My Sullivan Sweeties

Progress Report

2011-05-04T09:27:00.000-07:00

Here it is...my 20 week prego pic.
As you can see, there has been a lot of growth since my 6 week picture.
15 lbs of growth in fact! Eeeeek!

Yesterday I had my 20 week ultrasound and from what I could tell, everything looks good. Little baby boy was VERY active...in fact, the tech said it took about 15 minutes longer than it usually does, just cause the baby wouldn't stay still long enough for him to get the necessary measurments. Looks like we've got an active one on our hands!

Monday was Audrey's first day of gymnastics. I thought she looked so cute in her leotard that I had to take a picture!
She had a blast in her class! She made several new friends (as I knew she would...this girl is not shy). I can't say she was the most coordinated kid in the class (she's got her mother's skills I guess) but she had fun and thats all that counts.

So of course Wylie wanted me to take a picture of him too. Here he is doing his best to smile with a mouth full of goldfish.

A while back we surprised the kids with a trip to Disneyland.

It was Wylie's first trip.

We managed to get through the day with only a couple meltdowns (from the kids, not the parents) despite the HOT weather. Overall it was a great day and we all had a blast!

Just a few quick pics to share

2011-04-20T15:20:00.000-07:00

Its been a few months since I've posted any pictures on my blog, so here ya go! My kiddos are getting so big!
These were taken last week when Michael's parents took Audrey and Wylie to Knott's Berry Farm. This one is my favorite :)

I'm sure most of you already know but we found out we're having another little boy...yeah! We're super excited. I'm 18 weeks now. Almost half way there!

I've been feeling pretty good for the most part. I'm still having morning sickness but I have found the WONDER DRUG!!! A couple months ago, my dr prescribed Zofran for my nausea and it is amazing! As long as I take it every morning before I get out of bed (and lay there for at least 30 minutes or so) then I don't throw up...which is wonderful! Where was this drug during my other pregnancies!!!

Another fun thing I'm dealing with already is ankle swelling. Why the heck its happening this early in my pregnancy, I have no idea. Just for fun I guess.

Every time I go see my doctor, she tells me that I should slow down on my weight gain. Just what every pregnant woman wants to hear right? Don't they know how sensitive I am already...my emotions are all over the map!

Speaking of emotions...I'd say that the typical non-pregnant Me is pretty patient and easy-going. Hmmm, yeah, not so much any more. My poor kids. They get the worst of it. Its a good thing they have a short memory and 30 minutes after I snap at them they hug me and say that i'm their favorite mommy in the whole world...(when in my head i'm saying "thats cause I'm your only mommy in the whole world!")

Anyway, on a more positive note, I love feeling my little guy move around in my tummy. I am so excited to meet him. The only thing between now and then is one heck of a HOT summer!

happy birthday, sweet girl

2011-03-02T10:08:00.001-08:00

On Saturday we celebrated Audrey's 5th birthday party with lots of friends and family at our house.

We had a wonderful time!

Both Audrey and I agreed that it was our favorite party that we've had so far.

My favorite part was watching the kids dance, boogie and limbo. It was so cute!!

We made fruit loop and licorice bracelets.

We ate a lot!

Especially little Wylie-man.

Michael spent the night before the party making yummy red velvet cupcakes and a delicious strawberry cake.

Audrey's got one heck of a daddy!

Audrey's favorite part was opening presents (go figure).

After opening every present, she would run and give hugs to the gift-giver. It was super cute. I didn't even have to ask her to say thank you.

We were so lucky to have family visit from out of town for the party. My parents and Nana Kerry came from New Mexico.

Here is a picture of Audrey and her Auntie Sara.

Daddy was beat after the party...he actually passed out on the floor not long after this picture was taken.

Actually we were all beat. We had such a fun-filled day and we are so thankful for our friends and family. Audrey is so blessed to have such wonderful people who love and support her.

And we are so blessed to have our sweet FIVE YEAR OLD girl!

6 weeks

2011-01-24T11:11:00.000-08:00

For those of you who don't believe its possible to show when you're only 6 weeks pregnant, here's a picture to prove you wrong.

I guess I could have saved money on the pregnancy tests and just waited a few days!

So far I've been feeling really good...very little nausea, not too tired...COMPLETELY different than the other 2 pregnancies (but then again, I'm only 6 weeks...things could change at any moment).

Audrey is SUPER excited. She kisses my belly like 5 times a day. At night, right before going to bed, she kisses my belly and says "goodnight sweet baby, i love you." And she is really good at reminding me to take my prenatal vitamins :)

She's also very excited to share a room with her brother. Papa (my dad) has made bunk beds for them to share...very similar to the picture below, except he made drawers to store underneath the bottom bunk...Have I ever mentioned how awesome it is to have a dad who is an amazing carpenter?!?

I, of course, have been having tons of fun planning their room and picking out all the fabric for their bedding. Since we won't know the sex of the baby for quite a while, their room will keep me busy in the mean time. Here are a few pictures that are serving as a bit of inspiration for their room. We're gonna keep the walls really neutral with a "board and batten" wainscoting treatment on the bottom, and a warm grey paint on top. Both kids will have matching striped comforters (made by me and my mother-in-law...well mostly her, but I'll be there to keep her company :) and then we'll have some fun, bright pillows...kinda like the ones above, but different fabric (obviously the stripes will go on Wy's bed and the floral on Audrey's). My dad made the kids an easel...just like the one above...for Christmas, so that'll be in there. Oh, and we're gonna put rain gutter bookshelves on one of the walls too. Audrey LOVES to read, and Wylie is really starting to enjoy it too, so it'll be nice to have all their books easily accessible.

Wylie, as usual, has just been going with the swing of things. You ask him if he's gonna have a new baby and he gives you the typical "uh-huh."

Oh, speaking of Wylie...we've been taking him to speech therapy for the past 12 weeks or so...and he's starting to make major progress! He's to the point that he'll pretty much repeat any word you ask him to say (depending on his mood), which is a complete 180 from a couple weeks ago. Now I'm not saying that you can always understand the words, but at least he's willing to try. We're very proud of our little man!

Well, thats our update for now...I'll try to post more belly pics from time to time.

Here we go again!!!

2011-01-12T19:44:00.000-08:00

Oh my gosh...are we crazy!?!

Let the fun begin!

One more picture...

2010-12-22T12:54:00.000-08:00

Here's one more picture that I forgot to add. Me and my sweet little man...oooh I could just eat him up!

Merry Christmas!!

2010-12-22T10:00:00.000-08:00

Our 2010 Christmas Card (Photo by Dan, Design by me)

Its been far too long since posting, so hopefully these pictures will make up for it.

Several weeks back, we drove down to Coronado to meet up with our good friend Dan and Sara. He's an amazing photographer, so of course we always hit him up for family photos. This year we had Michael's family join in on the fun.

Michael's mom's Christmas Card

The following photos were scanned in, so if they aren't super clear, thats why.

It was super windy...just check out my hair!

Thanks Dan, for the beautiful photos!

Merry Christmas everyone!!

Happy Birthday!!

2010-08-27T11:32:00.000-07:00

My sweet little baby boy is all grown up...he is 2 today!

How did this happen so quickly?!

9/3/1953 - 6/25/10

2010-06-25T16:41:00.000-07:00

Pat (Patricia Luanne Ours) died this afternoon around 3pm (4pm New Mexico time).

It was very quick.

She did not suffer.

She had a lot of her family there with her.

She was 56. Far too young.

I am at a loss for words right now. I think I'm still kinda shocked.

Here is part of an email that I wrote to my mother-in-law the other day:

Michael and I were doing our bible study and reading together last night and after reading, I have a new found peace about Pat’s situation.

First of all, I’m still praying that God will heal her. I know that he is fully capable and powerful enough to create a miracle in her healing. Will he do this? I don’t know…but if he does, it won’t be “thanks to science” it will be a miracle worked by God.

But if he doesn’t heal her body…there is still something to celebrate. Pat has served God her entire life. I have known her all my 28 years and I have seen nothing but her positive attitude, always lifting others up with encouragement, and doing everything in her power to set an amazing example of what it looks like to be a follower of Christ. She has never been pushy with her beliefs but she’s always shared her faith gently, with Love.

With all this said, what is more exciting than knowing that one day soon, Pat will be meeting God…her creator, her comforter, her healer. She will be at peace.

Jesus will greet her one day soon by saying “well done, my good and faithful servant! You have acknowledged Me before man, through those you came in contact with in your life, now I will acknowledge you before my Father in Heaven!”

Can you imagine hearing any better words? To hear that the life you lived has been pleasing to God!?! That you did all you could in your given years to live your life to the fullest and to show true LOVE to those around you.

I know it will be really hard for her family and friends when she is gone. We will be the ones who are at a loss. We will have emptiness and a void in our lives. But I just pray that when times get hard for those who love her, we’ll remember that she is where she belongs, where we all belong, with our Savior! And that while we are here grieving, I hope that at the same time we can be rejoicing for her.

She has lived a life that should be celebrated!

Update

2010-06-25T07:48:00.000-07:00

This week has been very overwhelming for the Ours family...

Dan, Sara, Howard, Pat, Gizmo, Amy
Kaelee, Jeff, Isaac, Krista
EASTER '09

Sunday evening Sara and Amy arrived to New Mexico from CA and jumped right in to all the responsibilities of caring for their mom.

Sara, Pat, Amy
Thanksgiving '09

On tuesday they made the difficult decision to no longer try and fight the cancer with chemo but instead put Pat on hospice so she would be made comfortable, in her own home.

Isaac, Howard, Pat, Kaelee
Thanksgiving '09

On Wednesday Jeff arrived from Colorado, along with his wife Krista and kids Isaac and Kaelee. Dan, Sara's husband also arrived that night.

And last night (thursday) the hospice nurse told the family that Pat probably had a week left to live.

Howard and Pat

Thanksgiving '09

Things are going fast. This family is hurting as their mother/wife is slipping away.

Please pray that they will find comfort in this difficult time.

PAT

2010-06-21T09:00:00.000-07:00

I know that several of you know Pat Ours and I'm often asked how she is doing, so I thought I would give an update on my blog. For those of you who aren't fortunate enough to know Pat, she is an amazing woman who has played a major role in my life.

Pat holding Audrey

She grew up with my mom in Carlsbad, New Mexico. My mom and Pat both made their way from Carlsbad, NM to Pasadena, CA to attend college at Pasadena Nazarene College (currently called PLNU). Pat would always "tag along" on my mom and dad's dates to serve as their chaperon...or maybe just to snag a free dinner.

Pat and my mom at Pat's chemo treatment

Fast forward about 10 years or so and both my parents and Pat and Howard ended up in Hemet, CA. This is where my brother and I spent our entire childhood, along with the Ours kids (Sara, Jeff, and Amy). Neither of our families had any extended family in town so we served as their family and they served as "Ours."

Pat and Howard (left) with my mom and dad in Alaska '09

Almost every memory of my childhood has Pat in it.

...from spending every family vacation together...road-tripping our way around the country, with Pat in the front passenger seat talking on the CB and snacking on her red licorice,

...to our weekly trips to Taco Bell (Pat's favorite),

...to having huge parties at our house on sunday nights after church. What were supposed to be small get-togethers always turned into Pat inviting the entire church over to our house, cause with Pat, its always "the more, the merrier!"

As you can imagine, growing up with Pat in my life was an adventure!

Howard, Pat, Jeff & Issac, Krista (Jeff's wife), Sara and Amy

About 10 years ago (roughly) Pat was diagnosed with Breast Cancer but after a successful treatment plan of chemo and radiation, she went into remission...until about a year and a half ago.

The cancer had come back...and it had spread into her lungs, liver and bones. Since then she has tried several types of chemo but lately (in the past few months) things have taken a turn for the worse.

Pat has been having an extremely difficult time breathing because her chest is filling up with fluid and putting intense pressure on her lungs, making it impossible to catch her breath. She just recently came home from a 10-day hospital stay, where they inserted a drain so she will be able to drain the fluid while at home. Pat is VERY low on energy. She is sleeping around 20+ hours/day.

Pat's daughters Amy and Sara (along with Sara's husband Dan) were at our house on Saturday night when they decided that now was time to get out to New Mexico to spend time with Pat and to help Howard with Pat's care. My mom and dad picked Sara and Amy up at the airport yesterday afternoon and dropped them off at Pat and Howard's house last night. They were able to surprise Pat who didn't know that they were coming.

Pat has a doctors appointment today and tomorrow so please pray for her...as it takes ALL her energy to get out of the house these days.

Here is the link to Pat's blog: http://patriciaours.blogspot.com/

or you can just click HERE to be taken directly to her blog. Sara updates the blog regularly so be sure to check-in to see what they find out at the doctors appointments.

I love this lady.

Pat is one of the most loving, accepting, light-hearted, faithful, spontaneous, fun-loving people I know.

Please pray for her in this journey that she faces.

Birthday Boy

2010-06-17T08:45:00.000-07:00

Happy 29th Birthday, sweet hubby of mine!

I love you!!

ps...Lakers, if you could please win game 7 tonight, that'd be a great gift for my man!

THE NEXT SURVIVOR SERIES

2010-06-16T20:05:00.000-07:00

Hey friends...this is too funny not so share! It really puts into perspective what our job as a Mother entails!

Thanks, Mindy for sending this my way!

THE NEXT SURVIVOR SERIES

Six married men
will be dropped on an island

with one car

and 3 kids each

for six weeks.

Each kid will play two sports
and take either music or dance classes.

There is no fast food.

Each man must

take care of his 3 kids;
keep his assigned house clean,
correct all homework,
complete science projects,
cook,
do laundry,
and pay a list of 'pretend' bills
with not enough money.

In addition,

each man
will have to budget enough money
for groceries each week.

Each man
must remember the birthdays
of all their relatives,
and send cards out on time--no emailing.

Each man must also take each child
to a doctor's appointment,
a dentist appointment
and a haircut appointment.

He must make one unscheduled and
inconvenient visit per child to the Emergency Room.

He must also make cookies or cupcakes
for a school function.

Each man will be responsible for
decorating his own assigned house,
planting flowers outside, and keeping it
presentable at all times.

The men will only have access to television

when the kids are asleep and all chores are done.

During one of the six weeks,

the men will have to endure severe
abdominal cramps, backaches, headaches,
have extreme, unexplained mood swings
but never once complain or slow down
from other duties.

They must attend weekly school meetings

and church,
and find time at least once to spend
the afternoon at the park or a similar
setting.

They will need to read a book to the kids each night

feed them,

dress them,
brush their teeth and
comb their hair
by 7:30 am.

A test will be given

at the end of the six weeks,

and each father will be required to know

all of the following information:
each child's
birthday,
height, weight,
shoe size, clothes size,
doctor's name,
favorite snack,
favorite drink,
favorite toy,
biggest fear,
and what they want to be when they grow up.

The kids vote them off the island based on performance.

The last man wins only if...
he still
has enough energy
to be intimate with his spouse
at a moment's notice.

If the last man does win,
he can play the game over and over and over
again for the next 18-25 years,
eventually earning the right
to be called Mother!

3 months later...

2010-06-14T13:50:00.000-07:00

BEWARE...this post has a lot of pictures...in fact, there are 3 months worth. I have been told by many of you that I need to get my butt in gear (sorry Audrey, I mean "toosh") and update my blog.
So here ya go.
Here are some pictures to update you on our life lately. Keep in mind that these pictures are totally in the wrong order!

The kids and I went with Amma up to Idyllwild (back in April)

I have mentioned before that Wylie is a thumb sucker...but now, as you can see, he is a double-fisted, eyelash rubbing, thumb sucker.

Audrey decided that she wanted to get her ears pierced...

even though I told her it was gonna feel like getting a shot in her ears.

As you can see she was very excited when we got there!

Then she realized that she wasn't too stoked to be there...and started FREAKING out...everyone in the store was staring at us!

But after it was all over and the tears had been dried, she danced out of the store, twirling her dress, singing "i'm a pretty pretty princess!" She now LOVES her sparkly earrings!

Audrey had her first dentist appointment...

No cavities!

Michael and I went for a hike in Idyllwild. We took the Devil's Slide Trail...and had a blast! It was a BEAUTIFUL day and it was great to get away!

I finished my burlap table runner (months ago)

We hung my cool lantern over the dining room table (months ago)

And my dad and I just recently made a table to go under the pictures on our entry wall (these pics are from months ago...thats why you don't see the table)

Since my last post, some of my closest friends have had babies...and ALL boys!

For some reason I don't have pictures of the babies...just of the mommies...and I'm sure they are going to hate that I put these pictures on my blog...but since you are my friends, you are fare game!

Mindy had Jake on 4-11-10

Krystina had Ryder on 4-13-10

Sarah had Stetson on 5-26-10

And Jenni had her little man Kobe...(she can count herself lucky that I don't have a picture of her in labor)

Audrey's "boyfriend" and neighbor, Hayden graduated from kindergarten.

We all decorated easter eggs at Amma and Papa's house (told you these pictures were old!)

We had a family day in Coronado at the beach.

We had another family day at the San Diego Zoo

(don't let these pictures fool you into thinking that my kids actually get along. Wylie's latest habit is shoving his sister...and I don't mean just every now and then. He does it ALL.THE.TIME. Maybe he has aggression issues...cause most of the time she doesn't even deserve it (most of the time).

Another recent habit of Wylie's is sticking his hands in his pockets...he looks like such a little man when he does it :)

Alright folks, thats all for now. I'll try to do better about blogging on a more frequent basis...but I can't make any promises cause life is CRAZY!!

And so it begins...

2010-03-05T14:02:00.000-08:00

Audrey asked me this morning, "Mommy, why do you have that line on your face?"

I looked in the mirror, didn't see anything, but still she insisted something was there.

She poked my face and said "mommy, right HERE"

So I looked again...

Ahh, yes...
That is called a WRINKLE. Thank you for pointing it out, you sweet, sweet child.

______________________________________

Dear God,
Don't you think it's only fair that the "zit phase" and the "wrinkle phase" don't overlap?
I mean COME ON...REALLY?!?

Projects, projects, projects...

2010-03-01T08:09:00.000-08:00

First of all, before I get started, I must show you the cutest little thing EVER!

This is Sandee. She is my parent's new Golden Retreiver.

Doesn't she just make your heart melt!?!

Now, onto my projects...

This is my project for the week. I want to make this table runner to go in our formal dining room (aka our waste of space room that is NEVER used except to store the kids' oversized toys).

Just becuase we never use it, doesn't mean it shouldn't be pretty, right?

I don't really know when I'll find the time to do it, but I will...and when I do, I'll post pics when its done.

This was one of last week's projects. I helped my neighbor Krystina paint her son Hayden's room. He is 6 and wants a super cool motocross room, and of course she wants the room to be well designed and put-together, with a touch of motocross. We're gonna try to satisfy both needs. Anyway, step 1 was to paint the room and here is what I came up with. Light gray walls with slightly darker stripes. We kept it very subtle since other things in the room, bedding, fabric, etc, will be much more bold (red, black, white).

A few months back we decorated the nursery for her soon-to-be baby, Ryder (due April 21st)...still need to post pics of his nursery! After doing the stripes in both rooms, I feel like a pro! If you ever need advice on painting stripes, just ask! My favorite part of the whole process is peeling the tape off and the seeing the perfectly straight lines...I think it satisfies some part of my self-diagnosed OCD.

The picture was taken right after the tape had been pulled down (see Audrey's big tape wad?)

yes, my daughter was in her slippers and princess PJs, and yes, it was 3:00 in the afternoon. who has time to get ready when there is decorating to be done!

Here is the Baby Shower invitation that I designed for Krystina.

The blue, white, and brown stripes in the background are exactly how we painted Ryder's nursery.

And here is another Baby Shower invitation that I designed for my good friend Mindy. Her little man, Jake, is also due April 21st!

As you can see, I took out addresses and phone #s on the invitations, just in case there are any psychos out there that want to crash a baby shower or something.

My next project was one of my "one day" projects. I have a LOT of these (just ask my husband!)

I took a picture of my kitchen and photoshopped what I want it to look like "one day".

Here is our kitchen in its current state...

...drumroll, please...

And here is my improved version of our kitchen

I lightened some paint colors, added hardware to the cabinets, did a backsplash, and installed 2 pendant lights over the island.

When Michael and I were at Ikea a few weeks ago, I found these pendants for only $30! I didn't buy them, so hopefully they still have them whenever "one day" comes around.

Here is the photo from ikea.com

Oh, and the other day I was browsing one of my favorite blogs, theletteredcottage.net, when I saw that she (Layla) is going to use the exact same pendant in her reading room.

This totally verified how cool this light is...since I love her decorating style!

If you've got a minute, I defenitely recommend checking out her blog.

Well, I think thats it for now....

and if you have any projects that you're working on, please share!

4 YEARS!

2010-02-26T14:19:00.000-08:00

Wow!!

What an adventure it's been...

Can you say "CHUNK"!

1 Year Old

2 Years Old

3 Years Old

4 Years Old

I love you SO much, Little Lady!

Happy 4th Birthday, Audrey Faith Sullivan!

Good times!

2010-02-22T10:17:00.000-08:00

We've been busy the last few weekends!

Last Saturday (the day before Valentine's Day) Michael and I dropped the kids by his parent's house and headed down to San Diego for a V-day getaway.
We've been trying to be really smart with our finances lately, so we lucked out when Michael was able to get a night for free at the beautiful Marriott (near the gaslamp district in downtown) by cashing in his "award points" that he gets through work...
This is actually the same hotel that we stayed at the night we got married...ahh...memories :)
Oh yeah...and I had saved some money that I made a while back from doing a little design work on the side...so that paid for dinner. Nothing beats a free (or at least cheap) getaway!

So we headed south, went to lunch at Pat & Oscars and did some browsing at Ikea in mission valley. I haven't been there since college. I LOVE how cheap everything is! I know its not always the best quality but if you're just buying accessories to decorate with, its good enough for me! I got a really cute lantern for $15! We just hung it in our dining room as a make-shift chandelier. I'll be sure to take pics of it soon...I really like the way it turned out!

So anyway, we got all dolled-up and went out for a yummy seafood dinner later that evening.

I borrowed my entire outfit from my neighbor...since my closet basically consists of jeans and cotton t-shirts, there's not a coctail dress in sight!
Have I mentioned that I love having a fashionable neighbor/friend? Especially since she's pregnant and can't wear any of her normal clothes. I feel like I'm back in college, playing dress-up in someone else's closet.

So, the next day we woke up and had breakfast in bed, got ready, then headed over the bridge to spend the day in Coronado. The weather was absolutely beautiful!
We walked on the beach, had lunch, and just really enjoyed spending the day together, with NO interuptions!...talking...daydreaming about what our future may hold...etc.

It was sad to head back that afternoon but at the same time, its always great to be welcomed home by our munchkins wrapping their big hugs around our legs!

Fast forward 5 days...

Here are the pics from Friday, when we took Audrey to Disneyland for her early b-day present.
It was great to spend the day with just our little lady. So many times Wylie demands the most attention from us, since he's the youngest, and she gets "the short end of the stick"...so it was wonderful to devote the entire day to her.

The highlight of the day (by far) was meeting 3 of her favorite princesses...

Belle

Tiana

Ariel

oh yeah, and Tinkerbell

Auntie Sara and Uncle Dan were there too (celebrating Dan's birthday) so we were able to have lunch with them.

We had a great time and enjoyed a FULL day at the 2 parks. We got there around 8:30am and didn't get on the road till about 10:30pm. Audrey passed out in the stroller around 9, so she missed the awesome fireworks show. She INSISTS that there were no fireworks that night and that Daddy and I aren't telling the truth when we talk about the fireworks...I guess she thinks that the world stops when she goes to sleep.

So...those were the exciting things that we've done lately.
Now I'm just prepping for a week as a single parent, since Michael will be away at Pole Climbing school (not to be confused with pole dancing school...thats a whole other "profession").Luckily he'll be able to come home for a bit on Thursday night to celebrate Audrey's birthday with her. Oh my gosh!...I still can't believe that my little baby girl is turning 4!
Tear, tear!
We'll save all those emotions for another post.

Surgery details

2010-02-10T09:34:00.000-08:00

Thank you to those who said a prayer for Wylie yesterday! His surgery went very well.
We got up bright and early...ugh, scratch that...we got up DARK and early. Audrey had stayed the night at our neighbor's house cause we couldn't take her with us (H1N1 precautions) ...so we just had to get the 3 of us ready.
Michael and I scarfed breakfast while Wylie was still sleeping. I didn't want to eat in front of him, since he couldn't eat or drink anything since the night before.
We were on the road at 5:30...to check-in at 7am. Turns out there was no traffic on the way to Loma Linda, so we were there SUPER early (just the way Michael likes it)
...so our little man got to play while we waited

Then they took us back into the "sit and wait forever" room, where we got Wylie in his gown...which he hated (probably cause daddy told him he looked like a sissy-boy). He wasn't too fond of the cap thing either...although he thought it was really funny when I put it on my head!
His surgery was supposed to start at 8:30...which turned into 10:00am. All because the anesthesiologist couldn't get to work on time...ugh!
Anyway, despite being hungry and thirsty, Wylie did surprisingly well!
30 minutes before his surgery, the nurse came in to give him some medicine to make him drowsy, so the transition from us to the doctors would be easier on Wylie. Whatever they gave him must have been some good stuff (as you can tell from the picture below). He could barely hold his head up he was so drugged. Michael and I thought it was hilarious (which probably makes us bad parents) and I asked the nurse if I could get some of it for the next time we take him on a plane (which probably makes me a worse parent)...Unfortunately, she said no.
The doctor took him from my arms and carried him back to the operating room. Wylie found the doctors mask fascinating (must have been the drugs). He wasn't fazed a bit by being taken from us (again, the drugs).
So we waited about 30 minutes and watched the View in the waiting room, then the doc came out and told us everything went very well.
So we headed back to his recovery room. His piercing cry directed us straight to his room. Lets just say he didn't do so well with the whole "waking up from anesthesia" experience. He was P'd OFF that he had tubes coming from his foot and arm...and ESPECIALLY that they put the IV in his right wrist and wrapped his arm in gauze from his fingers to his elbow, which meant his right thumb was not accessible (to suck), which in Wylie's world is like the worst thing possible.
Anyway, we managed to calm him down. They gave him a popsicle and a bottle of diluted apple juice. He didn't quite know what to think about it since A) he hasn't had a bottle in over 6 months and B) he never drinks juice (only milk and water).
After he had been in recovery an hour, they took his IV out and we were free to go. Here's a little video from the car when he first discovered that he had more range of motion in his tongue...it was really funny (I wish I would have caught it earlier when he did it more, but you can get the idea).

Now he's acting as if the whole experience never happened...which I am VERY thankful for! This kid hasn't missed a beat!

Surgery

2010-02-08T13:27:00.000-08:00

Our little man, Wylie, is going in for surgery tomorrow morning. They'll be cutting the frenulum under his tongue, so he won't be tongue-tied anymore.
I know its a minor surgery so I shouldn't worry, but there is nothing comforting about my little guy being put under.

You can see in this photo (from several month ago) that the tip of his tongue is basically "tied" down to the floor of his mouth...see how it pulls in the middle?
...so he can't lick an ice cream cone, stick his tongue out at his sister, french-kiss (when he's 30), etc.
One of the major reasons we've decided to go through with the surgery is so that it doesn't effect his speech.
Oh, and I just learned that my dad was born tongue-tied! However, his was clipped right after he was born. I've always read that it could be genetic but my Mema just now shared this information about my dad...he didn't even know!

Anyway, we check in at 7am and the surgery should begin around 8:30.
Please keep him in your prayers!

Head-banging Bruiser

2010-02-02T08:33:00.000-08:00

Who needs TV when you've got this sort of entertainment?

Have I mentioned that boys and girls are just a LITTLE different?

We call him BRUISER...

2010-02-01T15:20:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, Wylie fell at the park. The cement (and his face) broke his fall.

This is the damage (after 2 days of healing)...

Welcome to BOY-HOOD my adorable lil' man!

$tre$$ Management

2010-01-27T07:30:00.000-08:00

In the United States, the average household credit card debt totals a whopping $10,691!

Many of these households are only paying the minimum payments on their credit cards too. If that sounds like you, here’s some food for thought: If you carry the average credit card debt of $10,691 and only pay the minimum payments each month, it will take you nearly 33 years to pay off your balances!
according to CardTrak.com

Is it just me, or does this just seem CRAZY? When I hear the word "debt" my blood pressure automatically rises. Its stressful...to say the least!
What am I getting at (you may be thinking), well this last sunday at church, John gave a great message titled $tre$ Management, about finances, debt, getting out of debt, etc.

For those of you that are even the slightest bit interested (ie: those of you who have any debt at all), I strongly encourage you to check out this message. You can click HERE to watch the video or listen to the audio. Just so you know, its 40 minutes long, so you may want to grab a cup of coffee and get comfy before you get started.

Here is just one of the staggering statistics that John gave in this message:
The average American spends $1.22 for every $1.00 earned.
That means we, as a culture, are spending 122% of our income!

For those of you who do decide to check it out, leave a comment below after you've watched it. I'd love to know what you thought about it!
If you want the Snowball spread sheet that John referenced in his message, click HERE.

L.O.V.E.

2010-01-15T10:00:00.001-08:00

Its part of my daily routine (or at least every other day) to look through several of my favorite design/decorating blogs.

Well, this morning as I was doing my browsing I saw this picture.

I am in love!
L.O.V.E.
Not with the tree stump ottomans, or the furniture, or the hangy light bulb thing...although that is quite interesting...just not really my taste.

But I am loving the wall treatment!
I love the wall paper!
I love the moldings!

Hunny, are you in the mood for a little DIY project? I think this would look DIVINE in our bedroom!

A memorable weekend

2010-01-13T10:04:00.000-08:00

I had a LONG commute on Monday morning.
Typically I drive about 30 miles to work. However, on Monday I drove to the airport in Roswell, NM (when it was still dark outside), flew over 900 miles, landed in LAX, took a shuttle to my car, and drove from LAX to work (in Riverside).
It was a long day, to say the least...but I was SO happy to see the 3 beautiful, smiling faces of my Sullivan Sweeties later that afternoon.
Michael did such an awesome job of taking care of the kids while I was gone!
He was so proud of himself for doing Audrey's hair that he even took a picture to document the occasion :) ...check it out!

On Saturday Michael took Audrey on a "daddy-daughter date."
After they dropped Wylie off at his parent's house for his afternoon nap...
they went to the duck pond, played at the park, went to lunch, made a quick stop at the Disney Store, and saw the new Alvin and the Chipmunks movie.

Here are pictures showing some of their fun...
What a special day! I know they had a blast!

But while Michael and Audrey were enjoying their day, my mom and I were having some fun of our own! On Saturday morning, we took a trip to Starbucks for a quick morning pick-me-up...and then I went with my mom to her water aerobics class.
I must admit that I thought this "workout" was gonna be a walk in the park. I pictured a pool full of gray-haired 50, 60, and 70 year olds...and while there were quite a few, shall we say "mature" women there, I really did get a great workout! It was full of intense cardio and strength-training combined...phew! Not to mention that my mom does this like 5 times/week...dang! You go, Mom! I'm impressed!
So after we went home for a quick shower, we headed up to Ruidoso, a beautiful mountain community, about 1.5 hrs from Roswell. We had the pleasure of meeting up with our wonderful friends Pat and Kerry for a Ladies Lunch. Here's a picture from our outing.
Pat (far left) and my mom grew up together in Carlsbad, NM...then after college, weddings, etc. they both ended up in the same town and church in southern california. Ever since, the lives of our 2 families have been tightly intertwined. Pat has always been a second mom to me, and her kids are like my other siblings. My life has been so blessed by this woman. Pat is the person you want to have at every party or get-together. She is so full of life and laughter, even through the toughest circumstances. (you can read about her battle with cancer here) As you'll see in her blog, she always makes the best of every situation!
Kerry (second from left) met me when I was about 13 or so. I'll refer to that phase in my life as my "bratty period." Kerry became close friends with my parents after meeting at church, and I guess something just clicked between Kerry and I too. Over the past 15 years, she has served many roles in my life...friend, mentor, and Nana (to my kids). Despite the 30+ year age gap , she has been one of my closest friends for as long as I remember. Not to mention, she is one of the funniest people I know!
So obviously, with all that history, we had a great time as we sat together, reminisced, laughed and enjoyed our yummy food!

The rest of my time in New Mexico was spent enjoying the company of my dad, brother, Mema and Papa, aunt, uncle, cousins, other Papa, and of course my mom.
We even got quite a bit of decorating done in my mom's piano room. Here's a picture of my dad with my Mema while she's sewing pillows.

Thank you Michael, for taking on the task of being a single parent for the weekend...and doing such a great job!
And thank you Mom and Dad for a very memorable weekend!

Surprise!

2010-01-08T07:23:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I left sunny Southern California for the blistery cold weather here in New Mexico.
I left work at noon, drove to LAX and caught my plane (all by myself...no kids or hubby). FREEDOM!
I couldn't believe how quiet my flight was! No diapers to change, no noses to wipe, no whiny kids...it really was foreign to me! In a way I felt like I was missing a few appendages.

I came to surprise my mom at her 60th birthday party!

My dad and I had been scheming for months to pull this off. We have been SO excited!
My uncle picked me up from the airport, then we were off to the party.
My aunt made a delicious dinner, there were about 18 close friends and family there...and a BIG box on the front porch.
Check out what happened next!

It was a WONDERFUL surprise! I think it almost knocked her socks off!
I asked her later if she was disappointed that I wasn't a new dog...she wasn't :)
We had SO much fun with all our family and friends! What a great celebration. Lots of old funny stories were told, LOTS of laughs!
I'm here through the weekend. I'm looking forward to stealing my mom away for some special mother/daughter time, and other than that, just relaxing and enjoying my family.
Oh, I forgot to mention...my mom came in my room this morning to wake me up (she was making french toast...mmm) and she opened the blinds and there was a light dusting of snow all over the back yard...so pretty!
We're not in So. Cal. anymore, Todo!

Shhh...

2010-01-06T13:20:00.000-08:00

I'm sure she wouldn't want anyone to know its her birthday,

especially her 60th,

so shhh, don't tell her I told you!

Day trip to the mountains

2009-12-31T13:57:00.000-08:00

The day after Christmas, we headed up to Idyllwild for a family outing.

We ate lunch at the Red Kettle Cafe...the service was great...our waitress was joking around with us and playing with our kids. There's just something different there...life is simple...and the fresh mountain air is wonderful!

After lunch we went to the little coffee shop for some hot chocolate and chai tea.

Then Michael ran around with the kids to burn off some of their energy.

We had lots of fun!

Now we're just hoping they get snow in the near future so we can take the kids sledding up there!

I promise that I was with my family on Christmas day and on this trip to Idyllwild. I know that I am rarely in the pictures...I'm just the one always behind the camera!

Christmas

2009-12-31T13:42:00.001-08:00

I know these are forever late...but here are pictures from our Christmas...

After going to church on Christmas eve, we headed over to Michael's parents house for dinner and a few gifts.
Here's the gang:
Audrey and Wylie were allowed to open a few gifts

Papa Hans got the kids one of those hamster things...Wylie had fun chasing it around on his hands and knees.
Auntie Heather got Audrey a life-size Barbie...we call her Bella.

After waking up on Christmas morning, we sent the kids out to the living room to rummage through their stockings...

Then Amma, Papa, Uncle Marcy, Auntie Heather, and her bf Marcus came over.
Here's my spoiled little lady
It was all a little overwhelming for Wylie
Mommy and Daddy got Audrey this disney princess set. She LOVES them!

Audrey with all her loot
Michael made egg and bacon croissant sandwiches. They were to-die-for! Here is everyone waiting so patiently for breakfast.
The boys playing a little b-ball...

This is where Bella sleeps
Oh, did I mention that Amma and Papa got Audrey a 3-story barbie house for all of her disney princesses to live in? We're gonna have to move her bed out of her bedroom soon to make room for all her toys! Why must everything be life-size?

Later that afternoon, our friends Zach and Kristi (and baby Karleigh) came over for Christmas dinner. Here are the buddies with their little ones...
notice the glazed-over look on Michael's face? Its cause he's trying please me by smiling for the picure, but all the while still watching the laker game, on the tv behind me.
Overall we had a great Christmas! Lots of great gifts, but most of all we are very thankful for our special family and friends that we got to spend it with!

And the "Wife of the Year" Award goes to...

2009-12-31T13:28:00.000-08:00

ME!

Check out Michael's Christmas present!I painted a wall in our garage for the hubby (obviously he's a huge USC fan).

Here are the play-by-play pics:
Notice, I am not in any of the pictures.
I didn't shower, brush my teeth, or wash my face that morning. All I did was drop the kids at Miss Nancy's door, apologize for my breath, and run home to do this before Michael got home from work. That was Christmas Eve day.
I didn't let him go in the garage till Christmas morning.
He loves it!
Every time we drive out of the garage, he looks at me and says "fight on!"
I smile.

A bunch of random stuff...

2009-12-31T12:54:00.000-08:00

There's no rhyme or reason to this post...just a bunch of random things.
Here are the kids with our neighbor, Hayden and his dirt bike."Mom, I don't want to be on this bike! I'm a sports boy, not a motocross boy!"
Its ok, Wylie.
I'm fine with that.
(we can't afford to buy you a dirt bike anyway!)

PLNU sweatshirts courtesy of Aunt Aleta. Now, thats a good gift! (so much better than that stuffed horse)

Here is Audrey at Olivia's princess party.
Snow White was there! (cue Gasp)
Can you believe it!?!
A picture of all the princesses.
Olivia (the birthday girl) is behind Audrey, shoved in the corner. sad.
Who the heck is that lady pushing Audrey's head?

My co-worker and I gave my boss an office makeover for Christmas...with practically no budget to work with. We got VERY creative with paper (but I guess thats kind of our job).
Check out that window valance...
and the pinwheels...
and our framed picture on her desk (we were really hoping for a raise...no such luck)
We made these "shoe canvases" with paper and box tops. (she loves shoes)
and handbags...(see frames on the wall)
Check out those cute tissue paper pom-poms! Watch out Martha Stewart!

Here is Audrey (in the middle) doing her little preschool christmas performance. It was adorable.
MY how she has changed since last year! She screamed at last year's performance, wanting NOTHING to do with being in front of all the parents.
This year she was right at home on center-stage!
Our sweet Miss Nancy with all her kiddos.

Thanksgiving

2009-12-31T11:45:00.000-08:00

We swap holidays each year between my parents and my in-laws. This year we were in New Mexico with my family for Thanksgiving, and home with my in-laws for Christmas.
Here are pics from our trip to NM...

Oh wait! Before I post pics from Thanksgiving, I need to post a few pictures from when my parents were out for a quick visit in the beginning of November.

Here we go, folks! Hang on to your hats!

Mom and Audrey showing of their dancing skills (or lack there of).
Sorry mom, the truth hurts sometimes.
My grandparents came up from San Diego to visit while my parents were out. They brought with them this horse. A gift from my aunt Aleta...who runs a preschool.
Now, she was either being very gracious by giving my kids a thoughtful gift, OR she was playing a cruel trick on me, and saw this as an easy way to get this gigantic thing out of her preschool.
Seriously, for those who know me, do you really think I would have this thing in my house if I really had a choice? It takes up half of my dining room (aka toy storage area). Its like his own personal corral.
Now, Aunt Aleta, I apologize if you were truly giving this out of the kindness of your heart. My kids love it.
But if I hear that you were playing a cruel joke on me, you better believe that this guy will have a one-way ticket, headed back down to your preschool in San Diego...better yet, to your house! (we'll see how you like it!)
Just for the record, I love you Aunt Aleta.

Now, on to our trip to New Mexico for Thanksgiving.

cousin Zachary
christmas card picture
moms christmas card picture
from left to right: Brad, Uncle Larry, Jeremy, Aunt Geena, Mom, Dad, Michael, Greg
Meghan, Zachary, Courtney, Schotzie, Papa, Me, Wylie, and Audrey
We celebrated Greg and Dad's b-days after our thanksgiving feast. Gregs birthday was actually on Thanksgiving (poor guy had to open his gifts and run off to work right after lunch) and Dad's was 2 days later.
The best gift was given by my cousin Courtney. She made my dad a scrapbook of pictures of Addie, from the time she was a puppy (and could fit in my purse...for like a day) till the very end. It was very sweet. Dad cried. I cried. Meghan cried. and the list goes on.
On to a lighter note. You may be wondering what the heck is going on in this picture.
Michael has Audrey and I caught in his "Sullivan Scissors" (a wonderful thing he learned from his dad as a kid). Wylie was lucky enough to escape the wrath of the sullivan scissors. Audrey and I were not so lucky.
Picture with "Papa Great"
This picture touches my heart!
Papa Great turns 98 tomorrow! Happy Birthday Papa! not that he reads my blog...or even knows what a computer is...but none the less, tell him we say Happy Birthday, mom.
Before we got to NM, my parents made all these blocks for the kids to play with...ahh, such good grandparents!
There were many castles made. This is the one I was most proud of.
And here I am trying to keep Audrey from tackling it...cause her mean daddy was telling her that it'd be funny to knock it over.
Here is Audrey with a plate that was made by my childhood best friend Amber, for my birthday in 1989...(not sure if you picked up on that). If you can't tell, we're playing tetherball...one of my favorite pastimes from elementary school. She's the one in the pink with the side-ponytail (yessss...gotta love the 80's!) and I'm the one in the red with the awful perm hair.
I love that my mom held on to this. Its the only plate Audrey will use at her house.
Papa, looking at his collection of old phones with his collection of grandkids.
At the Roswell "lake" (below)
Check out little man's windhair!
At the Roswell zoo
Audrey, making sure her bunny's still alive, with uncle Greg's stethescope. Judging by the smile on her face, I'm guessing Bunny was just fine.

I'm playing catch-up!

2009-12-31T11:36:00.000-08:00

You know when you put something off...

and then you get behind...

and then you think "I'm SO behind that I have lost my desire to even catch up"

Well, thats where I'm at with this blog.

I would quit but then I'd be in trouble with my mom...

and we don't want that...

This is my catch-up day.

Stay tuned...and be prepared for many pictures and not very many words.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-23T12:21:00.000-08:00

I know I have a LOT of catching up to do on the blog, but in the mean time, Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

2009-11-20T14:55:00.000-08:00

I know its been forever since I last posted...and I don't have a ton of time right now...but I thought I'd just throw a few of our recent pictures up on the blog...just for kicks!
Last weekend we went to Sea World with our friends Sarah and Troy Sherman, along with their cute daughter Lucy. I only took a few pictures (and only of our family), so here they are:
(Sarah took a lot more pictures than I did...and if she'd ever update her blog ;) then I could take some and post them on here) (hint hint, Sarah...as if being pregnant is a good excuse) haha
Here's our newly updated picture by the tide pools...its our little tradition
Here's a pic from a recent play-date with Kierstyn and Bailey. As you can see, Wylie was a lady's man that day. Don't really know where his shirt went...hmm...
More pics of my sassy little stinker
It'll be a while till I post again cause we're flying to New Mexico tomorrow. We're looking forward to spending the week with my parents, brother, cousins, aunt, uncle, and papa...and celebrating thanksgiving as well as my brother and dad's birthdays.
On a sad note, it'll be a little different this trip because my parents just recently had to put down their dog (and companion) Addie, due to her very aggressive cancer :(
We'll miss you, Addie! She was a wonderful dog, and definitely part of the family!

Game Day

2009-11-02T11:55:00.000-08:00

This is what happens when uncle Dan gets my kids all riled up...

They eventually turn their attention to someone else, and it just so happened that auntie Sara was in their path. She didn't even stand a chance against the 2 of them.

Wylie is obsessed with teeth lately. As you can see, he thought Sara's were quite intriguing! Grandma thinks hes gonna be a dentist.

Anyway, Sunday was the Charger/Raider game and in addition to having Sara and Dan over to watch the game, Lindsay, Chris and their kids Chaelyn and Talon drove up from San Diego too.

Sara, Lindsay and I grew up together, so we have a blast whenever we get together to laugh and reminisce.

Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of the 3 of us but I did get a pic of these cute little buddies!

Talon is 17 months and Wylie is 14 months. They are both major thumb suckers...its so cute (for now). Not only does Talon suck his thumb to sooth himself, but he twirls his hair on the crown of his head. He is such a doll!
After the game (sorry raiders!), we all headed out front so the kids could run around...and when I say "kids," Dan and Michael are definitely included! Chaelyn and Hayden (the cute little boy in blue who lives across the street) are both in kindergarten and kept having races against each other. That girl has got some speed!

Uncle Dan, Daddy and Wylie all say hi to the camera...
And here is my cute little man at the end of the night, playing in the back of daddy's truck. You don't think he "flipped me the bird" on purpose...do you?

"Trick or Treat"

2009-11-02T10:01:00.001-08:00

Have you ever seen a more adorable fairy princess?
I know I haven't!
Or a cuter, chunkier little clown?! Look at how his hat scrunched down his little ears...haha! I just want to eat his little cheeks!
Audrey was TOTALLY in her element dressed as a fairy princess! She twirled her hair, curtsied, and cast magical spells with her magic wand. I'm sure she'd wear this costume every day if I'd let her!
Wylie, on the other hand, screamed when he was put into his costume. Michael said he'd cry too if someone put him in this ridiculous get-up! I think he looked like a little doll though!...even if he wouldn't leave his hat on.
We went to Miss Nancy's for a little halloween get-together with her other preschoolers and their families. It was so fun to see all the cute little costumes!
Audrey's "boyfriend" Hayden dressed as Darth Vadar. We went trick-or-treating with him and his parents later that night around our neighborhood.
My Sullivan Sweeties :)

Pun'kin Patch

2009-11-02T08:17:00.000-08:00

On Halloween afternoon we took the kids to the pumpkin patch for some family fun...
Who would have thought it'd be 85 degrees! So much for fabulous fall weather.
We had a great time though...fun was had by all!

Pumpkin Fun with Daddy

2009-10-30T07:45:00.001-07:00

Michael is the pumpkin carver in our family...I just draw the faces on the pumpkins and let him and the kids do all the messy work. Well, actually the kids just watch...and hope that daddy doesn't drop any pumpkin goop on them.
Check out these GORGEOUS sunflowers that I got at the farmers market last Saturday! and they were a steal too...2 bouquets at $2.50 each...can't beat it! I love the bright pop of orange that they add to the room.
If you can't tell from my house, I LOVE fall colors!
And...(drumroll please)...here is the final masterpiece(s)!
Now we're just hoping that no one jacks our jack-o-lanterns! Last year someone stole our pumpkin off our front porch!...it nearly broke Audrey's little heart!

On your marks, get set, GO!

2009-10-28T19:31:00.000-07:00

As promised, here is a video of our little man Wylie in action at Amma and Papa's house earlier today.

Just pretend you don't notice that its sideways :)

Wylie is WALKING!

2009-10-28T13:11:00.000-07:00

"Amma" (Michael's mom) is watching the kids today while I'm at work. She called this morning with some VERY exciting news...our little man is walking!
Yeah...finally! (and of course he chooses to start walking while I'm at work and can't be there...sniffle sniffle :(
She took a little video of him walking and she showed it to him on the computer. She snapped this pic of him as he was watching it. As you can tell from the picture, he is quite pleased with himself!
I'll make sure to post a video of him "in action" once I get home. Oh, and don't mind the drool that's all over his shirt...he's teething like crazy!

One Year Ago...

2009-10-28T12:41:00.000-07:00

I just had to share!

2009-10-26T11:15:00.000-07:00

I found this image on another blog and I just had to share! For those of you who have or have had a nursing baby, I'm sure you'll get a big kick out of this!

HA! HA! It makes me laugh every time I look at it! Its like nursing babies always have their "Tata Radar" turned on!...Even when they're cast in bronze!

2009-10-22T09:31:00.001-07:00

Its sheet changing day at the Sullivan's!

Not that this is normally an exciting event but this morning it was pretty darn hysterical!

First I uneventfully changed the sheets in the kids rooms, before heading to our room. This was the last room to tackle and I needed to do it quickly since it was Wylie's nap time and he was running out of steam. So I stripped the bed and threw all the dirty sheets on the floor in a pile, then I left the room to go get the clean set of sheets from the hall cupboard, and when I came back in the room, this is what I found...

Ok so first I must admit that I've always had a love for dogs, but even more than that, I've always had a love for torturing dogs (in a playful way). As a kid, instead of dressing my dolls, I would dress my dog Taffy in my bathing suits...now that I think of it, its kinda disgusting, but I always thought it was the most hysterical thing...like once she was dressed I thought it was so funny that I had to sit down so I wouldn't wet myself cause I was laughing so hard...

Flash forward to this morning and its like I was a kid again. I saw Audrey wrapping the dogs in the sheets and both of us were laughing uncontrollably!

I'm sure a good mother would have stopped her, but instead I just jumped in to help!

Wylie wasn't quite sure what to think of all the commotion...he just wanted to take a nap

Although this could have gone on all morning, I thought the dogs had been put through enough so we gave it a rest...

but then of course it was time for the dogs to take all of their aggressions out, so they wrestled each other for the next several minutes.

And FINALLY the sheets were on, the bed was made, and Wylie got his nap!
PHEW!

Two posts in One day!

2009-10-21T19:43:00.000-07:00

Watch out world, I'm just a blogging machine! (...hardly)

So, the kids are in bed, the house is quiet, the pups are sleeping at my feet, and Michael is at church helping with youth group, so what better to do than blog (and watch last night's Biggest Loser as soon as I'm done).

Anyway, just wanted to post a few pics that we took at the park tonight before Michael went to youth.

Little Man sure did get a kick out of the slide today!

Here's Audrey in a rather questionable position...she's still learning how to look graceful while climbing the slide.

Wylie has a big smile on his face cause he knew we were leaving the park to go eat dinner. Ahh I love my little fatty!

Thats all folks!

2009-10-21T13:54:00.000-07:00

Another weekend has quickly passed and here we are on Wednesday again. Here is just a quick reflection of a few highlights from our past weekend.Saturday morning, Audrey and I went on a "Mommy/Daughter" date. We went to Starbucks and enjoyed a beverage and sweet treat from the pastry counter. We had a good time together. Lots of laughs. That girl can be such a ham sometimes! I'm sure the people seated around us were wondering why I found it necessary to bring my 3 year old...especially since they were all seated so quietly, enjoying their cup of coffee and reading their paper. We left once she got out of her chair and started running around dancing. Probably not such a good idea to give her blueberry coffee CAKE for breakfast!
After "breakfast" we went to treat mommy with a pedicure. It started out nice and relaxing. Audrey sat on my lap as we soaked our feet in the water...but then she got bored. So I tried to entertain her by singing some of her favorite songs...quietly. (Mary had a Little Lamb is currently on the top of her list...and Do Your Ears Hang Low is a close second). I think the little Vietnamese guy who was doing my nails really enjoyed our performance. He kept clapping. But then Audrey got so into the songs that once again she started running around the nail shop dancing...like she was on center stage. (This must have been when the sugar from the coffee cake really set in). The rest of the pedicure wasn't too enjoyable. She got numerous "mommy glares" from me, but evidently those don't really effect her. Needless to say, she won't be accompanying me to the nail shop any time soon!

Saturday evening we did something new and fun for us! At a nearby museum one of the local school's PTAs put on a Movie Night Under the Stars. We had SO MUCH FUN! They showed A Bug's Life. We brought our sweatshirts and blanket to lay on and just enjoyed the fun atmosphere. At one point during the movie, Audrey and I looked up and could see SO many stars...it was such a clear night. I think Wylie really enjoyed it too (he typically loves being outdoors). He was being quite a character that night, making Michael and I laugh. He even got brave enough to take like 10 steps in a row. He'd take a few, think about sitting down, then realize that he still had his balance, then take a few more. Michael and I got SUPER excited...thinking "He's FINALLY gonna start walking!" But then he was over it. Which I guess was fine with me, since I didn't have the video camera.
So, on the way to the museum we drove through Taco Bell to grab some dinner (I know, I know...starbucks for breakfast and taco bell for dinner...I'm a horrible mother...now get over it).
So Audrey had her usual, a bean and cheese burrito and Wylie had peaches (good mom) and then just picked off our food for the rest of his meal.
Well I was so excited about this fun event that I wanted to get a picture of my kids, so I stood back and tried to get their attention. I was able to get Audrey's attention but as you can see, something else caught Wylie's attention...Audrey's burrito. Which if you know Wylie, will not surprise you because on a typical day he eats more than me (and I don't have a little girly appetite).
It kinda reminds me of this picture of Audrey when she was a baby.
"Get in my belly!"

Family Day

2009-10-16T14:07:00.000-07:00

Ok, I know its almost the weekend again but I've been slacking and still need to post pictures from last Saturday. We had a fun family day...just the 4 of us. We drove out to one of our favorite places to hang out with the kids...we had fun feeding the ducks, taking a walk around the lake, and to our surprise, there was a Harvest Fair going on with a petting zoo, pony rides, etc. It was so much fun! and the best part is that everything was free! Love that! (especially for someone who NEVER carries cash)
Wylie was a little iffy of the animals but he was good as long as I was holding him.
Audrey loved riding the ponies!
And afterwards, with sleepy/cranky kids in tow, we took a trip to Home Goods. I've never been there before but have heard that they have great prices...and I they do! We got this cute candle holder on clearance! I already had the river rocks in the previous centerpiece so I just put those in there for kicks...I like it! I think I want to add a few more candle holders or vases around it...but we'll see.

Boots

2009-10-16T13:28:00.000-07:00

Every day when Michael gets home from work Wylie is super excited to see him. He loves being picked up to say hello and give hugs and kisses. His favorite thing though is daddy's boots. Its like when Michael sits down and pulls up his pant leg, its a cue for Wylie to go "help". You can tell Wylie looks forward to it every day...its like clockwork. Wherever he is in the room, he'll crawl on over to Michael like "ok dad, here I am! Lets do this!" He pulls at the laces and tangles them up (of course making it harder for Michael to get his boots off) but I think it is the cutest thing ever...I just had to get a snapshot!

When the Cat's Away, the Mice Will Play...

2009-10-07T14:43:00.000-07:00

...and play...and play!
Looks like the kids had a great time while we were away on our vacation. I'm sure they kept Amma and Papa VERY busy! A very BIG "Thank You" to you both for taking care of our little critters while we were gone!
Little drummer boy (and girl)
Audrey has a CRAZY amount of barbies over at Amma and Papa's house (this is only a few of them)
Obviously Wylie thought that Audrey's barbie motorhome was a special chair just for him

Getaway

2009-10-06T13:45:00.000-07:00

The hubby and I just returned from a fabulous week-long getaway! We enjoyed a cruise to the Mexican Riviera. We've been waiting to do a vacation with just the 2 of us since, well, since our honeymoon...but ESPECIALLY since the kids have been born. I was a little hesitant (hmm...maybe that word is a little strong) to leave the kids for a week cause I hadn't been away from them for more than a night or two...but I knew they were in good hands (with Michael's parents). We took our laptop with us and were able to "Skype" them every night...which definitely took the edge off! Turns out they didn't even miss a beat while we were gone!
Here are a few pics of us on our adventure...oh yeah, and check out the new hair-do...I chopped it!
By the end of the first formal night we realized we hadn't taken any pictures of us all dolled up (cue cheesy mirror pic)
Getting ready to swim with dolphins in Puerto Vallarta. SO much fun!My favorite days were when we were "at sea." It was so nice not having ANYTHING to do! We just relaxed by the pool, layed in the sun and enjoyed eachother's company.
We loved Cabo! It is so beautiful there...it was our favorite port by far! We rented a wave runner and rode out to Land's End (see below)
It truly was amazing to get away! No diapers to change, no nap times, no temper tantrums...ahh bliss! But now I am so glad to be back at home with my sweet kiddos...I mean look at this little doll!...

Pics (continued)

2009-09-16T12:18:00.001-07:00

Here are my parents along with Pat and Howard Ours, enjoying the beautiful Alaska scenery. Don't they look so proper and refined...
until you see these pictures!This is my personal favorite! HAHA...I love you Howard (please don't hate me for posting this!)
On friday night, we enjoyed a date night with Sarah and Troy Sherman. We had a blast at the Angels game (actually I had a blast talking...I hardly saw any of the game...go figure).
Loved the fireworks at the end!
Saturday we went to a little Kids Museum in town...
Here is Michael living his dream of being a police officer
Thats one cute chick!
Audrey and Mama putting on the fireman boots. I thought it was fun till Michael reminded me of all the other nasty feet that had been in the boots before mine...YUCK!
Here is my little man on the grocery scale (they have a cute little exhibit where kids can pretend they're grocery shopping)
Later that evening, outside enjoying the cooler weather
Sister and Brother...
And here is the project that I made with my dad, out on our back patio...although it still needs another coat of paint. What'cha think?!

Pics, Pics and MORE Pics

2009-09-16T11:52:00.000-07:00

K, so my mom just sent over several pics from their visit with us, as well as their trip to Alaska. Just thought I'd share!

Audrey having fun at Papa's expense:Daddy enjoying the sprinklers with the kiddos...
...although Audrey wasn't too sure about the whole experience. She didn't move from this spot!Turns out my kids are really nice when you give them frozen yogurt :)
Jammy time...
Like I said in my last post, a few weeks ago Wylie was JUST about to start walking...what happened?!
Looks like Audrey took over Wylie's new toy...
and someone wasn't too happy about it!
Grammy wanted to take a picture of us dancing, but obviously Audrey didn't want mommy to dance with her! Am I too old or something? I mean, look at that form!...like a swan!
We were able to get together with a lot of family while my parents were out. Here are Mema and Papa with all their grandkids (except Corey) and great-grandkids (including Jerry-Dog)My immediate fam (minus the hubby...he was working) Oh, and of course I put dad to work while he was visiting...but this time I was his assistant. I had come up with an idea for a project and...well, you'll have to check the next post to see how it turned out!

2009-09-11T12:06:00.000-07:00

Since my last post...
- My parents left :( Although they didn't go straight back home. They took off on an Alaskan vacation (just a tad bit jealous)
- Wylie had his official 1st birthday
- Wylie stopped nursing (moment of silence please...Mommy is still adjusting to this one...I feel like they go from babies to kids when I'm done nursing :(
- I turned 28
- Wylie got ALL of his 1-year shots and I had to take him to get his blood drawn (on my birthday). Turns out he's slightly anemic.
- Wylie got sick (and Audrey got it a little bit too)
- They got me sick (UGH! Not fun!) We're hoping that dad can steer clear!
- Wylie bashed his lip on sister's bed. Blood went everywhere. Now he's fine but he looks like he got sucker-punched.

We're still waiting for little man to start walking. It seemed like he was SO close a couple of weeks ago but I guess he's decided that crawling suits him just fine for the time being. Same with talking...a while back he was saying Mama and Dada but now he has resorted to some sort of caveman-like grunt. Although he is waving, clapping and pointing a lot now. As soon as I got him up yesterday morning, he told me exactly where to go by pointing the entire way to the kitchen. Food is his #1 priority lately!

I've been really bad about taking pictures lately but here are a few that I haven't posted...and I actually have some on my other computer that I need to post too...put it on the to-do list!

Here's a pic of papa and Audrey when my parent's were here. We went out to lunch and Audrey decided to throw a major hissy-fit and my dad took her outside to give her a "talkin-to." It kinda gave me flash backs of being a little girl and getting in trouble...scary! (this picture is pre-hissy-fit)

All the little kids sang up on the stage at church 2 sundays ago...it was very cute. Audrey didn't really sing though...she just wanted to stand there and twirl her dress and pose for pictures...such a princess!

Here's a pic of Miss Nancy and the kids at the park last week. We met up on thursday morning and she did a cute little project with the kids and read them a story...she's just too wonderful!

And you can tell by the sweat on Audrey's head, it was a REALLY hot morning! I'm ready for cooler weather! (don't worry, the car wasn't in motion when I took this picture. she had just crawled in her seat and hadn't got all strapped in yet)

More party pics

2009-08-24T10:05:00.001-07:00

Just got several more pictures from my mom-in-law :)

B-DAY BOY

2009-08-23T19:44:00.000-07:00

Saturday was Wylie's first birthday party...FUN...FUN...FUN! We had tons of family and friends over to our house to celebrate our little man's big milestone. Thanks to all of you who drove from all over So Cal...it means so much that you came!
Here is our little man in the jumper. I was really surprised how much he loved it! I think he felt like one of the big kidsWylie's opening presents and reading one of his birthday cards with mamaHe got SO many fun new "boy toys" and we've been playing with them non-stop since the party...and by "we" I mean him and Audrey. There is definitely a "toy war" between the 2 of them. Why is it that as soon as one kids picks up a toy, that is the ONLY toy that the other kid wants. Can't we just all get along!
Here are our yummy cupcakes.
Wylie was kinda upset at first when we took him away from his new toys, stripped his shirt off and put him in his hi-chair, but as soon as he got that first little nibble of frosting, its like he was in another world. He polished that thing off within seconds...although half of it ended up in his lap...(cue the next picture)so we stripped the rest of his clothes off and threw him in the pool. He had a blast splashin around and showing off for his group of picture-taking spectators
Although it wasn't Audrey's bday party, she was still SO excited! She had been asking for days and day when Wylie's party was (probably cause thats when Grammy and Papa would get here too). She and all her little friends had fun playing in her room (it looked like a tornado had hit when everyone left)! Daddy had fun in the jumper with Wylie. In fact I think that Michael and uncle Dan enjoyed the jumper more that the kidsThanks Dan for all the beautiful pictures you took!

Baby Karleigh

2009-08-21T11:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday afternoon I took the kids over to our friends Zach and Kristi's house. They just had a precious little girl last week, and we just couldn't keep ourselves away any longer! Michael and I were able to go see them in the hospital (sans kids) so Audrey has been DYING to see baby Karleigh!
Once we got there, I put Wylie down for a nap in Karleigh's crib (hopefully he didn't feel too emasculated by the pink bedding...which was actually Audrey's bedding when she was a baby, handmade with love by Nana Kerry :) Then Audrey and I were able to give Kristi a break from baby duty to get some work done...and we had so much fun lovin' on this little lady! Audrey was definitely being a baby-hog in the beginning but then she finally let me have a turn.
Its hard to believe that just a year ago, Wylie was so tiny like this! Why does the first year have to fly by SO fast!?! I think holding her probably took care of any "baby itch" that I may be having...especially after hearing about all of the long sleepless nights...UGH, I DON'T MISS THOSE! Good luck, you guys!!

Oh, and here's the little print that I made last week for Karleigh's nursery

1 Year Pictures

2009-08-17T08:41:00.000-07:00

My little boy is almost ONE! I can't believe it! We have Wylie's party coming up this saturday...and my parents and brother are coming out from New Mexico...yeah! We're very excited!
So...I've been putting it off since he was born, but this last weekend we went and had family pictures taken. Since Wylie's almost one, I knew it had to be done!
So here's a picture of my big boy! Isn't he just a doll!
And here are my cute kiddos together...
Wylie would NOT sit still! Every time we'd put in down next to Audrey, he'd crawl right away...and boy, is he quick! So, this is the best pic we got of the 2 of them, even though Wylie's not smiling (I think he has a piece of cereal in his mouth) and Audrey has her fake (I'm only smiling cause mom and dad keep barking at me to say "cheese") smile on.
And here is our family pic...its the best one we got. I think Audrey was just so distracted the whole time cause we were all trying to get Wylie to look at the camera.
The reason I've been putting off family pictures is kinda selfish but its because of my dumb bell's palsy. I really don't notice it much in my day to day life cause I try not to focus on it, but when I smile it is most obvious cause my facial muscles tighten up and it makes my eye squint and my smile crooked...and since I didn't want to be the only one frowning in our family pic, I knew it would show up a lot...which it did...until I photoshopped the picture (one of the perks of being a graphic designer). I didn't photoshop my smile at all...I left it crooked but I did "open up my eye" a little bit (yea for technology). I kinda feel like a cheater for doing this (maybe that's why I'm admitting to it in my blog) but I just didn't want to look like a freak. UGH...I am SOO ready for this to go away, although I'm coming to the realization that it might not...ever. I woke up with it the day before I delivered Wylie, so it was August 26th of last year. Most cases typically go away in a month or two...but here I am almost 12 months later. Maybe God is trying to teach me patience...or humility. I guess I should just be thankful for the progression that it has made...cause it was HORRIBLE in the beginning! Good thing I had a new baby to distract me and keep me busy!

Addie

2009-08-07T15:40:00.000-07:00

I came across these pictures the other day while going through old boxes...and I just had to share.
These were taken the day we got our new dog, Addie. I had just finished my freshman year at PLNU and Sara (see first pic) and I had just returned from a missions trip to Africa. Anyway, I was home for the summer and had the idea to get my dad a new puppy for father's day. So my mom, Sara and I headed to the breader's house and picked out this adorable little ball of fluff.
The next morning my dad came home from the fire station and SURPRISE...he had a new puppy! As you can tell in the picture, it didn't take him too long to fall in love with her.
Little did I know, she would replace me as his favorite "daughter"...just kidding...i hope!

Catch-up!

2009-07-31T09:42:00.000-07:00

Ok, so its been a long time since my last post...i've been a MAJOR slacker! I don't have any excuses, but at least I've been taking pictures along the way!
Lets see...how far back do I need to go?
Here we are at the beach a few weekends back. We had a fun day, just the 4 of us. Wylie tried to eat the sand...hmmm, that was interesting! By the end of the day Audrey finally started to get used to the water and sand...lets just say she's ALL girl (she never got used to the seaweed...one step at a time!) I basically had to force her down and plop her in the sand to get her to dig with me...then she started to enjoy it. (Notice that I made her sit in the sand but I sat on the mat...shhh, she didn't notice :)

For the last several weeks Audrey has been taking swim lessons from our friend Emily. She is catching on, slowly but surely. In the beginning she would cry hysterically but now shes starting to enjoy it more. I think she'd be able to swim all by herself if she'd just start to move her arms more. She's doing great with the kicking though. I wish we had a pool for her to practice more! If you look closely you can see her little pouty faces...she was over it by the time I brought the camera out...but at least she faked a smile for the last picture

I had mentioned a while back that I've been slowly fixing up our home office. This is definitely a multi-purpose room. As you can see, it serves 3 purposes: exercise room, guest room, and home office.
My dad built the desk and bookcase for us several years back (thanks dad!) and my mother-in-law was nice enough to sew the pillows for me and help with the valance.
The photo collage next to the treadmill is a recent addition. I just took all my old frames that weren't in use and spray painted some of them. Then I had my printer guy that I use for work print up a few of my favorites. I like the way it turned out!
Another recent project was putting the scrapbook paper under the glass desk-top. I found a cute paper and pieced together several sheets, then trimmed it with ribbon. It really lightens up that side of the room.

Here are a few shots of our living room/dining room/entry hallway (all the same area). The latest project in this room is the vinyl lettering (in the first pic). It says "Speak kindly...Care deeply...Love generously...Pray faithfully" Words to live by!

These pictures are of our great room/kitchen area. My dad and Michael built the fireplace mantel and the media built-in just after we moved in a year and a half ago. Nothing too new in this room...oh, except for the lamps. I told Michael that I wanted those for our anniversary. Romantic, I know ;) Don't blame him though, it was my idea.
(the color in the 'kitchen table pic' is kinda off for some reason)
Speaking of our anniversary, Michael and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary this past Sunday! Yeah! We dropped the kids off at Michael's parent's house (thanks a million you guys!) and headed out to a FABULOUS dinner at the Melting Pot in temecula on saturday night. If you've never been there, you must! Its pretty pricey (but we ate for free because we had gift cards...again, Yeah!) The food is amazing!
Its a fondue restaraunt...so you start out with your cheese fondue along with the breads, veggies and apples to dip in it...YUM! Then you get your salad, then move on the the meat portion of the meal. Our platter had lobster tail, steak, pork, chicken, shrimp and mushroom raviolis and you cook it all in a broth there on your table. It was fabulous. The the meal ends with a BANG when they bring out the dessert platter. I'm sure I'll forget some of the goodies but I know it had strawberries, bananas (both my favorite), cheesecake, marshmellows, pound cake, brownies and you dip them all in the yummy chocolate...OH MY GOSH...its SO good!
So basically you do nothing but eat for about 2 solid hours...and love every moment of it!
Ok, moving on, the next day (our actual anniversary) we spent a VERY relaxing day at Glen Ivy. This is the only picture that I got of the day, but here we are after covering our bodies in clay...so much fun! It was so nice to hang out with my hubby all day long (without being interupted), in such a beautiful, relaxing environment!

Ok, lastly...my little man Wylie is almost one! I can't believe it! The past year has flown by! In a lot of ways it makes me a little sad that my baby is growing up but mostly I'm just excited cause he is so much fun as he's getting older!
I just designed his b-day party invitation, so of course we had to do a little photo-shoot to get a recent picture of him...here are a few of the pics.

...and here is "sassy sister" who was SO upset that I wasn't taking pictures of her...just Wylie. So finally I took a picture of her, and here's what I got.
And (drumroll please) here's the final invitation...

Fun Day!

2009-07-10T14:22:00.000-07:00

I had a FUN day off yesterday with the kids!
In the morning, while Wylie was napping, Audrey and I made some fabulous blueberry muffins. Ahhh, I'm so proud...my little lady is turning into a "domestic diva" just like her mommy :) HAHA...yeah right!
Then we headed over to my friend Lindsay's house for a playdate and yummy lunch. Lindsay and I were great friends in high school, so it was WONDERFUL to finally get together and catch up (it only took 10 years!). She has FOUR kids...look how cute they are! (well, her oldest daughter McKenna wasn't there...but I saw pics...she's really cute too :)
Here is Audrey playing dress-up with Kalia, David showing off his big batman muscles, and the 2 babies, Damon and Wylie. Lindsay and Joe just adopted Damon from South Korea 1 month ago. He is just a doll and a great addition to their family!
Thanks for such a fun playdate!

So after we got home, my mother-in-law came over and she and I put together a new window valance for our home office. It turned out so cute! I'll take pics soon.

So, it was a very busy day but it sure was fun-filled! Hope you all have a GREAT weekend! Not really sure what we're gonna do but I can't wait to spend time with my cute lil' family!

"EIGHT"

2009-07-07T19:47:00.000-07:00

Alrighty...I was "tagged" by Sarah to do this, so here it goes!

Eight things I look forward to...

1. September 27th-October 4th! I'm going on a cruise w the hubby! Just the 2 of us...yeah!
2. Finish decorating our home office
3. My bell's palsey going away! (wishful thinking)
4. Our 6th anniversary next month. We're going to Glen Ivy for the day. SO relaxing!
5. Getting a jacuzzi in the back yard (maybe when its closer to winter time)
6. Wylie learning to walk
7. Days together as a family
8. Seeing my parents when they come out for Wylie's bday

Eight things I did yesterday...
1. Drove thru starbucks
2. Went to work
3. Was given (actually loaned) a nice Mac so I can do design for our church from home. It has a HUGE screen! (my neighbors can probably read what I'm typing right now ;)
4. Ate frozen yogurt for dinner after the kids went to bed (don't tell Audrey!)

5. Watched that Brad Pitt "Benjamin Button" movie with the hubby. It was good but SO long!

6. K, I ran out of things that I did yesterday so I've moving on to today. I took Audrey and Wylie to our friend Emily's house for Audrey's 2nd swim lesson.
7. Instead of laying down while the kids were napping (like I had wanted to), I spent about 3 hours trying to get all adjusted to this new computer and trying to get the darn printer to work.
8. Had a yummy spaghetti dinner with the fam.

Eight things I wish I could do...
1. Be organized enough to ALWAYS have balanced meals every night (I copied this one from Sarah)
2. Enjoy cooking
3. relax more often
4. Decorate without having to pay for anything
5. Get a travel trailer (one day! Can't wait for those fun family trips!)
6. Have summers off with my husband and kids (like you lucky teachers...so not fair!)
7. Enjoy exercise
8. Live in the same town as all of my family and friends (I miss you all!)

8 Shows I Watch:

1. Grey's Anatomy
2. So you think you can dance
3. American Idol
4. Jon and Kate Plus 8 (so sad...I think those 2 just gave up!)
5. Amazing Race
6. Private Practice
7. One tree hill
8. Anything that is on HGTV

I tag Heidi K. and Quinn! Get to it girls!!!

A day in the life of Wylie

2009-07-06T14:34:00.000-07:00

My latest creation...

2009-07-02T08:13:00.000-07:00

I've had the urge to decorate lately...big time. I have so many ideas that I want to try! The only thing is, my house is already decorated so I've been finding fun little things to curb my urge :)
Yesterday I tackled a blank wall in Audrey's room and came up with this cute little arrangement. The wall has been bugging me for the last year and a half cause I just couldn't figure out what to put there. I like the height of the molding but makes it awkward to hang any pictures, etc. So, I made this work! Audrey loves it but she can't quite figure out exactly what it is. She keeps saying "hmmm, maybe its easter eggs" or "maybe its flowers" or "maybe its humming birds" (have no idea where that one came from!) Personally, they remind me of Dr. Seuss trees.
Oh, and my husband was happy too cause it was a cheap project. We already had the letters from her nursery, so all I had to buy was a few sheets of scrapbook paper and a roll of ribbon.

NEXT PROJECT...sewing pillows and a valance for our "office/guestroom/workout room." Then after that...well, I've got more ideas but I'll just keep those in my head for now cause Michael gets nervous when I start talking "projects."

Happy Anniversary!

2009-06-26T22:57:00.000-07:00

Happy 37th Anniversary, Mom and Dad!

I love you guys and I am so thankful for the example you have set of what a wonderful marriage looks like. I know marriage isn't always easy but you have honored the promise that you made to God and to each other 37 years ago. By watching your relationship, you have taught me that a healthy marriage requires love, compromise, communication, forgiveness...and a lot of prayer (especially once kids are thrown in the mix!)

HERE'S TO ANOTHER 37 YEARS!

(ok, I might be pushing it just a little...but I want you to live a LONG time :)
Oh...and I hope this picture is ok. I had to search through 4 years of photos for a pic of just the 2 of you. I didn't think you'd want a full-body shot of you in your swimsuits floating around on the internet (plus I didn't want to blind anyone with dad's glowing skin) so I cropped it :) Hope your anniversary is as wonderful as a day on a Grand Cayman beach! Love you!!

Happy (belated) Father's Day!

2009-06-26T14:25:00.000-07:00

We were out of town on Father's Day so this post is a little late!

Here is a pic of my precious kiddos with their precious daddy...

I love you Michael! Thanks for being such a wonderful father to Audrey and Wylie! They are so lucky to have you to laugh with, play with, and learn from! A relationship between a child and their father is SO important, and our kids will NEVER have reason to question your love for them!

...and Dad, I am so grateful for the relationship that we share! I couldn't have asked for a better father...you mean the world to me! Thanks for being such a great dad and Papa! We sure do miss you! In fact, Audrey told me this morning that she wanted to call you and tell you that she was eating your cereal...and then she went on to do her (very good) Papa impersonation. It makes me laugh every time!

My lil' sweeties...

2009-06-10T13:25:00.001-07:00

Audrey is a crack-up!

2009-06-08T12:53:00.000-07:00

I have received a few emails today from Miss Nancy, telling me funny little things that Audrey has said throughout the day. Just thought I'd share...

Her first email said:
Audrey is drawing a picture of her family. She said "I am going to draw a sister because I don't want a brother anymore". I asked her, where would Wylie go, where would he be? Wouldn't you miss him? She said, he will be at your house and I will see him every day at YOUR house.

Her next email said:

Audrey!...She is funny. She is walking around with a pink play cell phone and talking to you. She brought me the phone and said "do you want to talk to my mommy"? I said, I can talk to her when she picks you up later...she said "here, I will put you on speaker phone"! I am still laughing!!! Yes, I did speak to you on speaker!!!

She is still talking to you and said "mommy, can you hear me now, I miss you sooo much"!! Oh, that little girl!

Thank you for sharing your babies with me. I am so blessed.

Love, Miss Nancy

Ahhh, she is too funny! Thanks for sharing these special little moments, Miss Nancy! Keep 'em coming!

One of my favorite pics...

2009-05-29T14:36:00.000-07:00

I was just looking through all the pictures on my computer and came across this one. It was taken 6 days after Wylie was born. I can't believe how quickly the last 9 months have flown by! I still remember Michael and I trying to prep Audrey for her new little brother to be born. We would read her books every night about having a new baby and becoming a big sister. Well, I have to say that she has adjusted VERY well! She is amazing with him and loves him to pieces! She always says "I'm Wy-yee's yittle mommy"...she takes such good care of him! And MY, how my little man has changed! When he was born, he was skinny, dark-haired, and tan (cause he was slightly jaundice)...and now, well, lets just say he's not skinny anymore and his skin is a glowing shade of ivory :)
I can't put into words how much I love these kiddos! As you mamas know, it is the most amazing feeling in the world! I am SO blessed!

Its been a while!

2009-05-29T09:11:00.000-07:00

First off, just a few random pics of the kids. First is Audrey, once again torturing Mia by playing dress-up at the dog's expense. At first Audrey tried the strangling method (above) but then Mia just gave in and posed for the picture. You can almost hear her mumbling "...oh bother..."
Hmm...just realized that Mia kinda has a Hitler mustache...interesting.
I just love the look that Wylie has on his face here...looks like he's thinking "I'm gonna get'cha!"

So here's the update...
- Michael started his new position as a groundsman this week (still with Edison), after training for the last 3 weeks. He's going to have the opportunity to work more overtime with this job which will be good for our bank account but means we'll have a few more evenings at home without our Daddy :( It really is a good opportunity for him though...we are very thankful!
- We went to an Angels/Dodger game in LA on Saturday with our friends Zach and Kristi to celebrate Kristi's birthday. We went to CPK for dinner beforehand which was yummy as always but we had a braindead waitress who waited to bring my pizza till everyone else was almost done eating and then SERIOUSLY struggled with our check. The guys were about to loose it, since it made us really late to the game...but we still had a good time, even though the Angels lost.
- On Monday (memorial Day), my mother-in-law and I used our Mother's Day gift certificates to Glen Ivy Hot Springs Spa...and had a BLAST. The weather was perfect and it was SO relaxing! We told Michael that he'll never have to search for a Mother's Day gift again...we want to do this every year!
- We got a patio cover last week, which I am VERY excited about...I still need to take pics. Before, the sun BEAT the back of our house so I could never really take the kids outside during the afternoon because the heat was just miserable...but now we'll be able to play in our little plastic pool and draw all over the ground with chalk without the risk of 3rd degree sunburns!
- Wylie, who is now 9 months (OMG!), has been teething horribly for the last week. He is finally getting his top front teeth and has been waking up REALLY early in the morning, probably from the pain. For some reason he has turned into even more of a Mama's boy lately too. He'll hardly even let me set him down without throwing a fit...hopefully this is a short-lived phase cause I don't know how much my back can handle!
So, for the most part this is whats been new in our lives. As always, life is crazy and busy but REALLY good!

Day on the lake...

2009-05-18T15:44:00.000-07:00

We had an awesome time on Saturday with our friends Mindy and Chuck. We took their boat out and spent the entire day on lake Elsinore. The weather was perfect, the kids had a blast, and we just had a nice relaxing day! We were able to do some wake boarding which was so much fun, EXCEPT...I am SO sore that I could barely walk this morning when I got out of bed. Every inch of my body hurts!
Hangin' on the boat
Wylie and Mindy Audrey and Chuck

Thanks for such a fun day! I can't wait till next month when we all go to Laughlin!

Who needs toys...

2009-05-15T14:03:00.000-07:00

Who needs toys when you've got an old diaper box to play with? Audrey and Wylie had so much fun on tuesday morning playing "Bus" in this box. Of course Audrey was the driver and Wylie was the passenger who just wouldn't sit down or listen to her, but regardless, they had fun!
Soo, here's my little health update...
On tuesday evening when I was getting changed, I noticed that my right boob was really sore (sorry if this is too much information) so of course I took imediate notice, since between nursing the 2 kids I have developed Mastitis no less than 5 times. (The first time I had it was when Audrey was just a couple weeks old and it got SO bad that they had to cut it open so it could drain.) So when I woke up on wednesday morning, it was REALLY sore and it was turning red and hot to the touch (signs of infection). So, I called into work, dropped the kids off at Ms. Nancy's and went straight to urgent care. Around this time I started to get really achy all over my body. I was seen by the PA, who looked like he was 12 yrs old...a little akward since I had to show him my "goods". Anyway, he put me on an antibiotic and I am doing much better now...I'm just hoping that this is the last time that I'll develop mastitis! After all, I only plan on nursing Wylie for another 4 months or so.
Do you think my kids will ever appreciate all I have been through for them?...hmm...probably not...but its still worth it ;)

Mother's Day weekend

2009-05-11T08:13:00.000-07:00

K, I'm not really sure why all this text is underlined, but just try to ignore it. Anyway, we had a lot of fun this past weekend! On Saturday morning we left town (the weather was already in the high 80's) and headed to the beach for a fun family day...but when we got there it was COLD! We tried to deal with it for a while, hoping that the clouds would break up. Audrey played in the sand...she made friends with the little boy who was sitting close to us...but I was freezing and made the executive decision to hit the road. I really wish that we would have brought more clothes but it was crazy hot at home so we didn't even think about it. Oh well, we still had a good time and Wylie got to go to the beach for the first time. We'll try again next month when we head to Laughlin...I know it won't be cold there!

Since yesterday was mother's day Michael got up with the kids at 5:45 (ugh!) and let me sleep till 7:30...so that was nice! He also got me a gift certificate to Glen Ivy Hot Springs that I'm going to use for a girls day with his mom. I can't wait! A whole day of pure relaxation...wow!
Then yesterday at church, Wylie was dedicated along with a few other babies. Michael's mom, step-dad, brother, sister, grandma and aunt were able to come and watch. It was really fun having them all at church with us!

After church we headed to Chili's for lunch. The wait was kinda long (but thats to be expected on Mother's Day) but we had a big tasty lunch! Then we just hung out at home for the rest of the day...except we went and got yummy frozen yogurt for dinner :D Overall it was a very good weekend!...and it was fun to celebrate being the mommy of my 2 kiddos, who I love SO much!

I'm SO excited!

2009-05-08T07:39:00.000-07:00

Wylie said "Mama" this morning...YEAH! Well, it was actually more like "ma-ma-ma-ma" but really, whats the difference! I think I'm a little extra excited because Audrey said "Dada" for like 2 months before she would say Mama. Ahhh, I love my little mama's boy!
What a wonderful Mother's Day present! :D

DIY weekend

2009-05-06T12:29:00.000-07:00

I have a few pictures from last weekend to post. We were very busy throughout the weekend shopping around for new plants and then gardening in the front yard. We have a major sprinkler issue, so thats why we still don't have our plants in front of the courtyard. Michael did a lot of hard work...awesome job, babe!
While he was working in the yard on Sunday afternoon, I was refinishing an old school desk that we got from Michael's parents. It used to be turquoise but that didn't really work in the living room so I gave it a face lift. Audrey loves coloring so I thought this would be the perfect place for her to create a masterpiece!
I don't really have a story for this picture, other than its the most recent of Wylie. I love his big slobbery smile!

I'm excited about Mother's Day this weekend! Michael has planned a family day for saturday and then we're gonna hang out with our extended family after church on Sunday. Wylie is getting dedicated at church on Sunday...should be a good weekend! :D

Our Little Scooter...

2009-04-22T13:42:00.000-07:00

Being a mommy is so much fun! I'm so proud of my little man! Wylie is finally jumping on the crawling bandwagon...well, sort of.

Enough said...

2009-04-17T13:32:00.000-07:00

My mom just sent me this picture that she took while she was out visiting a couple of weeks ago.

Why Audrey loves to dance around and shake her bare toosh, I don't know, but she kept running around, saying "take a picture, take a picture!"

Easter Sunday

2009-04-13T10:13:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful Easter yesterday. We went to church in the morning and were joined my Michael's mom, brother, and step-dad. The message was awesome (good job John!)
After church we went over to their house for an easter egg hunt and yummy lunch. The weather was beautiful and we all had fun. As soon as we got there, we took a quick family pic cause Wylie was super tired and fading quickly!

He is obviously a little young to hunt for easter eggs, but Audrey had fun searching with her cousins Carson and Coby. I helped a little cause Audrey wouldn't have had a chance up against those 2 boys!
Here's a picture of all us girls, outside watching the kids play. Grandma Mary was there too but somehow she didn't make it in the picture :(
We bought Audrey her first "BIG GIRL BIKE" this weekend and she has had so much fun learning to ride it! Of course she was most happy about the fact that it is pink...her favorite color. She really hates wearing her helmet though cause she says it hurts...even though I'm sure it doesn't. So we tried to entice her by making her a little jealous and having Wylie wear it...it didn't work. He just ended up looking like a sissy boy ;)

Oh, I forgot to mention that friday night was my first night away from Wylie! Michael's mom and step-dad kept the kids over night for us. We went out to dinner at Olive Garden in Temecula and were able to sleep in until 9:45 the next morning! It was divine!! I was a little apprehensive...but it worked out great and both kids did really well! Thanks Amma and Papa!

The mommy paparazzo

2009-04-13T10:03:00.000-07:00

My little "Sullivan celebrity" is getting sick of the darn paparazzi...always invading his space, up in his face, trying to get a good shot!

Mexico

2009-04-13T09:14:00.001-07:00

Here are a couple of pictures from Michael's trip to Mexico last week.
The group was able to build this small home, from foundation to stucco, in 4 days! Amor, the organization that they worked with, had 20+ homes being built in that same area last week. I am so impressed that all of these kids would give up their spring breaks to do all of this work!
Here is the group of teens and a few adults from our church (Community Christian Church)...along with the family that they built the home for. The blue structure to the right was their current home, so now the family will be able to use both buildings.

Nasty...

2009-04-10T14:24:00.001-07:00

I was just thinking back on what I have consumed today and it really is gross! For breakfast I had a frappaccino and a huge buttermilk spice muffin...

Then to calm my jitters from all that sugar, I scarfed down a 10 piece nuggets, fries and soda from McDonalds for lunch.

And then of course, Michael and I are going out on a date tonight and going to dinner...I'm sure that won't be healthy! Ick! Good thing nursing burns 500+ calories/day!

Maybe I should start exercising!

Visit with Grammy and Papa

2009-04-10T11:49:00.000-07:00

Prayers were answered...Michael and his group have returned safely from Tijuana, Mexico. They had a great time working together and building the house...but I think they are glad to be home, back in their own beds and enjoying warm showers (and I'm glad to have my hubby home!)

My parents got an early start on the road this morning, heading back home to New Mexico. I'm always sad to see them go...I sure do wish we got to see eachother more often! Although I wouldn't blame them if they were ready to be kid-free for a while (and by kid, I mean Audrey). Lets just say she was a handful while they were here! She really wouldn't listen for anything! I feel like I was constantly having to discipline her. But, despite all the meltdowns, we still had a lot of fun...and I am SO thankful for all their help while Michael was gone! (Grammy and her kiddos)
My mom brought a lot of fun things for her and Audrey to do together. We all built this cute little bunny house. Audrey was very specific and precise about where she wanted each peice of candy to go (hmmm, wonder who she gets that from!)
My dad was very busy the whole time they were here. He, along with our friend Jacob, built 4 alters and a communion table for our old church. They turned out beautifully (wish I had a picture to show!) Audrey had fun out in the garage, playing with papa's pile of saw dust and building towers out of the scrap wood.

We had a good time visiting our old church for their grand opening at their new facility last sunday. Audrey had fun playing with Kamryn while we were there.

As I stated earlier, my parents were a huge help! My mom helped me give the kids all their baths...and of course (as any good grandma would) she turned each one into a photo shoot.

Oooh, Audrey had sooo many tangles that night! This smile soon turned to tears :(

Grammy made this adorable pillowcase for Audrey (an early easter present). Mom, you're getting more and more creative!

Yesterday, Audrey had a big play date with her friends Kamryn and Olivia. They decorated easter eggs and had SO much fun!

Here is Kamryn decorating her egg.

We all chowed down on Grammy's quesedillas afterwards. What a fun day!

All My Children...

2009-04-03T11:53:00.000-07:00

No, I'm not talking about the soap opera...I'm talking about all of my "children" that rely on me as their mama. Mia obviously didn't feel like posing, Sully, as usual, wanted to be the center of attention, and both of my human kids were probably thinking "Mom, just hurry and take the picture already!" I just figured that it was about time that the dogs finally made it in the blog.BIG NEWS...our little man Wylie is finally sitting up on his own. It took a while (after all, he's got a lot to hold up...just look at that head! and no, I didn't photoshop it, it just looks incredibly large in this picture). He is working on his crawling too. He can get up on his hands and knees and rock a little but then just falls back to his tummy. I'll keep you all updated cause I know you're just dying for the latest!

Audrey loves her brother...she loves being his little mommy...and she is such a big helper!

Oh, I have to mention something that Audrey said recently. She said "When I grow up I'm going to marry daddy cause I love him SO much!" and then she went on about how she was going to wear a pretty pink dress and a princess crown. I didn't think it would be very nice of me to break the truth to her by saying, "Sorry chick, he's mine! Find your own man!"

So, I've mentioned before how Wylie thinks that Audrey is the funniest person ever. So when I saw this yesterday, I just had to grab my camera and capture the moment. Man, I love my kids!

Remember to keep Michael and the rest of the group in your prayers throughout this next week while they are in Mexico. They leave tomorrow morning and are hoping for no rain. After reading Zach's blog (our youth pastor) I've found out a little more about who they will be builiding the home for..."The Salomon family lives in a home primarily constructed of used lumber, a dirt floor, and a roof made out of tarpaper. If you’re not familiar with tarpaper, think of a really thick, large role of construction paper that preschoolers make crafts with. You can imagine that won’t protect well when it rains even a little. They do not have electricity, drinkable water, a telephone, a car, or a refrigerator." I'm so proud of Michael and everyone else who is giving up their vacation to go and help this family!

Happy Monday!

2009-03-30T14:08:00.000-07:00

I realized this weekend that I almost never take pictures of my kids while they are sleeping cause I don't want to risk waking them up...but I just couldn't resist when I saw my cute little man all tuckered out during his nap yesterday.

On Saturday afternoon we took Audrey to get her hair cut...it REALLY needed it! I think she felt like a big girl in her chair. She got a balloon when we left, which made it all worth it!Me and the kiddos at Ms. Nancy's...I know St. Patrick's Day was a couple of weeks ago, but I forgot to post these, and they're just too cute not to share. Here are Audrey and Hayden with they're cool shades.
And Wylie "chillin" with Ms. Nancy

Almost the weekend!

2009-03-27T08:10:00.000-07:00

Well, I don't really have much to blog about today but I feel like I should anyway. So, I woke up late this morning. My alarm went off at 4:45 but I must have shut it off and passed out again. I woke up 45 minutes later...oops! So I told Michael that he was gonna have to handle getting Wylie up and dressed this morning cause I was running so late. But then Audrey woke up and started yelling "MOMMY, DADDY!" so he went in her room and she was in her bed, with throw up in her hair and on her jammies and bed...poor little lady! She must have gotten sick after she went to bed last night. Come to think of it, she wasn't interested in her dinner at all last night.
Well, its finally friday and I'm looking forward to the weekend! We don't have much planned, we're just going to get things done around the house and get Michael's things ready and packed for mexico. He's leaving next week to go down there with the youth group. They'll be working with an organization called Amor, and spending their time building a house for a family in need. He went last year too and had an awesome time! Lots of hard work but some amazing memories! Please keep his group in your prayers...(I'm kinda nervous with all the crazy stuff that has been going on in mexico). I am lucky to have my parents coming out to stay with me and the kids while he is gone. Last year Audrey and I stayed on our own, but this year, with 2 kids, I'm up for any help I can get!
Oh, I just remembered that on Saturday night we're going out with our friends Mindy and Chuck for sushi...can't wait! Mindy's mom Paula (my boss) is watching the kids while we enjoy a night on the town! We rarely "go out" so when we do, its a special treat...especially with such good friends!
Wylie has been teething like crazy lately! No new teeth, still only 2, but he is drooling like a fountain. You can't even hold the kid without getting drenched. It doesn't bother me too much but Michael says the drool is the thing that he likes least about having a baby. Does anyone have any good ideas to help with this awful teething period?
I have a few pics that Michael's mom took of the kids last weekend at her house. We took them over there so we could get a few undisturbed hours to clean the house (never a fun task but it feels so good once its done!) As always, they had a blast playing with their Amma Christine and Papa Hans!