most Creative

3. Has over 20 BFF's

4. I'm Irish!

5. An Angel

6. Did I mention too cute!

I'm really glad that Baili has good self esteem.

I feel like I have a blogger in the making.......she is totally my creative princess and I love her.

Also some other exciting news. We did family pictures on Saturday with Lynette who Ive known for years, from Alamo, and is also a very talented photographer. It was really fun. She texted me that she had worked on some of the pictures and had a sneak peek posted to her blog.

To see visit... http://photographybylynette.blogspot.com/

Am I a Sucker?

So I mailed off something at the city stop post office 2day and this picture caught my attention....

Not so much the water...although is there such a thing as "Fake Water"?? Hmmmm don't think so BUT the picture of pro volleyball player Angie Akers (who I had no idea even existed till that moment!) Even though her ribs are sticking out which is not very attractive - I think her body is amazing and so defined (toned). Obviously shes a professional so that's her livelihood to be in tip top shape. I read the label on the water - interesting. Could it really be much different than any other water? Was I gonna get suckered into some dumb advertising campaign?

I've never been a water snob, they all taste pretty much the same to me - excluding the clorox drink available from the Las Vegas Athletic Club water fountains. So long story short -I bought the stuff! 2 for $3 which at first I was thinking was expensive then realized I often pay that much for a "regular" "unreal" water.....

IT's REALLY GOOD! It tastes really pure and fresh. I'm not sure about the "technology" behind it all (you can visit http://www.drinkrealwater.com/about/ to check it out if you want) but it's pretty good! It boasts of removing acidic toxins from your body (sign me up)! If I was given the choice for the same price I would probably go with the "REAL ALKALIZED WATER"
Just my two cents......
While I'm on a free advertising kick (and think I should get some sort of a kickback or discount) let me share with you two of my new favorite edibles.
These are sooo yummy! I love bread period! Love sandwiches.... but with my weight watcher points, a slice of bread = 2pts. So a sandwich before any meat, cheese or veggies is already up to 4pts and I only get 23 for the day. Well with these yummy little things my "bread" part is only 1pt. Happy Day! They come in multi grain (which is my fav) or whole wheat. Thomas Bagels also have a new product "BAGEL THINS" that are also only 1WWpt or 100cals. They are great for sandwiches, homemade Egg McMuffins or even hamburgers.

I took Kami and her little friend to the park for a bit today and it was sooo nice. The sun is shining and it's in the high 60 degrees. I rolled up my jeans to work on my tan....haha! The sun just makes me feel better. I get depressed when it rains for a few days on end - dunno how I ever survived in Ireland. It's great though. Ryan and his friends are playing out back right now and spring is in the air. I'm excited for summer.

One Mans Trash....

...... is seriously another mans treasure. Look at what I found in my neighbors trash. I think the word is getting around to throw away good things because the crazy Irish girl will use it...lol!

I was so excited. I was actually on my way to a youth fireside - heels and all. Out I got and struggled to lift it into the van. It's pretty heavy - it's from Crate & Barrel! Then out comes the lady of the house - eh hiiii!! A little embarrassing....... I said "Hey Im just taking this..." She said "go for it" so I did!

It's been sitting in our garage for about a month. In an effort to organize our bedroom, which seriously has become a collecting ground for everything else from the house, I figured it was time to see if this "piece of junk" was worth anything. It had originally come in like 5 pieces but the neighbors had attached all the hardware for it. I put it together, cleaned it off and VOILA!

I love it. It's in our bedroom with other random black furniture but I think it looks great. I now have a place to put my young women stuff and other junk that piles up on my bedside table.

Ryan was trying out new hairstyles this morning. He has the remainder of a mohawk from weeks ago so he tried the spikey look, then showed up with this and said "It's perfect"! I agree....he looks like the sweet little boy that he is!

V-Day 2010

My track record on valentines day is not the best. One year as a teenager I broke up with my boyfriend (in Wexford) on valentines night, right after he gave me a beautiful gold claddagh bracelet (that I still wear). For years I felt bad about my timing *tear*
So this year I decided to turn things around and make valentines weekend a great one! I set up babysitters for almost the whole day saturday and took Sam on a mystery date! haha.....it felt like back in High School when you have those day long dates (sadies, homecoming....) I mean, I had many many of those...lol!
So we started off with racquetball at the gym, something Sam has wanted to do since he got his "gear" for Christmas. It was really fun. Even though I love to workout, I didn't think I'd love racquetball but it was good. Sam admitted at the end that I was better than he thought I was going to be - which said a lot considering I lost two games, like 30-10!! He's kind.......
We stopped into his office at work and then went to the swap meet. Sam didn't know but I wanted to get his ring cut off......YES FREEBIRD....jk! His ring over the years had gotten really tight - to the point where his wedding finger was numb - NOT GOOD. So we found a jeweler that cut it off (with a little extra work) and he did it for FREE - yay!!!
I had set up a massage appointment in the late afternoon for us both, which was AMAZING and then we went to eat at Sam's favorite place "THE SILVERTON" buffet.....and yes we ate lots and lots of their chocolate covered strawberries.
It was a really great day and just spending so much time together was the funnest part. Don't worry, the kids had a blast also. We have great babysitters.
So today was more of a family valentines day.....we started with pink pancakes, with white chocolate chips and strawberry milk. After church we took a picnic to Floyd Lamb Park.
Sam and the kids played football, fed the ducks and we took a walk around the lake. We saw beautiful peacocks and took some fun pictures. Now I know the inspiration for the Vegas Showgirls - check out the picture of the white peacock! And yes - his or her booty is in the air.....typical....hahahahah!
Sam and I were working on some church stuff tonight in our room and could hear the kids planning something in the kitchen. They finally got us to come out and they had set up the table with valentines decorations - cookies and martinellis (sparkling apple cider - yum). They really enjoyed this holiday. We went around the table and all told our favorite part of the valentines weekend. Its hard to pick a favorite part because it was all really great.
I love Sam, Baili, Jacob, Ryan and Kami all so very much!

Early to bed, early to rise!

I really wish I had the stamina to stay up during the night and clean my house, catch up on laundry and finish the odds and ends of life BUT I slowly start to pass out at 7p.m. so that never happens. We decided as a family to get up early and get going for the day and it made such a big difference. It seemed like we had hours before school (which we did because we had formed this bad habit of rolling out at 820a.m. throwing on clothes and rushing to school late). The kids did their MIRACLE MUSIC (a program that is fabulous if you're trying to get your kids into a routine), I cleaned the kitchen, did laundry and took a shower - wooohooo! We even had time for scripture study without fighting about it. I love the feeling of accomplishment! For all my moaning about housework and how I hate to do it and never have the time to do it - it really makes a difference when I feel "caught up" and that Ive got my house in order. I also love when my house smells good. There is nothing more motivating for me than to put on some good, upbeat music or stick in my earphones and Im off......just like that! The music keeps me going and I get excited to get more and more done! One of my favorite cleaning products has to be the KIRKLAND brand disinfecting wipes! HAVE YOU TRIED THEM? If not, you have got to. They are bigger (and cheaper) than clorox or lysol wipes and they seem more durable. I use them everywhere......the bathroom, kitchen, door handles and frames and my favorite is inside the car. They disinfect as you go and then you just chuck the dirty wipe in the trash. I use 2 when I do around the back of the toilet - grosss!
I don't know why I don't stay on top of things once they're cleaned? I guess life just gets in the way and I seriously think I work better under pressure so I procrastinate until our house is a bombsite and then I get down to business. Ugh, I used to pride myself on my organization skills and I think (or hope) they are lodged in there somewhere. I would love to get it together one of these days. In the meantime, the weekly lesson is.... going to bed early actually does pay off. Oh and just so you know we had so much extra time that morning that we finally took down our Christmas tree....yes, we almost made it to valentines day with the thing still in our living room.
http://www.childrensmiraclemusic.com/