labor of love

today is the day! after a long year, chris, his three great partners, and their team of 60 artists in new zealand are happy to release the new angel wars movie on DVD. fox is releasing on DVD and you can get it at walmart stores or online at amazon you can watch the first ten minutes free by clicking here: beliefnet.com. when asked on any questionaire what his favorite movie is, Cam still claims angel wars, which makes his daddy happy to no end 🙂

we love our daddy and are so proud of his passion and hard work on angel wars! we'd be ever so grateful if all our readers picked up a copy for their kids, grandkids or any old kid, particularly kids who might love star wars or avatar. kira is one of the main characters, chris wanted kira and elsie (girls) to have good role models as well! it makes a great easter present and helps us feed our little rascals so thanks in advance for your support 🙂

and in celebration of the angel wars release today, i would love to give something back to our readers. in the 3 years we've been at this little ol blog, we've hit nearly 800,000 views.

if you readers are scrapbookers and have children that are angel wars fans, or if you plan to be 😉 we'd love to hear from you. leave me a comment and i'd love to send your child an angel wars tee shirt and a signed copy of the movie and some scrappy goodness for you, mom. 🙂 did you know they have a facebook page as well?

i will keep the giveaway open till thurs 9am PST 🙂

edited to add: we just got a copy at walmart! and then went to blockbuster and saw it there and saw it at itunes as well! woohoo!

Here's a little sneak peek:)

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=3061073&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=ffffff&fullscreen=1

March 17, 2009 69

updating just to update

nothing really exciting to report. but posting photos because i feel like i should. field trip to downtown la to the fashion district, looking for fabric.

i do not really like downtown la. for many reasons. like the irritating parking systems throughout town. hate those little lots. hate them. hate them more when someone driving their wheelchair dents my car. and then asks us for money.

at least we got sweet potato fries with lunch. our little buddy. love that she's with us as we go on these crazy escapades.

tomorrow is opening day and 2 baseball games back to back. we are officially starting baseball season! im happy and nervous at the same time!

March 13, 2009 7

monday day off!

love it when there's not a holiday and the kids are just off from school 🙂 some teacher planning kinda things going on…we're happy to have them home! i asked them what they wanted to do today and they immediately replied, play basketball at grammies house! kira was off with her friends as this was her first weekend soccer free since sepetember, she's done for now!

she doesn't look it here, but she is overjoyed to have her boys home all day!

elsie has grown out of her crocs and is in between sizes right now so we settled on cupcake sandals from target 🙂 WHY she chose to wear socks with her sandals is beyond me. just not worth the argument though in my opinion 🙂 these are so cute but so impractical for our rowdy girl! kira voted for these ones.

elsie was happy to help grammies garden, digging holes is her specialty!

that's it! those are my goobers today. tomorrow is going to be a kick in the pants- getting up in the morning!

March 9, 2009 13

she plays

even after all the pinky princessy dolly things she got for her birthday, she plays with the millenium falcon and the little star wars guys the morning after.

the boys haven't played with them in so long- it makes me happy to see her play with them. i love how she can switch from girls stuff to boys stuff in an instant. so sweet!
thanks for all the birthday wishes for our girl– she had a great day!

March 3, 2009 10

three years old

today is her birthday. the only things she asked for was a princess dolly and to bake her own birthday cake with her sister. her birthday dinner request: spaghetti.

yesterday she spent her entire day being dragged along from basketball, to baseball practice, to a soccer game. and when we were heading home she said, 'today was fun. i'm all sweaty but i had fun.' all week long when the big kids go to school, she misses them. so a day spent all together, regardless of what we're doing, is a good day to her 🙂 we love her so much!!!

and because we started our day off watching this, here you go should you want to see her first five days 🙂 click here.

March 1, 2009 23

like little treasures!

tonight while procrastinating on a layout, i came across a folder that i keep on my computer desktop titled: print. i don't normally print from there because most of my photos are stored by month in my photo area. this particular area is for photos i find in odd places on my computer- or in past past past months, but were never edited, just left and forgotten.. but meant to be printed at a later date. needless to say, i rarely check this folder. but tonight i did. and oh, such sweet jewels i found!!! early one morning. fluffy hair. polka dot thermal jammies. sweet breath. i could just bottle that baby smell up. i love it so.

i wonder how annoying it is to have a camera shoved in your face when you first wake up.

finally a smile!

so these were all taken with a wide lens. she always looks a little different to me when i shoot her with a wide lens. she was almost 2 here. on sunday, she'll be 3. time flies. we are a big snuggle family. elsie is found in our bed numerous times throughout the day, pat pat patting her blue blankie and having fingers 🙂 and requesting snuggles. that's our girl! we are so happy to oblige 🙂

February 26, 2009 14

being home

about nine years ago, we were living far from our family in virginia beach- we had one car and I had a toddler, a baby and a kindergartner. We spent lots of time inside our home, baking, playing, jut passing time till daddy came home. I would sit around, missing my family, and finding ways to make each day seem different than the one before.I look back and think that was the hardest time of my parenting years! Now that time has passed, i can see that those years sped by, and I am longing for just a day or two of those long, cold, virginia beach days. Today as I was cleaning the boy’s room, I came across a few little toys that took me back to their little days. I ached for them. Now my days are incredibly busy with their activities and sports, which I loove them taking part in, it’s just hectic.
I suppose all this reflecting has been partly due to elsie’s new fascination with ‘toy story’—we’d watch those movies day after day- we went nowhere without buzz lightyear. And now she loves them:)
I thought about how els and I get into our daily routine of doing stuff, busying ourself and today I stopped and threw in the towel. I got on the floor with her and made endless cups of tea and read countless books. I even took her for a walk. I’ll admit that sometimes I am just not in the mood for it- I have to be in the mood 🙂 I know that in a few years I’m going to be longing for her at home with me, just as I do now with the other 3 kids. I’m so thankful to have been home with all my babies. Long days, endless chatter and all.

what can i say, im a total sap 🙂

February 23, 2009 12

it’s finally clearing up

around here. it's been raining and cold and just too much for me. i can't stand the rain. all i want to do is curl up with my blankie and read or watch movies- where my biggest goal of the day is to thaw my feet out and do as little as possible. 🙂 ha, neither fully pans out. some pics of the elfster in vegas a few weeks ago:

chris took both of them and i just love them to pieces!! she's so funny! tonight- more funnies:

as we're getting her ready for bed, she asks: do i need to brush my teeth?

i say: yes, of course.

she says: say no, say no, say no.

lol

then when discussing our selection of dessert, she says: you need to buy more ice cream for kids and babies, not just mommies. (she's referring to my freezer which is currently only stocked with coffee ice cream)

🙂

she's cute. and will be 3 in about 10 days! CRAZY!!!!

since i haven't been taking many photos-thanks to the lovely rain that puts me in such a great mood 🙂

i will leave you with a few of my current favorites! chris was out of town last week and came home with the loveliest bath gel stuff for moi! honey lemon goodness 🙂 and this cute little friend for els! also my favorite current dessert: trader joe's coffee ice cream with pavillions flourless chocolate truffle cake. sinful! craving these chicken caeser wraps from father nature so often. finally r eading this series and laughing lots! and wanting to see this movie again and again! scrapbook wise- very excited to get my hands on this! lovin this etsy store mucho, this being my one of my faves.

that's it. if anyone knows a good 'to do' list app for the iphone, i'd be ever so happy! 🙂

February 18, 2009 12

kinda funny

i made caleb's teacher a valentine card.

no i was not jazzed that he wrote on the front of the card! hello! 🙂 oh well. here's the inside:

lol lol "i hope the school year can continue like this" lol- he's sooo funny!

elsie and i volunteered at his valentine party today. i love how all the girls in his class are such mother hens- running up to E and loving on her. she loves it too 🙂 outside the school:

and her funnies from the last couple of months—-

me: elsie i am going to get your dinner ready.

elsie: is it going to be disgusting?

me: elsie, time for a nap.

elsie: princesses don't do that.

after me spewing out numerous directions to my numerous children, elsie: mom, stop whining.

and ever so dramatically- out of nowhere she will say in her princess voice, i never dreamed!

on our way to have a picnic yesterday, i realized it was too cold outside (55degrees), so we sat in the car with our lunch. elsie pleads with me to go outside. i open the door and let her out. (she's like my little puppy- lol) and she's running on the grass (right outside my car door, as i sit in the seat and watch her from the warm car) barefoot- come and join me, it will be fun! (i do not, i stay inside) then 2 minutes later, it sure is cold, im coming back in!

while chris is giving her a huge dose of squeezes and kisses and she cannot get away, she says- my brothers will destroy you. (that is said in a star wars voice- not to be taken seriously people)

she's pretty funny. to us at least 🙂

February 12, 2009 25

eight is great!

(warning, we write these posts for posterity, as such they are FULL of praise for our kids- read at your own discretion! let the dotage begin:)
what does a dream day look like for a newly minted eight year old? not what you might think.
no race carts, no roller-coasters, no fancy dinners. with the one day a year that was his to write, caleb penned a simple tale: toying around with his best friend (his brother), tackling the marvel universe in 'ultimate alliance,' and spending some quality time at home, his favorite place in the world! in fact, if we hadn't dragged him to church and to the grand opening of dots, i'm pretty sure our little homebody would have been happy to stay in his pj's all day.
caleb is also our little firecracker, bringing a spark of joy, humor and passion wherever he goes. he may be small (and he is, still wearing size six jeans) but he has a large and welcoming presence that makes him a favorite at school and of course, here at home.
for years caleb was the baby of the family, and in many ways we still see him as such. he's just so darned snuggly! despite his propensity for home, caleb easily makes new friends and is extremely adaptable in his play; he's up for whatever suits his playmates, and dives headfirst into their pursuits. his teachers appreciate this gung ho approach as well as it applies equally to his classwork. in this manner, caleb leads in a non abrasive way, if it's possible, he leads by following.
what i love most about caleb is his laugh. it's quick, a little husky and hopelessly contagious, tinged with just enough mischief to make it unmistakably boyish. it's the kind of laugh that draws in all comers, the kind that makes us pray that the well from which he draws it out never dries up.
with caleb, eight is truly great!
p.s. my favorite gift for caleb was the new diary of a wimpy kid. if you have boys, are a boy, or want to understand them, read this book. caleb gives it a thumbs up, and take it from caleb, he knows funny:)

February 8, 2009 13