Me & My Boys

New Pic's

2011-12-05T12:18:00.000-08:00

We had new family pictures done on Thanksgiving. We had the whole extended family here. Including those who came from Nebraska and Idaho. It was great to have everyone together!

And on December 3rd, this guy and myself celebrated 7 years of marriage!

Fall Catch Up!

2011-11-07T13:05:00.000-08:00

Alex started Kindergarten! I cannot believe he is that old. He loves it!

Sam started preschool, which means I get 2 hours to myself twice a week :-) He loves school also!

Halloween
Have you ever seen a cuter Superman or Red Samurai Power Ranger?

San Diego

2011-08-10T20:13:00.000-07:00

We first stayed 2 days in Oceanside,CA. We were there for the beaches. I could live here!

La Jolla, CA. This place is gorgeous! Bluest water, purple flowers, seals on the beach!

The Mormon Battalion Museum, this place was pretty cool!

The closest the boys will ever get to a real covered wagon.

Panning for gold.

Found some!

Mission beach, we went to go see the sunset but it got really cloudy and cold.

The boys had to get wrapped up in the blanket. It was still pretty though.

The boardwalk at Mission beach.

The San Diego Zoo. Feels like you are in the jungle!

On the top deck of the tour bus, best seat in the house.

The day we left we were lucky enough to have breakfast with Barrys Aunt Erna and Uncle Ed. They are great people and I am glad I got to meet them. And the strawberry crepes were delish!

What we've been up to...

2011-06-17T10:40:00.001-07:00

Kids falling asleep in bean bags.

I have some new maids...

who accept candy bars as payment.

Being cowboys (with mommys boots)

Last day of preschool..sniff sniff

Alex with the BEST teacher ever.

Sammys 3rd Birthday. Funny boy, all he wanted was a water gun like his big brother.

FIVE!

2011-04-22T19:36:00.000-07:00

Alex turned 5 years old today. I can't believe he is that old. He had quite the day. This morning he helped turn his room into a jungle and make cupcakes for his party. Then he was off to school where they also celebrated his birthday. The right after school we had a fun party with a house full of boys. We had pizza, dinosaurs and lots of crazy boys! It was great. After the party was over, we surprised Alex with a bike. He has never had one and he rides it like a pro. Happy Birthday!

You will thank me later

2011-02-21T20:47:00.000-08:00

Go this website:

then drool over all the yummy recipes.

Make this one:

Have your hubby put the kids to bed, then lock yourself in your basement, eat your pie while watching this (Netflix!):

You're welcome!

I survived!

2011-01-22T18:26:00.001-08:00

I turned 30 today. I lived to tell! Who knew?

Although according to Sam I am 40! Since 30 is the new 20 I guess I am really 20. Depends on who you ask!

Christmas 2010

2010-12-26T20:18:00.001-08:00

We had a great Christmas this year. We started out on Christmas Eve with the annual family party and Santa Claus came. Christmas morning the boys got some of their favorite things! Alex loves Godzilla (yep!) and Sam loves Superman. Alex walks around all day pretending like he is a scary Godzilla monster. Sammy sings the Superman theme song with a kitchen towel tucked in his shirt. They loved their action figures and many other toys from Santa. Grandma and Papa got them some bean bag chairs to watch their movies in. It was a fun Christmas!

California

2010-10-17T18:01:00.000-07:00

We drove down to California for a week. We went to Disneyland, Sea World and the San Diego Zoo. And of course, the beach! The boys had never been to a beach and they absolutely loved it! Maybe even more than the other places we went. They also loved staying in the hotels, they thought it was so fun. It was a great trip and hopefully we can do it again sometime.

Summertime!

2010-07-30T12:27:00.000-07:00

Dinosaur park with daddy:

We have been living in the backyard this year since we have grass now! Kids playing in the pool while mom and dad relax on my $20 target clearance lounge chairs! I was sitting on it and Sam came and layed by my feet, the next thing I knew, he was asleep.

Pizza and playing with friends, lots of boys running around.
For Fathers day we surprised Barry and went overnight to Park City.
The boys loved the condo and Alex keeps saying it's his new house and he wants to go back there. We rode the "pineapple slide" AKA Alpine Slide. The boys loved it! It was a nice little getaway.

Happy Birthday!

2010-07-12T12:53:00.000-07:00

Happy 31st Birthday! We love you!

Birthday Boy

2010-06-18T08:16:00.000-07:00

Happy 2nd Birthday Sam!

The reason I am...

2010-05-12T12:23:00.000-07:00

Called Mother. Love these two and am so grateful to be their mom!

Happy 4th Birthday Munchkin!

2010-04-22T19:44:00.001-07:00

4 Years ago today, newborn 4.22.06

4.22.10 4th birthday!

One of his presents waiting for him when he woke up.

His cupcakes he got to take to school, he was so excited.

His birthday crown from school.

Easter

2010-04-10T17:45:00.001-07:00

We dyed easter eggs one night for FHE, Sam wasn't really into it but Alex loved it. And a few pics from our family easter egg hunt,

Love when this happens....

2010-02-25T08:26:00.001-08:00

Especially when they are wearing their cousin Eddie hats!

Back at it.. (and need some ideas)

2010-02-16T21:24:00.000-08:00

So I have started working out and eating good(most of the time) since January. It's amazing how much better I feel.
I would love to hear ideas about any healthy recipes, snacks or products you use. I found these amazing low carb wraps at Costco that are whole wheat and they are huge and only 80 calories. I use them for sandwich wraps and to make little pizzas on, so good. I need your secret weapons.
So give me your best! Please :-)

Last one...

2010-01-22T19:10:00.000-08:00

You know like the next one I have will be:

At least I have a whole year until I have to worry about that.

New York New York!

2009-12-10T07:42:00.000-08:00

Barry in Times Square
Inside Trinity Church (the church in National Treasure)
Wall Street
Lady Liberty!
Me on the Staten Island Ferry with The Lady in the background.
Barry at Staten Island with Manhattan in the background.
Columbus Circle

The Manhattan Temple, it is a regular building, not temple looking at all.
Barry freezing in Central Park.

We had a great time in New York. We ended up taking way more video and not as many pictures. But here are a few that we have.

Some of my favorite moments were:

*Me driving our rental car through Chinatown and downtown Brooklyn, wasn't expecting that (Thanks Mr. GPS, haven't you heard of Freeways?)

*Driving around my old neighborhood in Short Hills!

*Eating at Dunkin Donuts every morning, we had good intentions of eating somewhere better but always ended up there.

*KNICKS vs NEW JERSEY game! (of course our battery died so no pics)

*Having 60 degree weather the first 2 days and freezing 30-40's the next 2 days.

*Me taking us in the wrong direction more than once, oops, I have lost my skills.

*Paying $3 for a bottle of soda that should really only cost $1

*Eating 80 cent HUGE cream pastrys at a Chinatown bakery.

*CHINATOWN- enough said

*Getting Philly Cheesesteaks from Staten Island and eating them on the ferry ride back.

*The Subways and trains back to New Jersey.

*Rockefeller tree all lit up and all of the holiday decorations in the city.

*Seeing Ground Zero and the work they have done on it.

*The laser show on the ceiling at Grand Central Terminal.

*Getting Indian food from a street cart, yum!

*Relaxing in the hotel hot tub every night after a long day.

too many more, mostly it was nice to spend one on one time with Barry (who said he would go again next year so we will see!)

Make Up Artist

2009-11-20T07:59:00.001-08:00

If anyone is looking for a make up artist I know a good one. Here is a sample of his work. He is also learning how to do tattoos. Warning- You may end up looking like Hitler or the Joker, but if that's your style, he is just the man for you!

Halloween!

2009-10-31T19:48:00.000-07:00

We had a fun Halloween. I was sad because Alex was sick on Friday and couldn't go to the family party. He had a low grade fever. I thought for sure he would be sick for Halloween but he has been fine! Grandma and Papa came over and we had Maple Garden (mmmm) and went trick or treating. The boys had a great time.

8 years ago

2009-10-14T19:40:00.001-07:00

It was 8 long years ago today that I left to move to New Jersey. I had packed up most of my belongings a week earlier and sent it to my new home. A home with two darling little girls (funny I ended up having sons) and two awesome parents. As I stepped on the plane I was full of excitement, not sad at all. My mom was scared since 9/11 had just hit and I was living only about 20 miles from NYC. The father, who worked in NYC, was evacuating the city with thousands of others after the first tower was hit and witnessed the second tower get hit. He was a tall tough guy who never got emotional, however he couldn't talk about it (of course!) without getting choked up. Anyways back to the fun part, it was one of the best years of my life, I met great friends, had fabulous weekends in NYC and loved my girls. Oh the stories I could tell (including one very late night, having our subway derail and catch fire, Seriously) Memories!

1st day of Preschool!

2009-09-17T17:15:00.000-07:00

Alex had his first day of preschool last week. Luckily some gals in my ward and I are doing the preschool ourselves and switching off every week. He has loved it so far. I have loved it too :-) Only having one child to take care of for a few hours is so nice. I can't believe he is old enough to be in preschool!

On to little brother...
Ever seen Spaceballs? Remember Lord Helmet? Yeah, enough said....

Busy day at the office...

2009-08-25T07:47:00.000-07:00

It's rough being a 3 year old!

So excited!

2009-08-10T07:59:00.000-07:00

Finally!

Barry surprised me with tickets to New York City. Well I ruined my own surprise. I have been looking for cheap tickets everyday so we can go for our 5 year anniversary. I saw some for $129 and when he got home from work I was bugging him that we should just book them. He was acting all wierd and I was kind of getting annoyed. Finally he pulled out an envelope, yeah he had already booked us tickets. Not only that, he had already talked to my mom about watching the boys and booked us a hotel! Awww, I know, he is the best.

I am counting down til December when we get to go. I have been wanting to get back there for the longest time, it has been 7 years! I am way excited also to drive over to New Jersey for a few hours and see where I used to live.

Smiths Doubles!

2009-08-04T08:18:00.000-07:00

Everyone run to Smiths, today is the last day they are doubling coupons up to $2 (so $2 is the most you can get off) I went yesterday and got some great deals.
Here's what I got:
Crest toothpaste FREE!
2 packs Bic pens FREE!
Cover Girl sponges FREE!
Cover Girl eyeshadow FREE!
6 cans Campbells Cream of Chicken soup 9 cents each
1 can Dole Pineapple 19 cents
2 2 liters of 7 Up 25 cents each
3 bottles of Coke Zero and 3 king sized Reeses 39 cents for both
Always pads 99 cents
Cover Girl Concealor 22 cents
3 pack Wrigley gum 19 cents
Weber grilling spices 19 cents
Mission tortilla chips 19 cents
French's Mustard 19 cents
2 cans Bush's Baked Beans 78 cents each
French's Worchestershire sauce 99 cents
2 Yoplait chocolate raspberry parfaits (so good) 69 cents each
2 pack of Olay bars 1.49 (not a good deal, I wasn't thinking on that one!)
2 bags of Baked Lays 1.79 each (great price for these!)

Also Albertsons is having an awesome sale!
No picture but last night I got:
4 Dove deodorants FREE
Vaseline lotion FREE
Klondike bars FREE
Yoplait Yo Plus yogurt FREE
Wish bone dressing 9 cents
Skippy Peanut butter 63 cents
All Detergent 75 cents
Chex Mix Turtle Bars 65 cents
Pillsbury cookie dough 70 cents
Betty Crocker brownie mix 63 cents
Betty Crocker Mini delights 34 cents
And more.....
Check out Pinching your pennies.com for all the deals!

Why oh why?

2009-07-28T12:14:00.001-07:00

Out of 30 men, she chooses him?!? She must be attracted to tiny green swim shorts, overly hairy chests and drunkeness. Ew, I know I said I wasn't even going to watch after what happened last time but somehow I get sucked in. (By the way nice lion shirt, I think my 3 year old has one just like that.)

Here's the man she should have chose, the one who was taking things slower instead of being all over her. What does everyone else think?

I guess it really doesn't matter since they will break up in a few months anyways (if they aren't already)

4th of July!

2009-07-05T19:16:00.001-07:00

Alex being a goof in the pool!
Alex and Madden.
Sam Sam.
Me showing them how it's done!
This is as close as he got to the fireworks.
Alex and Noah watching from the window.
Sam telling the scaredy cats to come outside!
We had a fun 4th. We had a BBQ at papa's house. Papa had a surprise for the boys. He bought a pool for them and they loved it! Also squirt guns. The boys had a great time. Last year Alex and Noah were so scared of the fireworks. We thought they would like them this year. We started off with the sparklers thinking they would be okay but as soon as we lit them, they were both scared. They ended up going in the house and watching from the window. It was pretty funny.

Guess who's one?

2009-06-16T19:22:00.001-07:00

That's right, Mr Sam-Sam is one year old today!

Popcorn chicken

2009-06-08T21:08:00.001-07:00

Every morning Alex gets up while I am still in bed and goes to the kitchen and picks out what he wants for breakfast. He sets what he wants on the counter so I know what he wants. Usually a yogurt, strawberries or cereal. Well this morning I go to the kitchen and there is a package of popcorn chicken on the counter. I tried to get him to have something else but he just had to have it and wouldn't take anything else. So I just let him have it since I figure it's better for him to eat something rather than nothing. Well he must have really liked it because he had it for lunch and dinner also. I told him he is going to turn into a chicken if he keeps eating it at every meal :-)

Mr. Cheeser Part 2

2009-05-15T07:49:00.001-07:00

Sam loves string cheese. He starts to eat it and then decides he wants to play and probably forgets its still in his mouth. He will crawl around with it hanging out of his mouth. So funny.

10 in 1

2009-05-03T13:02:00.000-07:00

What does this:

Plus this equal?

Mmm a yummy cake that is kind to your waistline. Just one of my secrets. I started watching what I eat (I don't like to say I am on a diet) and exercising on April 1st. I have lost 10 pounds in 1 month. I have been really careful about what I eat but try to find ways to eat things I still enjoy. I heard about making a cake by adding one can of any flavor diet soda to any flavor of cake mix. Bake it as you usually would. It is so good. Top it with low fat or fat free whip cream. I have made a chocolate cake with Diet Dr Pepper. I want to try Strawberry with diet Sprite sometime. I actually like the taste of it over regular cake. Also you can make brownies by using any boxed brownie mix and a small can of pumpkin. I made some and ate one (ok maybe 2) and cut up and froze the rest so I can have a treat once in a while.
My other yummy healthy foods I like to eat are:
-Chicken and vegetable potstickers from Costco (huge bag for 9.99) I can eat 5 of them for 280 calories. I like to have that and a salad for lunch. Love it.
-Cereal, remember all that cereal I bought? well if I get hungry before bed I will have a small bowl of cereal.
-Chicken salad sandwich made with 1/2 the fat Olive Oil mayo. Open face sprinkled with sunflower seeds and tomatoes. Anytime I have a sandwich (today we had BBQ pork sandwiches) I eat it open face. It saves so many calories.
-If we go out I love McDonalds Southwest chicken salad with grilled chicken. It is so good and has around 450 calories.
-Orange dreamsicles or fudgesicles, they only have 100 calories!
-I usually make dinner as usual but eat a smaller portion and fill up on salad and veggies. And if rice is part of the meal, I make me my own brown rice and hubby his beloved white rice.

I just can't do the whole Atkins, South Beach, Slim-Fast or whatever crazy diet is out there. Just watch your calories and practice portion control. I was reading a study they did and they tested all these different kinds of diets. The most effective way to lost weight is by watching your calories, it didn't matter what they ate, just how many calories they took in.
Another thing that has helped me is this, my sister (who is in great shape) told me to try it:

The Firm Workout
Warning-these ladies do not mess around, this is what I like to call 45 minutes of torture. But it is so awesome and you see fast results. There is this box that you step up and down on called "The Fanny Lifter" Come on, who doesn't need a good fanny lift?

Happy Birthday Alex!

2009-04-22T19:45:00.000-07:00

Today is Alex's 3rd birthday! I can't believe I have a 3 year old. We had a fun day. We went to Layton Park and had a picnic and of course saw the ducks and played at the playground. We came home and had cake! We will also be having a family party this weekend, more pics to come.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T17:51:00.000-07:00

The Easter Bunny came!
What does the Easter Bunny leave for a 10 month old? His usual morning applesauce.
The boys ready to go to Papa's church.
The egg hunt in Papa's backyard.
Sam sleeping through the whole thing.
Papa doing bubbles. I like this pic because there is a bubble right on Alex's face.
The Loot!

The best pic we could get of the 4 heartbreakers.

Mmmm, easter egg cupcakes!

Oh and this is what happens when your dad isn't watching you and you find your brothers chocolate bunny. He was smeared in it from head to toe!

As promised...

2009-04-06T09:39:00.000-07:00

http://a-lot-for-a-little.blogspot.com/

Here it is, my new bargain blog. Check it out for an awesome coupon to go with a sale coming up this week! I am still setting it up so there isn't much there right now, but I am working on it!

Thank goodness for a huge pantry

2009-04-03T09:31:00.000-07:00

Yes I am talking about bargains again. Actually I am probably going to start a separate blog for it. Leave me a comment if you would be interested in it. On to the cereal, Albertsons is having an awesome sale through 4/7. It is for the yummy (hello Banana Nut Crunch, Cranberry Almond Crunch, Blueberry Morning etc!), healthy Post cereals. I have bought 18 boxes so far for a grand total of $8.26 making them 46 cents each! My husband might kill me if I bring home any more cereal but they don't expire until 2010 so this is a good way to build up your food storage.

Also I had a pretty decent Wal-Mart trip yesterday, I do try to avoid that place if possible but if there happens to be a really good coupon out then you can get things close to free there.

I got:

2 bottle of Kraft Dressing for 8 cents each! Yes 8 cents!

4 bags of Green Giant Steamers for 40 cents each

2 packages of Yo-Plus yogurt for 58 cents each

2 packets of taco seasoning for 18 cents each

2 cans of Progresso soup for 54 cents each

And a free Kashi frozen entree that I ate for dinner last night :-)

So $4.36 total

If you take the Sunday paper, last week there were coupons for $1.50 off one Kraft dressing and Wal Mart sells them for 1.58! The rest of the coupons I printed off the computer. There are usually better printable coupons with high values. I had $1.50 off one Yo-Plus yogurt and they are 2.08, $1 off 2 Old El Paso products and the taco seasoning is 68 cents, 60 cents off Green Giant steamers and they are $1.

If I start the blog for this I will give all the details and links for good coupons, so let me know.

One Word Answers

2009-03-27T13:57:00.000-07:00

1. Where is your cell phone? Kitchen
2. Where is your significant other? Work
3. Your hair color? Brown
4. Your mother? Giving
5. Your father? Generous
6. Your favorite thing? Family
7. Your dream last night? None
8. Your dream goal? There
9. Room you’re in? Living
10. Your hobby? Bargains
11. Your fear? Widow
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Happy
13. Where were you last night? Home
14. What you’re not? Skinny
15. One of your wish-list items? Travel
16. Where you grew up? Layton
17. The last thing you ate? Soup
18. What are you wearing? Clothes
19. Your tv? Large
20. Your pet? None
21. Your computer? Slow
22. Your mood? Tired
23. Missing someone? Nah
24. Your car? Black
25. Something you’re not wearing? Shoes
26. Favorite store? Kohls
27. Your summer? Finally
28. Love someone? Many
29. Your favorite color? Purple
30. Last time you laughed? Today
31. Last time you cried? ?

Freebies (or close to it!) of the week

2009-03-20T09:25:00.000-07:00

There have been lots of great deals this week and a few last week.

FREE STUFF this week

8 bars of Dove soap ( I actually got paid $1.66 to take them)

2 Reach toothbrushes

4 Reach dental floss

2 Glade plug in fan things

1 bottle of Garnier shampoo

1 bottle of Garnier gel

2 liter Diet Dr Pepper, mmmm

Darn close to being FREE-

2 pks of Motts applesauce 14 cents each

Huge refill pack of Huggies wipes for 99 cents!

I got 2 boxes of Quaker oatmeal and 3 boxes of the True Delights (soo good!) for 50 cents each
Sambucol cold tablets (for the chronically sick hubby) for FREE usually 11.99! I got paid $2 to take it.
3 packages of meat for (drumroll please) 3 cents, 21 cents and 80 cents!!!! Wow!

I forgot to take a picture of the load of Huggies diapers I got last week for $2.33 each!

And I am not done for the week, Target and Walgreens haven't seen the last of me :-)

It's that time of year again...

2009-03-16T07:44:00.000-07:00

For Girl Scout cookies. The best ones are the thin mint and Samoas (everyone should know how much I love Samoans haha) I have seen these being sold on every corner around town lately. I haven't stopped just yet but hopefully I will soon. I was reading in the paper yesterday that 70% of the girl scouts budget comes from the cookie sales. Yummy yummy!

One Word

2009-03-03T07:58:00.000-08:00

PATHETIC!!!

Viva Las Vegas

2009-02-18T08:38:00.000-08:00

Daddy with the boys at the Bellagio fountain show.

The Lion Habitat at the MGM Grand. Alex loved it and didn't want to leave.

The Siegfried and Roy statues, of course Alex loved the Lion (one of his favorite animals)

Pirate ship at Treasure Island.

Mommy and Alex at the huge fish tank at the Mirage.

Alex with his cousin Aaron. Alex absolutely loves Aaron and was walking with him and holding his hand the whole time. I told Aaron that he needs to come live with us so he can entertain Alex all the time.

Sam with the new Mrs. Tai!

Barry walking Leilia down the aisle.

The happy couple!

And one more happy couple :-)

We went to Vegas over Valentines weekend for Barrys sister Leilia and her fiance Johns wedding. It was a last minute wedding and a last minute vacation for us, so fun! We got the kids in the car on Friday and drove down to Vegas, they were so good in the car for it being a long drive. Unfortunately it was pretty cold there, no swimming for us. It was a short trip but we saw a lot of things with the kids. Saturday night (Valentines day) Lei and John were married. We all went out to dinner after and had a great time. Congrats to Lei and John!

Mr.Cheeser (and some carrots)

2009-02-06T13:42:00.000-08:00

Every time I get out my new camera to take pictures of Sam, he pulls this goofy cheeser face. I always call him Mr. Cheeser. Love this boy!

He also loves him some carrots, but green beans are another story.

Boring....

2009-01-28T13:00:00.000-08:00

I was so excited to find this book at the library because it was always checked out. Well I got lucky (or so I thought) one day and found it. I heard it was really good and it is by Stephenie Meyer who wrote the Twilight series which I really like. Anyways I have had it for 2 months and I have forced myself to get to page 200. I keep thinking it will get better but I just can't get into it. Maybe I am comparing it to Twilight too much. I couldn't put Twilight down and would stay up late reading it. With this book I will let it sit for a week before I decide I am bored enough to pick it up. Anyone read it? Will it get better? At this point I think I am done with it and will just take it back to the library.

Lovin it

2009-01-23T07:38:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was my birthday. Barry took the day off and we did lots of fun things (including a much needed nap!) We went to Red Robin for dinner (yum!) with no kids which is a nice break for us because we don't leave them very often. Then we went to my Mom and Dads for cake and ice cream. Barry gave me this Escada perfume that smells amazing. All of Escadas perfumes smell so good, I got addicted to them when I lived in New Jersey and have been collecting them ever since. Thanks to everyone who helped make my birthday a great one!

Six pairs of underwear.....

2009-01-12T09:27:00.000-08:00

are what Alex has been carrying around. They have dinosaurs on them. He had to bring them in the car when we went to his cousins house last night. He had to have them when he was having a nap. He had to have them by him when he was eating.

Did I mention he wants NOTHING to do with wearing them?

Still here!

2008-12-29T14:01:00.001-08:00

We are finally in our house! Still getting settled in but at least we are in. We moved in on the 23rd to be exact. I don't recommend moving in 2 days before Christmas to anyone! After spending more than a week at grandma and grandpas (thanks g & g) We haven't had internet for a while now, just got it back today. I have turned into one of those people who don't update their blogs for forever and that drives me nuts. I don't have any Christmas pictures or anything but here are some cute pics of the boys that I made into ornaments for Grandma. Happy New Year everyone!

Cheap Entertainment

2008-12-10T15:39:00.000-08:00

We are moving this week! Alex has discovered the moving boxes and is having a great time with them. He makes slides and forts out of them. Also he has colored on one of them and will sit there for a while just scribbling on it.

And I just had to throw this picture in because he is suddenly into wearing all of his daddys hats. He just came walking down the stairs one day with this hat on and always wants to wear it when we leave the house. He also has one of Barrys beanies that he wears too.

Happy Anniversary

2008-12-03T12:55:00.000-08:00

Today is our 4th anniversary. It has been a wonderful 4 years and I look forward to many more! Love ya hun.

Sunday Best

2008-11-30T19:51:00.000-08:00

This is usually how it goes, Sam all dressed and ready to go while Alex runs away and wants to stay in his pajamas.

Only mean moms make you get dressed for the day.

Happy now.

Finally, both dressed and ready to go.

I love this time of year when the boys can wear their little man sweaters, so cute!

Am I the only one

2008-11-25T13:35:00.000-08:00

Who hasn't seen Twilight yet? Everyone is talking about it on their blogs, at work, at church, even my mom who hasn't even read the book has seen it. A group of us from work are going but not for another week and a half. I don't know if I can wait that long. I may have to drag Barry out with me this weekend to see it!

Carbs, carbs and more carbs!

2008-11-20T17:03:00.000-08:00

For dinner I tried out this new recipe. It is for Baked Potatoe Soup. It was really yummy. Sour cream is stirred into the soup and then you top it with everything you would put on a baked potatoe like bacon, green onions and cheese. I got the recipe on this blog: www.ourbestbites.com. We had it with french bread. Sooo good and enough carbs to spike your blood sugar through the roof. Yum. There were tons of other tasty looking recipes that I am going to try out sometime.

Giddy Up!

2008-11-17T09:47:00.001-08:00

Alex loves horses lately. I bought one for him at Dollar Tree and it was the best dollar I ever spent. He has to have it when he eats (of course) and when he goes nigh-nigh the horse has to be under the blanket with him so the horsey can go nigh nigh too.
I am guilty of occasionally spying on him in nursery. There are 3 or 4 horses in the toy box in nursery. He always grabs all of them first thing. Well I spied on him yesterday and it had been about an hour since he had been in there and he still was carrying all of them around. Funny kid!

Sir Alex and Chicken Little

2008-11-02T08:01:00.000-08:00

The knight and the monster (Cousin Noah) getting along.

Chicken Little along for the ride, probably feeling rather ridiculous in this costume.

Sir Alex, after spending the evening at the pub.

So I didn't get really great pictures this year. Alex was screaming and didn't want to put on his costume but then once we got outside he was loving it. We had dinner at Cousin Noahs house and we all went trick or treating after. Even Grandma and Grandpa came along. The weather was awesome other than a few sprinkles.

I do not like rice cereal, Sam I am!

2008-10-29T20:05:00.000-07:00

I tried feeding Sam some rice cereal for the first time. He didn't really like it. In fact he did gag a few times. And of course more got on his face than in his mouth. He was just looking at me like "what are you doing to me?" Guess we will wait a little while longer. I think he felt like a big boy sitting up in the high chair though. I can't believe he is that big already.

What's it Two Ya? (he he)

2008-10-24T08:59:00.000-07:00

Two names you go by:
1. Nah Nah
2. Hun
Two things you are wearing right now:
1. T-shirt
2. Black Capri pajama pants
Two things you want very badly at the moment:
1. A trip back to NYC
2. New house
Two things you did last night:
1. Had breakfast for dinner
2. Watched Survivor
Two things you ate today
1. Blueberry frosted mini wheats
2. Sams cheeks :-)
Two People you just spoke with:
1. Bay Bear
2. Carson
Two things you're doing tomorrow:
1. Cleaning house :-(
2. Hopefully a girls night
Two jobs you've had:
1. Nanny in New Jersey
2. Medical Receptionist
Two favorite beverages:
1. Dr Pepper (slowly giving this up)
2. Water
Two guilty pleasures:
1. Betty Crocker Mini Delights with a scoop of ice cream on top
2. Shopping
Two Tags:
1.Tuia girls
2.Jennifer

I hate Blues Clues!

2008-10-22T13:58:00.001-07:00

Okay so not really. It is a cute show but when it MUST be on at ALL times, it gets a little annoying. And if they show an elephant and Alex tells me "Elephant" or any other word then I must repeat it back immediately or someone has a serious meltdown. Also it doesn't matter if Alex isn't watching it, it still must be on at all times. The banana chair also has to be perfectly set right in front of the TV or the viewing experience just won't be the same. So if anyone feels like watching Blues Clues come on over!

More Trees Please!

2008-10-11T20:17:00.000-07:00

The other night at dinner, I gave Alex his plate which had pork chops, scalloped potatoes and broccoli on it. After about a minute or so he was saying "trees, trees"Sure enough he had only eaten the broccoli and wanted more "trees" In fact, that night he didn't eat the rest of his food, only the trees. The next night we had stir fry which had broccoli in it and as you can guess he scarfed those trees so fast and wanted more. I have heard stories of kids not eating their vegetables but boy this kid loves them. He also loves salad and carrots and would eat the whole bag in one day if I let him. Guess broccoli will be on the menu every night!

Finished

2008-10-08T08:55:00.001-07:00

Well I finished all 4 books of the Twilight series. I thought overall that they were good, very interesting. I didn't love them as much as some people but it was good entertainment. Now maybe I will get some laundry done.

Tired?

2008-10-01T10:28:00.000-07:00

Lately Alex has been falling asleep in the wierdest places. The kid can fall asleep anywhere. Doesn't look too comfortable to me.

Here we have a 2 year old who falls asleep with his head inside a boppy. And yes that would a size 12-18 month onesie that is supposed to be for Sam but Alex was having a fit to put it on because it has "shee shees" (fishies) on it. Choose your battles.

He fell asleep eating his pumpkin trifle! And yes he is still OCD about having toys on his tray with him while he eats.

I was upstairs on Sunday and Barry and Alex were downstairs. Barry had to leave to go to a meeting and he told me Alex was asleep downstairs. So I assumed he was on the floor or couch. Nope! I come downstairs about a half hour later and here he was with his head on the banana chair, with his box of granola bars (another thing he is OCD about is carrying the whole box with him while he eats his bar)

This was after Sams blessing. He had so much fun with the family afterwards. He was so tired he fell asleep sitting on the couch.

Yum

2008-09-27T13:31:00.001-07:00

Ok, so I am not a huge fan of pudding but when I saw this in the store, I had to buy it. I love pumpkin flavored stuff. I am going to make a trifle with it tomorrow for dessert. Also I got some of these Pumpkin hershey kisses and wow they are really good too, at first I didn't know if they would be good or gross but they are yummy! Tastes like pumpkin pie.

Brothers...

2008-09-17T19:44:00.001-07:00

Alex just loves his little brother. Every morning when Alex wakes up, the first thing he does is run into our room to see Sam and give him a kiss. He is constantly kissing him, rubbing his head and entertaining him. He loves to bring Sam his blanket and binkie. Alex just cracks up when Sam sneezes and is always very intrigued when "Sam poo-poo"
Sam is always smiling and laughing at Alex. I know he already looks up to his big brother (which may not always be a good thing, just kidding)

Samuels Blessing

2008-09-07T19:45:00.001-07:00

We had Sams special day today. Everything went great. I am always afraid that my kids will be crying during the blessing but he was an angel. We had a great time with the fam afterwards too. How precious is he?

Autumn...

2008-09-02T11:06:00.001-07:00

I am so excited for fall to be coming. It is my favorite season and it always seems like it takes forever to get here and then it is over so fast. I love the perfect weather, the smells, the colors..everything. And of course all the pumpkin desserts, soups and apple cider. It also means the holidays are coming and I love them. Good bye 100 degree weather!

Family pics

2008-08-20T20:42:00.000-07:00

So we had family pictures taken last weekend. I love the one of Sam-How sweet is he? He slept for 8 hours straight last night! What an angel.

New Do

2008-08-14T20:09:00.001-07:00

I have been putting off getting my haircut for a while now. Well we are getting family pictures taken this weekend and knew I had to do it. I had my cute visiting teacher, Kaye do it and she did a great job. I love it!

Those cookies

2008-08-09T08:54:00.000-07:00

So anyone who knows me, knows that I love cookies and brownies. I would rather have them any day over pies and cakes. Well Barry is the total opposite and loves pie. He "hates" cookies and thinks I am wierd for wanting them over pie. Well, one day I decide to make these chocolate marshmallow cookies. Barry LOVES them and eats almost the whole plate. So every night this week I get asked "Are you going to make those cookies, how about those cookies?" Well I finally gave in last night and made "those cookies". Alex also loves them as you can see by these pictures. Sorry no pics of Barry enjoying his cookies.

The fake cry...enough pictures mom.

Farmington Pond

2008-07-26T12:51:00.000-07:00

On the 24th we went up to Farmington Pond and had a picnic. Alex wouldn't even eat his lunch because all he wanted to do was go throw rocks in the pond. It was a nice (HOT) day and we all had a great time. And of course Sam was sleeping the whole time.

Look-alike Meter

2008-07-23T10:59:00.001-07:00

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities - Collage - Morph

I'm surprised this one didn't say "Alex looks more like dad by 110%"

Look-alike Meter

2008-07-23T10:52:00.001-07:00

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Pedigree chart - Geneology

Ummm, ok so I guess all those "He looks just like Barry" comments aren't true!

One Month Old

2008-07-15T07:18:00.000-07:00

Sam will be one month old tomorrow, the 16th. I can't believe how fast time goes by. These are some amazing pictures my sister took of Sam. She is just starting to learn how to take pictures and may start her own photography business. I think she is doing an awesome job for just starting out.

You know what I love?

2008-07-08T09:59:00.000-07:00

FREE STUFF!!!!
I have recently discovered bargain hunting and it is so fun. All of the stuff in the first picture I got for FREE!! Mostly all of it I picked up in the past few days.
Also not pictured because they are gone:
Another bag of marshmallows, Chex mix, a box of hair color, yogurt, a new filter for my Brita pitcher and I am sure there are more things I can't think of right now. And on the deodorant, I will get paid $2.21 to take it off their hands :-)

The cascade I paid around $3 total for 9 boxes!!
Other recent great deals: A box of sausage for 45 cents.
Frozen egg rolls for 25 cents.
15 boxes of cereal for 40 cents each.
9 packages of diapers for $1.82 each

I am new to this and don't even come close to what some of those bargain ladies do but I love it!

Also, this week I plan on going to Albertsons and spending around $12 on Betty Crocker/General Mills stuff and getting 2 free Batman movie tickets for FREE!!

Roy Aquatic Center

2008-07-02T12:40:00.000-07:00

Last night we went to my work party. They reserved the Roy Aquatic Center. There was a BBQ and swimming (not so much for Alex). Alex was scared and didn't want to go in the water. He was clinging to Barry the whole time and was whining to get out. He did, however have a great time chasing the seagulls like a madman with chocolate smeared all over his bright red face. It was pretty hilarious. Of course Sam was an angel and slept most of the time.

Baby Sam

2008-06-24T11:44:00.000-07:00

Samuel Makaio
June 16, 2008
7 lbs 8 oz
20 inches long

Our baby decided to surprise us and come early. I was scheduled for a c-section on June 18th. The morning of June 16th I started having contractions. After telling Barry to just go to work, I called him an hour later and said to come home, we needed to go. We got to the hospital at 9 am and it was overloaded with women in labor. They checked me and I was 2 cm and contracting every 5 minutes. We had to wait for an operating room to open up. My doctor was all ready to go, reading a newspaper until we could get a room. Around 11 am we got into the operating room and Samuel came out screaming at 11:35 am. His cry was the best sound ever since I never got to hear that with Alex (they had to take him away and resuscitate him). I am surprised it happened so fast considering how busy they were. He is such a good baby and his older brother loves him!

Day at the park

2008-06-10T09:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was such a nice day we decided to go to the park. We went with Noah, Madden, Kris and Grandma. We had lunch and the boys had a great time. The weather last week was cold and rainy so it was good to finally get outside.

And of course when the sprinklers came on, someone just couldn't resist wandering over to play in them. Luckily they didn't stay on for very long.

Reminiscing

2008-05-31T09:18:00.000-07:00

I was looking through all the pictures on our computer and found this:

This is so funny, this was when Barry and I first started dating. I had forgot about this picture. We look so young. Four years goes by fast.

Our wedding day, December 2004.

Our honeymoon-we went to the Bahamas on a cruise. A second honeymoon sounds nice right about now.

Our little Alex born in April 2006. He is so cute and teeny in this picture. Why do they have to grow up so fast?

Alex's first birthday.

And many more memories to come...

Random things

2008-05-27T09:29:00.000-07:00

What's for breakfast?

Alex is so funny. For the past few days he has had to carry around all of these things with him. Well this morning he was starting to eat his breakfast and saw that they were on the kitchen table next to him. He wouldn't eat until each and every thing was on his tray with him. (Yes there is a bowl of cheerios buried under there)

And these things that are so important are: a toy fishing pole, a yellow handle from one of his toys, a spatula, a plastic serving spoon, a baby bottle brush and last but not least, his favorite-the saran wrap. So much for spending money on toys!

Doubles Night

2008-05-19T18:09:00.000-07:00

We had doubles night at our house tonight. I say this like everyone is supposed to know what doubles are. It is an Indian dish. Barry went on his mission to the West Indies and they used to get these all the time for a nickel. So one day we were looking on the internet for the recipe and found one that is similar to the real thing. We usually have them about once a month. They don't look all that appetizing but they are actually pretty good. Even Alex loves them.

The Chana. Basically just onions, garlic, garbanzo beans and of course lots of curry powder to give it that lovely color.

The Bara-dough that is fried into flat circles.

The finished product, tastes pretty good with hot sauce or mango chutney.

Mother's Day

2008-05-12T10:49:00.000-07:00

For Mother's Day, we went to Layton park with Mom,Dad,Ryan,and the Young's. We had a picnic there. The boys got to feed the ducks and run around (which Alex did a lot of). It was a great day.

My cute mom opening her presents.

Barry's mom was so kind to get me a lei straight from Hawaii, she also got one for my mom. How sweet! Here is a pic of it, (sorry it's not one of it on me but being 8 months pregnant, that's just scary)
Barry got me some flowers and a gift card to Tai Pan. What a good hubby.
Lena gave me some yummy pumpkin bread from Great Harvest.
My mom made a cute picture of Alex and also gave me my favorite soap.
Grandma Draayer gave us some awesome window cleaner, it is wonderful stuff.
THANKS EVERYONE!!! I really don't deserve all this!

Alex's favorite things....

2008-05-09T10:52:00.001-07:00

Playing with cousins
He and Noah get so excited when they see each other, sometimes they start screaming and laughing really loud. (And a few minutes later, they are hitting each other :-) But they really are best friends and love each other.

Alex loves seeing cousin Isaac. He doesn't see him too often and he always has a great time when they get to play. Alex will usually be really shy until he sees Isaac and then he is like a different boy.

Apples. He loves eating apples and is always going to the fruit bowl asking for "appo, appo"

Fishies aka "shishy" His favorite movie is Finding Nemo. If there is anything that even resembles a fish he always points and says shishy shishy. I think sometimes he is seeing things because sometimes he tries to tell me he sees a fish and I just don't see it.

One of his favorite things to do everyday is read books with Daddy before bed. Usually every night he and Barry get in bed and read some books. And on a good day, he usually is asleep a few minutes later.

Guess how much I paid for all of this?

2008-05-05T14:11:00.000-07:00

$9.85!!!!!!!
Today Kris and I decided to go to Albertsons for the big cereal sale they were having. If you bought 10 then they were 10 for $10, including our favorite Fiber One bars. Well I was able to print a bunch of coupons before I left. I ended up with 20 items- 7 boxes of Fiber One bars for $.40 each (usually $2.50-$3.00 each) and 13 boxes of cereal, some were $.50 a box and I even got some for $.25 a box!!
I need to do stuff like this more often!

Yes it's true, Alex is two!!

2008-05-04T20:25:00.000-07:00

Alex turned two on April 22nd. We had two parties for him. One with each side of the family. We had a great time and Alex got very spoiled.

Alex and Isaac having fun with the balloons from Grandma and Grandpa Tuia.

He got a little embarassed when everyone was singing Happy Birthday to him. He is a shy boy!

Having fun with cousins, while Dad and Grandpa are enjoying the Hawaiian feast!

And finally, the after party........
(After making a mess with dads clothes and his toys.)