This sums it up nicely...

"Exploding Head" by Keith Haring

The last time we purchased a home we were in escrow during the holidays and visiting family out of town. It seems we need to learn a lesson in stress management. It's happening all over again. Déjà Vu. Only this time we have two little ones along for the crazy ride that is our life.

That being said. We are excited to have a new home soon and spend some time with our Utah family for Christmas. Snow here, we come.

Outtakes

Getting Lil Sis to smile for the camera for our Christmas card photos was torturous this year. She fell asleep in the car on the way over. And in typical Lil Sis fashion is an extreme grump when she wakes up. I tried every trick in the book to get her to smile (candy?). I resorted to some pretty funny stuff. What finally did the trick is a little too embarrassing to post! Since I embarrass the girls enough on this blog, I thought I deserve a turn now. Enjoy the pics. (BTW we did get one shot of her smiling, just the one!)

Baby M is here!!!

Ludikus had their baby boy today at 1:16pm. He weighs 7lbs. 1oz. and is 19 1/2 inches long. Congrats to my brother and his wife.

We're singing in the rain...

Finally some cold weather around here in California. I got to wear my new scarf I just picked up here.
The girls played in the rain.
Then we had a great thanksgiving at my grandma's. I was in charge of making dessert. My mom, gave me a tutorial on how to make pies. They turned out really well, if I do say so myself. Everyone loved the Gingered Apple-Cranberry Pie. I'm hoping my in-laws will let me make it for them at Christmas.

Just for giggles... this is how we found Lil Sis after Thanksgiving dinner.

Happy Birthday Lil Sis

Lil Sis just hit the big "3" this weekend. She requested a Pony Pinkie Pie cake. A little to ambitious for me so we settled on cupcakes with a Pony Pinky Pie decoration. We just had a family party, and invited her bestie Pita and her family. I really can't handle big birthday parties every year. Both girls birthdays land right on the two biggest holidays, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

She enjoyed her party. I learned an important lesson. I'm going to remove the toys from the boxes before I wrap them. I mean it took the whole family cutting and sawing our way through all that plastic packaging about 10 minutes. Toy makers if you hear me, please do something about this!!!

It's funny how siblings get so jealous when its not their birthday. After Lil Sis received a gift from Oma and Opa, Big Sis exclaimed "wow, thats just what we wanted." It has been hard for Big Sis to come to terms with the fact that these new toys belong only to Lil Sis.

A big thank you to Grandma J. We love the CooCoo the Rocking Clown Game. It is a lot harder than it looks, even for mom and dad!

We've been quilting

My mom is an amazing quilter. One of the benefits of living with my parents is all the knowledge I am gleaning from my mom. We have been busy quilting like crazy the last couple months. On Monday we started a baby quilt and it was finished by Tuesday night. (I won't tell you how late I stayed up though!) The girls love to come watch and poke around with the needles and thread while we do our projects. Big Sis loves to take the scraps of fabric and lay out quilting patterns. Lil Sis had been begging me to let her do some quilting. This week I decided to buy some big plastic needles and see what they could do. I pre-punched some holes in some red felt to make it easy. They had a blast and were proud of their creations.

My finished project. I love the way it turned out.

Missed Birthday

I missed posting a Happy Birthday shout out to my little brother. Happy belated birthday. You deserve the best. Check out the photos, you were always so serious!

Costume Swap

Last night we went Trick or Treating with our good friends. As girls typically do, they swapped outfits/costumes for the night. Way to make dressing up even more fun! The girls had a blast. Even before candy consumption they were off the charts excited. Lil Sis, Big Sis, and Pita would run from house to house chanting "Trick or Treat". They wore themselves out, especially once their buckets weighed a few tons. Thanks to Lil Sis smooth tactics, we have more than our fair share of candy. If the homes let her pick her own candy she would inevitably take extra. At a few homes she even asked, "can I have some for my mommy and daddy?" I swear we didn't put her up to it, but thanks babe!

On they way down to the OC, Big Sis exclaimed in the car that "when you die mom, I want to go and live with N. She is so fun. And then I won't be alone." Thanks for letting us be part of your family last night!

She's hurting...and I had no idea

I found out Lil Sis is getting her back molars in. That must have explained the recent über grouchiness and the drippy nose. While watching Alice in Wonderland with Big Sis she got scared and then went to cuddle with Opa. While he played the ukulele, she fell asleep.

It's amazing how hurting brings out the worst and best in all of us.

Happy Halloween

We partied hard this weekend at the annual Trunk or Treat at church. The girls were excited to dress up and have pink hair. I was afraid it wouldn't wash out, but luckily it did. So we may be adding some more on Halloween night. Lil Sis loves her "Pinky Pie" costume. She loves My Little Pony. We often have to listen to a storybook CD about "Pinky Pie" 10 times in a row in the car. It can get annoying, but hey! Big Sis and I were dressed as witches. She didn't want to wear green make-up though. I am apparently the evil witch from the west and she is the good witch from the east.

My Reasons for Voting Yes on Prop 8

I thought I'd share why I'm voting yes on Prop 8.

- to preserve my religious freedoms
- to preserve my freedom of speech
- to have the right to decided what moral values my children will be taught in school
- to support the divine institution of marriage, between a man and a woman

Here are some sites and videos I have perused.

Preserving Marriage (check out the videos)
I Protect Marriage (take the quiz)
Protect Marriage

Random Act of Kindness

Today the girls and I headed to Costco to stock up on a few essentials. While leaving the girls held hands and sang "Barbie and the Diamond Castle" at the top of their lungs. They attracted a lot of attention. It must have seemed like they were out of control or maybe being difficult, but to me it was music to my ears. I'll taked singing over their arguments any day. Well as I got to the car a woman approached me and asked if she could help me load my car. Sure! She told me her kids were in school and they were 15 months apart and she remembered those days so well. I thanked her and we were off on our way much quicker than normal.

On the drive home I got to thinking. You know I really could have done that myself. But that really doesn't matter, because I felt good about what had happened. It wasn't that she helped me load the groceries that made me feel good, it was the fact that someone noticed that I could have been struggling. That is what lightened my mood and lifted a burden.

We all know where I really could have used the help, at home unloading!!!

Her special weekend

Big Sis went camping with Opa this past weekend, so Lil Sis had her parents all to herself. She took us to dinner Friday night at Chili's and then took her dad to the Santa Ana Zoo on Saturday. Big Sis tends to take a lot of the attention away from Lil Sis. It was really fun to go to dinner with just her. She got herself dressed and brought her purse, which she set down "just like yours mom" when we were seated. When I got my salad, Lil Sis looked longingly as I ate and then decided that she wanted to have some. I love that she loves salad more than burger and fries. She has always been such a great eater. We caved in and let her order the blue slushy drink (okay so she does make some bad food choices, don't we all).

The next day she and dad had a great time at the zoo. DH accidentally left her sparkly shoes and headband on the roof. When they realized what had happened they turned around. Back at the zoo they found the headband wedged behind the spare tire and they found the sparkly shoes on the freeway onramp. DH bravely rescued the shoes. They were a hand me down from her best friend Pita and therefore would have been sorely missed. Lil Sis loves her hand-me-down shoes. The date ended with a lunch at her favorite restuarant, McDonald's. Why do kids love it so much? I cringe everytime my kids beg me to go there!

How embarassing!

I remember that I would complain often about my brother's choice of attire many times growing up. He would love to wear his snakeskin cowboy boots, lederhosen, and cowboy hat in public. I was mortified and couldn't understand why my parents would let him out of the house like that. I think I get it now that I am a parent. Lil Sis decided to dress herself for school today. To avoid argument and enjoy the fact that she is an independent person I indulged her. In a ridiculous way, she is oozing personality and style (or a new biker chick fad). So this is how we left the house.


Today at school we learned about brothers and sisters. Each kid was to color and dress their siblings. As Lil Sis was coloring Big Sis' orange skin we heard the following as she drew some skin between her legs...."I'm coloring Big Sis' PoPo (German slang for behind and now Lil Sis' word for private parts)." I just about died of humiliation, then their teacher and I started laughing. I'm just glad Big Sis didn't explain to the teacher the anatomical difference between males and females, when the teacher was asking what the difference between brothers and sisters are!

Apple Farm

Yesterday we went on a field trip with our Pre-School class to the Riley Farm in Oak Glen. Wow, it is beautiful there. We were so hot in the sun. We learned how to make cider, play games from the 1800's, learned a few songs, and did some plowing. We also enjoyed some yummy caramel apples.

I bought two big bags of apples and I'm going to try making some homemade applesauce today. Wish me luck.

Spooktacular

We are getting excited and ready for Halloween already. It's easier to find costumes now, then trying to scramble last minute (I know from experience). I can remember my mom sewing costumes late the night before many times growing up. Thanks Mom. Besides the girls and I are having fun.

Enjoy a blast from my Halloween past....

It's funny

I think its hilarious that Big Sis loves to dress up and dream about weddings/dresses/princes, but doesn't want to get married.

Me: Big Sis, do you want to get married someday?
Big Sis: No, I want to live with you forever.
Me: Don't you want to have a family.
Big Sis: No, I don't ever want to leave you and dad.


So don't bother guys, this girl is already a confirmed old maid! I am so lucky that she loves DH and I more than anyone else right now. It however does not stop her from pointing out occasionally that she is going to be a nicer mom to her kids than I am. Apparently they will not have to take naps.

And the winner is.....

(drum roll please)

The Woodin's domain!

Send me an email with your address and color/style preference.

Let's Celebrate!

This is my 100th post. Hooray!!!! To celebrate I thought I would give a lucky reader 8 bookplates custom designed for you. Post a comment and I will randomly pick the winner by Sunday, the 21st at 8pm. The winner will be posted Monday morning.

*Follow this link to find out what bookplates are: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bookplates.

Dentist's Dream

We brushed our teeth all day today! I am every dentist's favorite mother! Lil Sis wanted so badly to use the Princess toothpaste we bought the other day. I kept telling her that we wouldn't use it until "ALL" the Shrek toothpaste was gone. Hence the constant brushing.

(please ignore my dirty mirror)

I mean come on what would you choose?