SteinyFam

Say Cheese

2011-06-10T10:51:00.001-07:00

I can get a pretty smile out of this kid, but not when I ask him to smile. THIS is what I get. He tries...and I appreciate that. :)

It's part of my job

2011-06-10T09:43:00.000-07:00

This is what I get for making myself some hot tea and watching So You Think You Can Dance while Jake ate his breakfast.

I knew I was in big trouble when I heard singing and splashing.

He sings when he's happy.

Notice the pool of milk on his tray.

My Jakey

2011-04-25T08:58:00.000-07:00

This face kills me, every time!

He's really been my main motivation to blog again. Jake is almost 17 months old, and he's such a spunky, bright, flirty, hilarious, and wonderful little guy. The list that I'm about to make may only be exciting to his mother, but I'm going to write it all out so I can put it in his baby book.

Jake talks a lot! He has been chatting it up for a while now. He'll say things like "where d' go?" "there i'is". He says book, dog, harley (the dog's name), cookie (which is LOVES).....and on and on. Sometimes, the mumbling sounds like a full sentence, but doesn't make too much sense yet. He knows the sounds that a bunch of animals make, and he signs (and says) please, thank you, more and help.

He calls Eric and Nick "bubbus". He loves his big brothers. As soon as we pull into Eric's school, he starts to get excited, yelling "bubbus", and waving his hands frantically. It usually takes another five minutes to get to where we see Eric, at which point Jake goes into a happy fit. The feeling is mutual between the two, so this interaction is always special. It does a mom's heart good!

He loves books and being read to, but his favorite book is The Belly Button Book. He can spot it from across the room, will do his excited dance, and then beg you to read it to him. If you haven't seen it before, it's about little Hippos that love their belly buttons. In the book, the tiniest hippo calls his a "bee-bo". So Jake says "boo-ba" (instead of bee-bo) and points to the hippo on each page. Then when you get to the page where they yell "Belly Button", he yells this strange concoction of sounds that mimics BELLY BUTTON! Of course, once is never enough. And when we're tapped out, he'll read it to us, complete with "boo-ba's" and yelling. :)

Jake can spell....sort of. I spend so much time spelling both my first and last name that Jake has picked up on it. While on the phone with the doctor's office last week, Jake chimes in mid-"stein" and says "E, I, E, M, R, I". It caught me off guard I couldn't help but laugh. The receptionist had to ask me if I was ok. So now, if you ask Jake to spell Steinmeyer, he says "E, I, E, I" (and then a few sounds like M and R).

His favorite game is "this little piggy". Daddy taught him. He anxiously sits through the first 4 toes, and then says "Wee Wee Wee, alllll dwahom".

Something he is NOT good at....Growing Teeth! He got his first tooth at 15 months, and the next 3 followed soon after. He cut 4 more last week, so we're up to a whopping 8. He's not a happy teether either. He knows what helps, like the motrin or teething gel, and will ask for it.

He's also incredibly...um..how do I put it?? Passionate! This kids got a temper. He's been seen throwing himself to the ground, scrapping up his head in the process. We just walk away because addressing it and giving him that attention just makes it worse. But he doesn't like being ignored, so he'll crawl to where we are, kicking and screaming the whole time, until he sees us, and then thrown himself on the floor again. It's ridiculous. He'll throw his food, plate and all, if the food isn't to his liking or it's too hot. For a little while, he'd slap me full in the face if I told him no. He's stubborn and emotional.....good times ahead, for sure.

But he's also my sweetest and most cuddly of my 3 boys. He loves to kiss and hug. If I am holding him, and talking to someone else, and he decides he wants a kiss, he will use both hands to pull my face to him and kiss me square on the lips. If I tell him I want a kiss on my cheek, he says no and maneuvers my face so he can plant a big one on my lips. He'd friendly to anyone he sees, and flirts with any girl that gives him the time of day. He does a sweet wave, gives a big grin, then squishes his cheek to his shoulder in a cute little coy way. The girls don't stand a chance....

Jake loves music and dancing. If the car is quiet (which is rare) he points to the radio, dances, and says "more please". He then rocks out, swaying back and forth, and clapping...it's pretty cute. He has a pirate bear in his room that sings an entire verse of "hot hot hot". The bear freaks him out. He actually shudders in fear and runs away. But he really wants to like it, so he very cautiously will ask you to push the button in the bears hand. At a safe distance, he then gets really groovy, butt shaking and everything. I've gotta get it on video. BUT, if the bear is not in the right place, he gets worried, as if the bear has come to life and moved his location. He likes knowing where it is, but doesn't want to touch it.

Allright - enough Jakey updates for now... :)

Shocking....I know

2011-04-24T21:54:00.000-07:00

I know, I know.....it's been 6 months since I last posted. My computer crashed on thanksgiving day, literally. Jakey decided to cure me of my intense emotional connection to pictures and pull our laptop from the couch to the ground. The painful part was that we had JUST gotten it back the night before from a friend who had cleaned it up and made it good as new. For the next 3 months, I took that darned hard drive to 5 different computer "experts", and no one could recover the files, even with the price tag of $1600. (we didn't have to pay that, but would have if the files were recovered). So we lost an entire year of pictures....JAKE'S entire first year of pictures. Still makes me a little sick to say (write) that out loud! It was a hard blow, and one that I've had a hard time recovering from. It took away all my desire to blog. BUT, if there's one thing I've learned from this whole mess, it's to put your priceless pictures in as many backup places as possible, like facebook and blogs. So, once again, I'm gonna try.

To be honest, my kids are freakin' hilarious, and I need a place that's quick and easy to come and write down and share their funny stories, and voila, my blog. :) It might be totally random, it might make sense...who knows, I may only have 1 person reading this anymore, and that's probably my mother-in-law. :)

stay tuned....

Halloween

2010-11-14T21:49:00.000-08:00

Here's some pics of my cute kids from Halloween

Ever since Eric hurt his foot a couple of months ago and had to wear an ace bandage, he's wanted to be a mummy. Of course, Nick wanted to be one too. It was a cheap and easy costume, and they never lost interest, so that's what they were.

I am glad we took a picture at the beginning of the night, because they were such a mess by the end. Here's the beginning of the night -

Nick's "scary" face

Eric is a little "spookier"

No mummy for Jake, he was a giraffe, and an adorable one at that!

This is our traditional Trick-or-Treating picture. The kids keep getting bigger, and so does the number of kiddos. There will be another one on that seat next year too. (NOT from me!!)

Our little mummies tripping over there bandages:

Nick took it like a champ. Eric was mostly just disappointed in us for not creating the most amazing, fool-proof, true-to-life costume. He's a perfectionist. I say it added a very cool effect. We totally planned it like that. ;)

Here's the "after" shot. Those costumes never stood a chance!

Saturday Morning, Part 2

2010-07-06T21:50:00.000-07:00

Then just some general Jake cuteness caught on tape. The boys were playing outside and wanted to give me the play by play of what they did, followed by Eric's "muffin man" dance.

Saturday Morning at our Home

2010-07-06T15:36:00.000-07:00

Starts off with some quiet book time with daddy.

Then a big breakfast, with Eric as our floor show. He decided to act out the opening scene of Ice Age.

The last week of school

2010-06-30T09:03:00.000-07:00

The boys sure loved going to preschool last year...most of the time. Eric kept track of each day, and would ask if that was it for the week. I think he mostly hated missing out on the playdates that Nick and I would go on. But once he got to school, he had a great time. Nick, on the other hand, wanted to go every day. His best friend was in his class, and he loved his teachers! We had a TON of crafts coming home each week, about 12 "projects" each week between the 2 boys. I took pictures of them all, saved just a few, then "recycled" the rest.

The boys on the first day of school, and then the last day of school.

Every day of Eric's last week had a different theme. Monday was pj's and movie day.

Nick didn't want to be left out, so he dressed the same as Eric all week.
Wednesday was Circus Day, so crazy socks and hair!

The last day was Hawaiian shirt day.

Eric's wonderful teacher, Miss Sharon

Eric's good friend, Matthew

After taking his picture with Matthew, I asked him if he wanted pictures with any more of his friends. He says, "Um...just the girls now." Such a ladies man! :)

Nick's favorite teacher, Miss Sheila!

Nick's favorite part of school, share time!
Eric wearing his "ducky class" ducky hat gift.

Brotherly Love

2010-06-13T16:39:00.000-07:00

Jake L.O.V.E.S. Eric. And the feeling is completely mutual. Nick....eh, we're working on that relationship. Nick wants Jake to just "take it like a man" when it comes to his "love", and we find ourselves telling Nick "gentle!" a lot. It's funny how Jake can just tell who has patience for him and who doesn't. Here's some shots of the boys being so great with their little brother.

JOY!

2010-06-13T15:25:00.000-07:00

My desire to just post and upload pictures is greater than my desire to keep things in order. So just sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride. You never know what I'll talk about next.

My favorite quote of this past week: Eric wanted a drink of my gatorade, the red one. What is that, cherry? Anyways.... So I let him take a swig. And in a VERY thrilled voice, he says,

"Oh...that's so good. I love it! Can I have some more?" (takes another drink)

"That drink is SOOO good. It gives me JOY in my tummy!"

If only we could all find such joy in the little things of life.

Speaking of Joy - check out this chunk of baby love. :)

Easter

2010-06-10T23:27:00.000-07:00

It's only been 2 months, and I've been wanting to post my pics from Easter for a while, so here it goes. Looking back, it's going to be an extra special Easter because we had Jacob and Leslie with us. But it was also our Jake's first Easter! :) We ran out of time to dye eggs before Sunday, but since we don't really do anything with them anyways, we decided to dye them on Easter night. It actually worked out quite nice. The hunt begins......Nick handles a minor setbackEric getting some support from Uncle Mickey

Check out that loot! We need some cousins around. This candy lasts us a long time. :)

The Fam! :)

"Dude, I didn't get any candy."

Time to dye eggs!

Yes, they named their eggs, and most of them after friends. :)

My reflection on this past weekend

2010-06-08T20:56:00.000-07:00

For those that have not heard, Matt's cousin was serving in Afghanistan, and after being gone only 3 weeks, Jacob Leicht was killed in action on May 27th, 2010. It was a shock to our family, and rocked us to the core. All week long, it felt so surreal; his story like something out of a movie. We so badly wanted it to be a bad dream. What made it harder is that we just saw him at Easter, when he and his new wife joined us for the day. And then we had a big family dinner just nights before he was deployed, so his face and voice was (and still is) fresh in our memories. He will be missed dearly.

I was able to attend the services in Texas this past weekend, and it was a powerful weekend that I will never forget! The amount of support that was offered to Jacob's family was unlike anything I would've ever imagined. People lined the streets, abandoned cars, stood in the heat, waved flags, left their stations at work, held up signs....the experience left my car full of sisters sobbing at times. I cut the video of our 1 hour drive down to 4 minutes, just to give you a taste of the amount of love, support and patriotism that this little Texas town showed us.

But first, I thought I would leave it to the 2 writers in our family, Matt's uncle and cousin to explain in detail what we went through on Saturday.

First, from Jonathan, Jacob's older brother -

It was the funeral procession, however, that was like nothing ever seen before. If you witnessed it, you know what I am talking about. If you missed it, I am so sorry, because you may never see anything like it again, but allow me to describe it to you from our perspective. As we left the church for the grave site, we had well over a hundred members of the Patriot Guard on their motorcycles leading the way, their function being to surround the church and the gravesite to protect the family from any hecklers or anti-war protesters. I almost would've felt sorry for anyone trying to get past these former soldiers to disrupt the services--almost. As we left the church escorted by these guardians, in the limo directly behind the hearse, we saw the first few groups of people honoring us as we passed, including members of this church. Our first thought was, "how sweet of these scattered few to honor Jacob this way." There were small groups of people like this all the way down Goat Creek Rd to Junction Hwy, and when we turned toward town, the number of people increased slightly, especially by Walmart, where we were amazed that a few people had even set up camp in the middle of the road, waving their flags. When we turned onto Harper Rd, there were even more people lined up on the corner by Moore's, and we were truly touched that "all of these people" had turned out to pay their respects. As we travelled toward Holdsworth Dr, the numbers went back down to a few scattered groups again, but the support was still very touching. As we turned onto Holdsworth Dr, we thought, "how amazing that these folks would do this for Jacob and our family," but pretty much thought it was over.

About halfway down Holdsworth Dr, we were stunned to see that the Kerrville Fire Dept.'s ladder truck had extended its ladder over the road, with a huge American flag hanging down from it, and again we were deeply moved at the gesture, but again we thought that that would probably be the end. When we turned onto Sidney Baker, we were shocked and stunned beyond words--thousands of people, it appeared, were lining the sidewalks and streets on both sides of the road, waving flags of every size, many of them crying, but all of them showing the utmost respect and honor toward Jacob for his sacrifice and service. To say that we were absolutely blown away by this would be the understatement of the year. The vast majority of these people had never met Jacob before, but they were all so touched by his story that they endured the blistering heat in order to honor him as his body passed by. I have never been so proud of this city and its people, and I know that many of you were in the throngs that lined the street as well. I can't tell you how much that meant to me and my family, and we will never forget it. What should have been a five-minute drive turned into the most amazing hour-long drive I have ever taken, and thank you all so much for being a part of it. I know there will be difficult days down the road for us, as we continue to adjust to the loss of Jacob, but we have all been permanently touched by this support.

And now, Matt's Uncle David -

Nothing could have prepared us for the day we had on Saturday. Jacob’s
casket was being guarded by marines and they changed guards every half
hour. The respect and reverence of the Corps has been very moving.
When we arrived at the church we found that it was literally
surrounded by hundreds of members of a military veterans motorcycle
club. They were standing at attention and holding flags. I found out
later that they do this to protect the family from interruption or
distraction from protesters etc. It was ninety degrees that morning,
and they stood outside for the duration of the two hour service.

Three of the marines who were with Jacob on his first tour in Iraq came and spoke of him. I learned many new things about my nephew that day. He was a leader of
men and an inspiration to his unit. I remember him still as a seven
year old in shorts and white socks running and sliding on the hardwood
floors at home. We all learned new things about Jacob. At the conclusion of the service we headed out to the graveside service ten miles away. We were escorted by the motorcycle club who had mounted their flags on their bikes. We were also escorted by police and sheriffs. As we drove at ten miles an hour we saw what seemed to be the whole town of Kerrville standing in the heat waving flags with hands on hearts. Fire stations had lights flashing with the fire fighters standing at attention. Thousands of people had stopped their day to come out and honor a fallen soldier. Walmart employees on break stood across the street from Starbucks employees who had apparently abandoned their stations to come pay their respects. It went on like this for ten miles. There was a fire station who had pulled their massive ladder truck into the middle of the road. They had hung an enormous flag from the end of it and had raised the ladder so that the flag hung over us as we drove by. I have never seen an out pouring like this even in a patriotic movie. Texas and Kerrville have a special place in our hearts from this day forward. We saw boy scouts in uniform, families with flags tied to the side of their minivans, veterans and homeschool families all of them lending their support to Jacob, our family and by extension all the other soldiers who have died for our freedom.

At the graveside service there was a twenty-one gun salute. The marines took the flag off of Jacob’s casket, folded it and inserted three of the spent shells from the twenty-one gun salute. With great emotion they placed the flag on the lap of Leslie, his wife and another to his parents. Our loss is great but the time, effort, good will and more importantly, the prayers of countless people have used this event to draw attention to God and his great love for us. Only because of Him could this tragedy be used for good. Thank you for being a part of this for me and my family. You have been a blessing to us all.

Now that the day has been fully detailed in words, here's the video -

Seriously?!

2010-06-02T15:38:00.000-07:00

I say it a lot - why won't kids just play with toys? Is that too much to ask, I mean seriously?!

Whenever you have a lot going on, or you're cooking dinner, or trying to talk to adults, I try my hardest to get the kids to play with their toys. But for some reason, that's when they decide they "have NO toys!" or "I don't like my toys" or "I'm bored!".

We've been spending a lot of time at home lately. Mostly because I'm overwhelmed with stuff and just need time to get things done, and then rest on the couch once some items on the to-do list are checked off.

But today's "whine" was different, and it was more than just a whine!

I was snipping thread on an order that I finished, Jake was napping, and the boys had already watched too much tv for the morning. Eric wandered around, and then started to look weepy. I asked him what was up...

Eric - "I just don't know what to do" tears are becoming a little more inevitable
Me - "What do you mean? Why don't you play with something?"
Eric - "I can't. I just don't know what to play with."
Me - "How can you say that? We have toys everywhere. There's so many things to play with."
Eric - "I know, that's the problem."
now I'm confused....
Me - "What???"
and now he's full-on crying
Eric - "We have too many toys, and I don't have enough arms to play with all of them."

Now, I try to be sensitive to my children's emotions, and I try not to laugh when they are clearly upset over something that genuinely makes them sad, but I couldn't help it......I might have let out a little giggle. :)

Jakey at Bath Time

2010-05-17T21:58:00.000-07:00

Jake LOVES bath time! He either gets tossed in the shower with Matt or myself, but mostly, he gets tossed in the kitchen sink. I'm sure he'd be perfectly happy sitting in there all night. He's fascinated by the "shower" effect of our faucet.

I think it's worth mentioning that the first 2 pictures were taken a month earlier than the last 3 pictures....you can tell by the extra "chunk" :)

Oh - and I DO do my dishes. Bath time is usually right after dinner time, so there's always a sink-full to clean. That's life!

I should take this time to document Jakey's schedule, and man does this kid love his schedule. We are a very busy, on-the-go, spontaneous family. Working with a specific schedule has been challenging, but really great at the same time. Chances are, if he's fussing, I know why depending on the time. And most days he doesn't get to have his perfect routine. But when we have a "down" day and he gets his full naps in his crib, he's one happy baby. So here's Jake day in a nutshell. And yes, I know I'm very fortunate!!

Wake up between 7 and 8 and eat

Around 9am, goes down for a nap. This is the most difficult because of preschool drop off and/or playdates. For a while, I was able to get him to go to sleep in the sling for his morning nap, but that's getting more difficult. Ideally, he wants to go back to sleep, on his tummy, in his crib, and will sleep until 11 or noon. I know...great....when it happens!

So then he's up for a little bit, he eats, he plays, we run errands, pick up brothers from school.

Around 130 or 2 (but sometimes it doesn't happen until 230), he wants to be asleep, back in his crib, on his tummy, "Leave me alone!". He'll sleep until 5, when I usually go wake him up. I know....awesome!!

So now he's awake and eats, sits at the table with us and watches us eat or plays in his nearby exersaucer. He's just recently started eating food (that will be another post), so that keeps him occupied. It also gets him use to sitting at the table with the family, which is important to us.

After dinner, it's bath time, one last nursing session and then same ol' same ol' - hugs and kisses, put him in bed, on his tummy, with his little snuggle blanket, and "Leave me alone!" Lights out at 7pm........until the morning at 7am. I know....beautiful!! :)

He's been keeping with the same routine since 7 weeks old. Right after our CHOC experience, we had a rough month where he had a hard time falling asleep and staying asleep, but we got through that. I really can't complain a bit! Right now, he's teething, so every now and then he just wants to snuggle (FINE BY ME!), or he gets up extra early, like 5am (NOT fine by me!). But overall, you won't hear me gripe.

I'm trying.....but not well, I might add

2010-05-17T10:47:00.000-07:00

It's been threatened that I'll be taken off a blogroll if I don't post soon, so here it goes....

I'll start with some updated portraits of Jake. Heck, I'll start at the beginning and show you all his portraits. :)

Newborn Session

1 Month old - still that newborn squishy face. :)

2 Months old

His hair was so wild!

Everyone always asks who Jake looks like, me or matt. According to this picture, I would say MATT, 100%.

3 Months old

4 Months old

5 Months old

Look at those rolls! At 5 months old, he's just under 19 pounds. CHUNK! :)

Now I know everyone says that their kid is the cutest, but seriously?!?! This kid kills me! He is the happiest baby too! Even when he's a teething mess and tired out the wazoo, he can still give you the biggest grin that just melts your heart. And he's such a ladies man. In the grocery store, fabric store, restaurants, church....look his way and talk to him and his smile will suck you in. One of my most favorite times of the day is getting him up from his nap. He sleeps on his tummy (shh...don't tell the pediatrician and don't chastise me!!), so when I go in to get him he's usually pushing himself up. When he hears the door crack, the floor creak, or my voice, he starts searching for me and his face just beams when we lock eyes. It's the sweetest thing EVER!!

RSV - the whole story

2010-02-03T21:47:00.000-08:00

What a week this has been. One week ago from right now, I was just noticing that Jake had a tiny, scratchy cough. We had his 2 month check up the next morning, so I would bring it up then.
At his dr. appt. (Thursday), I asked the doctor about it, and we both agreed that it sounded very insignificant. He got his shots, and spent the rest of the day acting fussy. We figured it was because of his shots.
On Friday and Saturday, his cough persisted, but it was dry and sounded pathetic...still didn't seem major. The biggest issue at that point was that he was not nursing well AT ALL! He was refusing one side and barely eating on the other. And he was sleeping like junk!
On Sunday, all 3 boys and I stayed home from church to try and get some sleep. Matt was on call, so attempting church with all 3 by myself (one of them being sick) didn't sound doable.
Around 330pm, Jake started coughing and it kept building. He couldn't get ahead of the cough, and he starting choking, turning a deep deep red (almost purple). I panicked and started giving him swift blows to the back trying to get him to breath. Once he got through that, he continued coughing for a solid minute. In that minute, the older boys had their shoes on, the dog was kenneled, and I was in the front yard looking for a neighbor to help me. Jake calmed down enough for me to make several quick phone calls: Matt at work, mom, Megan, and my doctor. After speaking to the nurses at our doctors office, they told us to leave immediately and get to Urgent Care. We got in really quickly (a baby with breathing problems is top priority), and the dr. there was concerned enough to send us straight to the ER.
Once in the ER, we were seen really quickly too (I barely unwrapped my food when we were called). The dr. in the ER thought it was RSV, possibly pertussis (whooping cough), and he wanted to have him observed for a night. I happily agreed, as I did not want to handle another choking incident on my watch. CHOC was busy, so we had to wait several hours before a bed was available.

Sleeping in the ER

We were initially put in a room with another patient, but since we were still testing for pertussis, they moved us to our own room. From that moment on, I felt like we had the plague. My lunch would be dropped off at the door and they would leave. But that also meant we had rooms to ourselves for the entire stay.

Jake hadn't eaten well in days, and there were no signs that it was changing soon, so he had to get an IV put in.

Soon after that, he was given the little oxygen tubes since his saturation levels weren't what they should be.

I watched this machine constantly! The first number is his heart rate. There were times on Monday that his heart rate dipped down to the 40's....SCARY!! For a few hours that evening, it yo-yo'd. He would go from 140-130-100-90-70-60-50-40- and then up slowly. In the end, the doctors were confused by it, which is never good. It could have been something he normally does, or even a machine fluke. We still don't know, but at least we didn't see any dips on Tuesday or Wednesday.

The middle number is his respiration rate, basically how hard he was working to breath.
And the last number was the big one for us, it's his oxygen saturation rate. You want the number as close to 100% as possible. In the urgent care, he was initially in the 80's and the dr wanted to transport him via ambulance. But by the end of that appt., it was in the 90's so we could take him ourselves. At CHOC, we needed to keep that number in the 90's for 24 hours before they would let us go home. He had several spells where it hung out in the 70's for a while, which always sent the nurses running to our room.

Watching numbers like this is exhausting!!

Poor pitiful boy with all his tubes. Hugging, holding and nursing him with all those cords was really hard.

He sure is precious, even while sick!

His was taken off the oxygen and tolerated it really well. He got a quick snuggle in with daddy, free from the oxygen, before daddy went home.

He slept A LOT, but it was always cut short by a visit with the nurse, asst. nurse, a doctor, a respiratory doctor, charge nurse.....no real rest.

This is his FANTASTIC nurse, Katie! We had a great experience at CHOC. They were so helpful and so kind. I love that they give you the same nurse each day (if they are working that day, of course), so having Katie every day was so comforting. It's nice to not have to repeat your story over and over. And they have a team of doctors that meet with you every day, so you know they are really trying to figure out what's going on, fix the problem, and send you home. I don't want to ever go back, but if we need to, I'm comfortable going there! :)

Now that we're home, we are just trying to get extra rest and keep Jake away from anyone that's sick since his lungs are weakened right now. As his cough develops, I am more panicked that he will get stuck in another bad coughing spell, so I am watching him like a hawk. He's not sleeping well. The coughing keeps him up, and he's still catching up on eating since he didn't for so long.

I am, once again, overwhelmed by all the love and support. I had meals delivered to the hospital and at home, mom and dad had the boys all week, and other's have helped out with the boys and other random things. THANKS EVERYONE!!!

New New Year's Tradition

2010-01-15T11:33:00.000-08:00

For the first time in almost 10 years, we did not host a New Year's Eve party at our house. We've been scaling down for the past several years, and just couldn't pull one together this year. Instead, we decided to have our own family party, and it was a blast! The boys didn't really understand the concept, but it started sinking in as it got later and later. They were also pleasantly surprised when we said YES to all of their candy, snack, and junk requests. Here's how our night unfolded.

Round 1:

Cookie baking with left over Christmas M&M's

Round 2:

Heart Attack Mac'N'Cheese

I watch a lot of shows on the Food Network. Guy Fieri watched a chef make a mac'n'cheese dish at a diner and it looked so good, so I tried to replicate it (without a recipe) and it turned out great!

2 words - BACON GREASE!

Round 3:

Picnic time while watching Night at the Museum

Round 4:

Texas Chocolate Cake and Hot Chocolate while watching Night at the Museum 2

This is how Jake celebrated

At midnight, we went outside and popped some poppers.

It was cold, so we went back inside to pop the rest.

The boys then crashed in the living room. We had a great time, and hope to continue it as a family tradition. :)

Cards and such

2010-01-15T11:16:00.000-08:00

Here's what we sent out as our "New Year's Bundle"

Better late than never, right?! Really…it’s the only way it was going to happen this year. And we’re trying something new: The New Year’s Bundle - Christmas Card, Family Update Letter and Birth Announcement.

2009 was a very exciting and busy year for us. As you can see from the pictures and birth announcement, we have a new addition to our family. Jake was due on Thanksgiving Day, but despite all of our pleading with him to come early, he decided to come a few days late. He’s been a joy and such a good baby. Eric and Nick have adjusted really well to being big brothers and they help out a lot. Matt has been able to take off 2 separate weeks already, which have been a blessing to this sleepy mommy.

As for the rest of the year, there have been a lot of fun times and big changes. In February, Matt and I were able to go to Australia for 11 days, just the 2 of us. The boys still talk about those “11 days at Grandma’s house”. (THANKS Mom and Dad!!) We had an amazing time, cruising around Tasmania for 8 days and then sightseeing in Sydney for a few more. Then, in June, the four of us went back to Tennessee for a week to visit my family. The boys love hanging out with their cousins, and catching up with my brother and sister-in-law is always a treasured opportunity.

Matt and I made the decision, early on in the year, to not run again for the leadership team in our class at church. We had been the socials coordinators for 4 years, and felt like we needed some “time-off” before becoming a family of 5. But, God had other plans for us. Instead of stepping down, God was prepping both of us to step UP into much bigger service areas. Matt took a position as a deacon at church, and enjoys serving wherever he’s needed. This includes parking duty (at the church parking structure), communion, and new-membership classes. I am now co-coordinating the MOPS program, which has been a huge undertaking, but a growing experience as well. Matt also changed positions within Otis and is now in the Service/Maintenance department and working on elevators in Century City (west L.A.). It’s definitely been a time of transition for us due to the longer drive and different hours, but it’s more stable in the long run. And of course, we’re thankful for such a wonderful job. I spent all year sewing items for my website (since my office needed to be turned into Jake’s nursery) and taking on several custom orders as well.

Eric is now in Pre-K and loving it. He learns so fast and has made several new friends. He is still in gym class once a week, and participated in a couple sports camps through our city’s programs. Nick started attending preschool this year as well, going once a week. He loves it and wants to go more than just one day. He likes hanging with his buddies and doing “share time”. It’s amazing how quickly they become mini grown-ups. Both boys love books, puzzles, trains, and TV (“movies”). They DON’T like to eat… unless, of course, it’s “mac’n’cheese” (Kraft only, please), Chick-Fil-A, peanut butter sandwiches or grilled cheese. They share a room now, so it’s handy that they are in to all of the same things. I still run the playgroup, so we get to go to a lot of fun places with amazing moms and their kiddos. Our boys are upset if we go anywhere and “our friends aren’t going to be there?!?” They are just as social as their parents.

2010 is sure to be another crazy, busy year, but maybe with fewer changes this time. We are excited to see Jake grow and start playing with his older brothers. I’m sure there won’t be a dull moment with 3 active little boys, but we wouldn’t trade these times for anything. May the year ahead be full of blessings for us all!
Much love from the Steinmeyer 5,
Matt, Laurinda, Eric (5 years old), Nick (3 years old), Jake (1 month old)

Month 1

2010-01-12T21:26:00.001-08:00

Well, we already have the first month behind us. For me, it's the most exciting, but the most challenging. Getting to know our new little man has been fantastic. I am trying to savor every moment. When I could just put him in his crib and let him nap, I'd rather just cuddle with him on the couch. He's been a really good baby too. That first week was really rough in the "routine" department.....no real sleep, just eating and changing diapers. But week 2 hit, and something clicked. Jake went to sleep late, and woke up early, but would only wake up once to eat. Week 3 & 4, he was super congested which threw everything for a loop. He had a really hard time sleeping and breathing. He also has a clogged tear duct that has made his eye really gross and green and gooey. :( It's been like that since he was 5 days old. We finally took him to the dr., and they gave him some eyedrops. It's helped, but it's still gooey. One of our biggest struggles has been poopy diapers. He blows out of almost each one. It's made for some very awkward moments as I try to "contain" a huge mess. In general, it's been a fairly smooth transition. We're so blessed to have him here, and for him to seem very healthy. Thank you God!

I made these "brother" shirts. :)

Just a few days old

Smiling in his sleep during that first week

"working" with mommy

Jake was 2 weeks old when he went to Disneyland for the first time. Matt and Eric's pass was expiring, so we wanted to go as a family of 5 before we couldn't anymore.

Jake started crying a little while we were in a line and he found his thumb for the first time. He definitely favors the pacifier though.

Hangin' with his oldest Bro

Eric is such a great helper. I was trying to get ready one morning and Jake was crying a bunch. So Eric sat on the couch with Jake and held his paci in. I did my hair, my make up, and got breakfast cleaned up. He's so good to mommy. :)

Christmas Happenings

2010-01-12T17:15:00.000-08:00

The boys at their Christmas Program for school

We got to our tree trimming a little late this year, but we did get it up.
Jake wasn't really into it.....

Of course, we needed cookies and hot chocolate to get us through the evening. The boys couldn't decide on one flavor of cookies, so we just made 2 batches.....there were a lot more cookies than I thought we'd get.

Christmas Eve with the family.

Christmas Morning at our house starts early: 530am. The boys stumbled downstairs and discovered their stockings.

This was the first year that the boys bought each other gifts, so it was neat to see them get excited to GIVE, just as much as GET.

Then it was off to Grandma and Papa's for the rest of the day.

Nick watches Papa Carl sign all the handmade gifts that he made for us.....

......and then reads a book with Grandma Carl.
Eric helped Grandma call bingo this year.
Checking out the bingo prize with Uncle Mickey
Our precious gift this year

Eric got a box of magic tricks from Uncle Mickey, so he quickly learned a few and "performed" for the crowd. :)

My fantastic Fam!

Jake Presley

2009-12-07T15:23:00.000-08:00

Jake Presley is here!! He arrived Saturday, November 28th, at 9:17pm, measuring 9 pounds 7 ounces and 20 1/2 inches long!

Here's the full story:

We had an induction set for Sunday morning. I had spent all of Saturday timing contractions. They were anywhere from 5-10 minutes apart ALL day long, and were uncomfortable, but I wouldn't call them painful. We wanted to take the boys out before dropping them off at Grandma's house that night where they would be staying while we were in the hospital. When we got to Chuck E Cheese at 4:30, I just didn't feel right, and even told Matt, "This might be a bad idea." But I didn't want to ruin the boy's fun night. So we played, ate pizza, and had a good time, although I felt pretty yucky the whole time. I finally admitted to Matt that I felt like junk, and that I was pretty sure we'd be headed to the hospital, so I really just wanted to go home and rest for a while before making that final decision. So we used the last of our tokens (which took a lot longer than I expected), then had to count up our tickets (which took a lot longer than I expected), and then go cash in our tickets for prizes (which took a lot longer than I expected). As we stood there waiting for the boys to decide on their toys, I started letting them all know that I was REALLY serious now and that we needed to get in the car NOW! The contractions were definitely regular, definitely close together, and definitely uncomfortable.

Once in the car, we started making calls and I was hurting (It was right at 6pm). Matt made the decision (based on my lovely mood), to NOT drive to Mom and Dad's house before going home to get our stuff. Instead, he called Dad to have him come pick up the boys at our house. So we grabbed our stuff, dropped the boys off with our neighbor for a few minutes while they waited for Grandpa, made a few phone call, and then hightailed it to the hospital. I had short labors with both Eric and Nick, so we were given strict instructions to HURRY! Matt had no desire to deliver our baby on a freeway. During our ride to the hospital, my contractions were 2 minutes apart.

We checked in to Labor and Delivery and went to be monitored. At about 6:45pm, I was 4cm dilated and my contractions had spread out to about 4 minutes apart. But by the time we were set up in a labor and delivery room, my contractions were back to about 90 seconds apart. Mom came to be part of our support team, along with my friends Megan and Ann. Matt never left my side (besides a quick trip to the car to get some stuff). He helped me through my contractions and did a fantastic job!!

(a chipper moment during active labor)

I'm not sure what time it was when I asked to go to the bathroom, but once I got back to my bed I just stayed standing....it felt a little better. We labored like that for quite a while, until the nurse asked me to lay in bed so she could check and she if we were dilated any more. By the time I maneuvered myself into bed, the doctor showed up and checked me. I was now at 8cm, and they started setting up the room. It was about 9pm now.

The doctor broke my water and said it was time to start pushing. Matt and the ladies said that pushing only lasted 5 minutes, maybe 6 pushes, and there he was! :)

Yes, he did do a lot of screaming right off the bat, but daddy always knows how to calm his boys down.

So much for having a "peanut" this time around!

Jake had such a strong desire to suck. He took to nursing immediately, and ate for probably 45 minutes. After that, he was sucking on a pacifier and shoved his thumb in the end to make sure it didn't go anywhere. So smart already! :)

Chillin' at the hospital

We tried to do a little photo shoot in his going home outfit, but he wouldn't have it!

Our first stop on the way home was Mom and Dad's to get the boys. We were so anxious for them to meet their new brother. And from the look on their faces when we walked in, they were just as excited.

Our first night at home - the boys just couldn't get enough of their new brother!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2009-11-26T19:15:00.001-08:00

There is so much to be thankful for this year!!

My little family

My big family

My wonderful boys

Pecan pie....

AND COOL WHIP! :)

10 months pregnant!?!

2009-11-26T18:11:00.000-08:00

I didn't think it would happen...seriously! I can't believe that my due date has arrived and that we don't have a baby in our arms already. This pregnancy has been quite a long journey. I spent the majority of it in a MAJOR nesting stage. My work room needed to be turned into a nursery, and I started that transition back in January before we even got pregnant. My options were to either box everything up and just store it away, or try and finish as many of the sewing/quilting projects as I could get to and have things ready to sell. I chose option #2. While it was a TON of work (and my back paid dearly for it), I'm so glad I did it all. I have 7 or 8 space bags full of baby blankets and other products for my website, all ready to go. It definitely feels organized, as opposed to just put away.

Here's a picture of the BEFORE...well, technically, it's the DURING. We're talking 70 baby blankets, 45 mini blankets, 20 shopping cart covers, several memory quilts.....not to mention all the fun stuff I wanted to make special for Jake. There was fabric shoved in every cabinet, drawer and rubbermaid storage box.

And here's the AFTER. We bought the pirate bedding, but I made a bunch of fun stuff for Jake too, including blankets, a shopping cart cover, boppy covers, a keepsake quilt, and nursing covers.

I even painted letters to match his bedding. :)

At 30 weeks pregnant, we went and had a 4d ultrasound. We've had one with all 3 boys now, and they really are neat. We thought he looked alot like Eric's ultrasound pictures, but Jake had a ton of hair already. You can see shadows of hair in the last picture.

At 35 weeks pregnant, a friend of mine took maternity shots for me. Didn't she do great!? Here are some of my favorites.

Then just a few weeks ago, the wonderful ladies at my MOPS table threw a double baby shower for my friend, Christina, and I. It was a small, but very special, celebration with very special women!

Christina and I, due 2 days apart from each other.

We don't do "serious" well.

One of my favorite gifts: matching shirts for all 3 boys. :)And, of course, a keepsake quilt from Grandma.
Last but not least, here's the last of the "belly shots", taken this morning at 40 weeks pregnant. I think my eyes say it all: I'm so DONE with this!

Nick wanted to get in on the action and asked us to take his picture too. Cutie-pie!

Eric turns 5!!

2009-11-26T08:10:00.000-08:00

Can it really be?!? I can't believe we have a 5 year old! He wanted to have a Pirate party, and it was a blast. Matt organized a treasure hunt and everything.

The mean, angry pirates

Going on a treasure hunt

Buried Treasure cupcakes (they had hidden cookie dough in each of them - YUM!)

At the end of opening up gifts, he stood up on the chair to say thanks and ended up giving everyone this odd "air hug".... it was pretty cute though. :)

On his actual birthday a few weeks later, his requests were breakfast at a "pancake store" and playing with chalk at the park. So we went to Coco's before going to the park with our mops group. After nap time, we had dinner at Chick-fil-a with all the grandparents and then went to disneyland to get his birthday fun card. We didn't realize that they closed so early that night so we didn't get to go in the park, but we were still able to get his card. We offered him a trip to build a bear instead, and he was more than happy with the trade! He chose an orange raptor and named him Chewy. :)

Even though it was already really late, we all stayed up to watch a movie of Eric's choice, Madagascar, and eat popcorn. It was a great day!

Halloween Fun

2009-11-26T07:52:00.000-08:00

Better late than never right.....my computer ran out of "space", so we had to get it beefed up before I could upload any pictures to it. So here we go.

We left off at Halloween time. Eric was Woody (from Toy Story), and Nick was Spiderman (without the mask most of the time). They had a party at their school where they got to "trick-or-treat" around the playground.

Nick's class

Eric's class

Halloween Night - getting ready to go trick-or-treating

Trick-or-treating at Grandma and Papa's (aka the paparazzi) :)

Our "small group" kiddos.

Here's a fun comparison picture. The first picture is from THIS year. The 2nd picture is from LAST year. Katelyn (the pumpkin) wasn't with us this year, and Anneliese (the duck) joined the clan since last year.

looks like we kinda stick with a theme, huh?

scissors

2009-11-05T14:34:00.000-08:00

I wanted to write this down while I had it fresh in my mind.....

On our way home from school, we were discussing the new Chick-Fil-A calendar that I got today. I told Eric that he could put it up in his wall once I cut the coupons off (there are coupons on the bottom of each page). Nick kindly offered to do the cutting for me, which I politely declined and said I could do it myself. His response:

"But mommy, I can cut so well. I won't even cut off my fingers."

And yes, he actually said "well" and not "good".

Whale Watching

2009-10-21T14:50:00.000-07:00

While there were no whales spotted on our trip, we saw a lot of dolphins, which was just as exciting for the kids. But Eric kept asking, "Well...what time are the whales coming?" He didn't quite get it. Nick actually spent most of the time inside the boat's cabin. I'm not sure why, but he really didn't want to come out to watch all the action. He could still see most of it though. We were able to convince him to come out near the end.

We found what they were calling a nursery. You can see the babies swimming next to their mommies. So cute!

Another mommy and her baby

Eric and a buddy, Nolen, loved watching the dolphins.

One of Nick's few moments outside...

There was one more pod of dolphins right as we were heading back into the bay.

Magic Mountain

2009-10-21T14:40:00.000-07:00

Matt's work had a summer picnic this year at Magic Mountain. While it was HOT, and I was super uncomfortable the whole day, the boys all had a great time.

As soon as we went through the gate, the boys had their maps out and were figuring out where to go first.

Nick wasn't so sure about this twirling bus......

Playing games during the picnic time.

Roller coasters with daddy.

Pretty sure the boys yelled "choo-choo" during this entire ride.

1st day of School

2009-10-21T14:32:00.000-07:00

Both boys are in preschool this year. Eric goes to a pre-k program 3 days a week, and Nick just goes on Thursdays. They are both doing well and really love it.

Eric's first day and the crafts that he made.The next day was Nick's first day of school.

Nick with his buddy Bryce playing with playdoh in class.

Water Fun

2009-10-21T12:32:00.000-07:00

Nick got a spiderman water sprinkler for his birthday from Aunt Carrie and Uncle Brian. The boys had a blast running around in the greenbelt behind our home.

Beach Days

2009-10-21T12:28:00.001-07:00

We spent a lot of time at the beach again this summer. Our favorite spot is still Balboa Bay. :)

Nick turns 3

2009-10-21T12:03:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it! 3 years already....but it seems like forever at the same time. He is still just as stubborn and strong-willed as ever, but he also keeps us laughing. We decided to have a super small birthday party this year at Chuck E Cheese and everyone had a great time.

On his actual birthday, we had pool day at our house with all his friends.

That night, daddy took him to disneyland to get his first annual pass. :)

Updates

2009-10-21T12:00:00.000-07:00

Well...I'm not so good at blogging, and I admit that. I wish I could go all the way back and do all the fun updates that I want to, but I can't. For those that stick around and still read - Thanks! 10 point to you for your perseverance! :) Let's see what I can do as far as updates go.

A little too honest

2009-10-12T08:05:00.000-07:00

Our normal morning routine is that the boys get dressed while I am in the shower. Then we are all ready to go downstairs for breakfast together. I know that there is always a fair amount of playing and/or fighting while I'm in there. Many times I am shampooing my hair while helping them resolve a conflict or putting one (or both) on timeout. Today, when I turned the shower off, they were so loud, but it was all playing and belly laughing. No one was screaming or crying in pain. I fought the urge to tell them to "BE QUIET!", counted to 10 in my head, and then calmly called for them to come to me so I could remind them that they should be getting dressed. Here's how the conversation went:

Me- "Eric and Nick, please come here."
Eric- "(Groan....) How many spankin's do we get?"
Me- "What?! Why do you need a spankin'?" (I thought the usual: baby powder, crayons, or glue everywhere)
Eric- "We were being rude."
Nick- "Ya, we being rude."
Me- "What are you talking about? You guys sounded like you're having a good time and playing together. It was loud, but I don't see anyone hurt or crying."

(All said in a very matter-of-fact way)
Eric- "Well, we were rough-housing."
Nick- "And wrestling. And Eric chased me."
Eric- "Ya - I chased him and tackled him and we wrestled."
Nick- "We played on my bed."
Eric- "And I pretended to be a fire-engine that said 'What the heck'. I called Nick a little boy."
(And on and on it went)

Me- "Ok, well, it sounded like you guys were just playing. Now go get dressed."

Geez...sometimes I don't need EVERY detail, but I love the honesty!

New Names

2009-06-01T13:45:00.000-07:00

Today, we were running errands, and out of the blue, Eric says,

"Mommy, you can start calling me Tooters from now on."
Me - "Huh?"
Eric - "My name is now Tooters"
Me - "Why?"
Eric - "Because I toot ALL the time."
Me - "Oh...ok."

Nick wanted to jump into the conversation, of course.

Nick - "My name Cookie Monster."
Me - "Why do you want to be called Cookie Monster?"
Nick - "Because I like cookies a lot!"
Eric - "Then we should also call him Blueberry Monster, because he ate a lot of blueberries at Grandma's house."

I love my boys. :)

TGIF!

2009-05-22T19:40:00.000-07:00

A lot of the blogs that I follow have fun little posts on certain days of the week, like "Not Me Mondays", or "Tuesdays with Dorie",, or "His Will Wednesdays", or "Thankful Thursdays". I've decided to start my own, called TGIF!, and it's a list of things that I can honestly say "THANK GOD" I made it through. Here's this week's list...keep in mind, this is just THIS WEEK!

THANK GOD Elmer's Glue is water soluble! Eric and Nick have a tendency to wake up really really early, and sometimes reek havoc in the house if I don't hear them get up. I caught them in my craft room pouring an entire bottle of glue out onto the carpet and rubbing it in.

THANK GOD baby powder "pats" right off AND smells good! Yet another early morning fiasco (and I'm talking 5:30am folks). The boys figured out how cool it is to "puff" the baby powder bottle ALL OVER their room. While most of it "pat" off, Nick did try and clean up some of the mess before I got to him with baby wipes which just caked it unto Eric's sheets.

THANK GOD Nick decided to open up his car door while at a red light and NOT on a freeway! Yes...I know....save the comments. Normally, the child lock is ALWAYS on, but I drove a bunch of women in my car last week, and after locking one of them in the car at dinner (sorry Marci!), I turned it off for the night. I did forget to turn it back on though.....until yesterday.

THANK GOD baby wipes takes crayon out of the carpet. Eric decided to channel his inner Picasso last night and drew a huge blue circle on our carpet. I do have LOTS of crayon-removal experience (http://steinyfamily.blogspot.com/2008/11/nick.html ) so I wasn't freaking out quite like Matt was. Baby wipes ROCK!! :)

THANK GOD that a friend's mom was a seamstress! The place that we ordered our bridesmaid dresses from have NO IDEA how to order a maternity dress. It came GIGANTIC, and very unattractive. But, with the help of this dear lady, it actually looks like it will be pretty.

HAVE A GOOD WEEKEND! :)

In Honor of Mother's Day....

2009-05-10T20:12:00.000-07:00

I thought it was time to announce the next addition to our family on the blog. On St. Patrick's Day (right after dancing at the 24 hour Cancer Dance-a-thon), we found out that we are expecting our 3rd little kiddo. Here's how I broke the news to Matt.

As the note says, we are due on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 26th.

Because I've had a couple miscarriages, my doctor has been monitoring me closely, which means I got an ultrasound at an early stage (6 weeks 5 days pg).

Here's the first peek at our teeny tiny baby!

I was warned, but didn't believe it. Apparently, with each pregnancy, you "POP" a little earlier. At 5 weeks I woke up and knew something was different. This picture was taken at 8 weeks.......eek! Let's just hope it mellows out a bit. :)

We'll keep you posted.

Easter

2009-05-03T16:51:00.000-07:00

Dying Easter Eggs

2009-05-03T16:42:00.000-07:00

Snow Day

2009-04-07T19:52:00.000-07:00

Our little german boy

2009-04-07T19:44:00.000-07:00

When Matt, Eric and I traveled to Europe 3 and a half years ago, we bought traditional leder hosen for Eric. It now fits Nick, so he modeled it for us.

Christmas

2009-04-07T19:34:00.001-07:00

Christmas morning at home

Grandma and Papa's House

Grandma made all the kids pajamas.

Eric showing off his Christmas Bingo loot (high-dollar items)

Cookies!!

Back home to open more presents

I'll try....

2009-04-07T19:31:00.000-07:00

I have slacked, again, on my posting. I will try my hardest to catch us up to date.

An Interview with my 4 year old, Eric

2009-03-06T07:44:00.000-08:00

1. What is something mom always says to you?
Watch your tone

2. What makes mom happy?
When we're being quiet

3. What makes mom sad?
When I go potty in my bed

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
(makes a crazy noise) and tickle me

5. What was your mom like as a child?
a baby

6. How old is your mom?
5 (great....at least I'm older than he is)

7. How tall is your mom?
(stands on the couch and raises his hand up high)

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
laundry (he is SO wrong!)

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
stay home

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
Being a rock star. ( hehe )

11. What is your mom really good at?
Making cartoons come on the tv

12. What is your mom not very good at?
Playing Rampage on the Wii

13. What does your mom do for her job?
Watch nick and me

14. What's your mom's favorite food?
Chick fil a

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
When you do laundry (can you tell it’s laundry day at my house)

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Mickey Mouse

17. What do you and your mom do together?
Go to Awanas

18. How are you and your mom the same?
We’re taller (?)

19. How are you and your mom different?
I am little and you are big

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
You love me “Big Much”, and you tell me that all the time.

21. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
Chick Fil A (he’s ratting me out)

22. If you could change one thing about your Mom, what would it be?

You would be little and I would be big

Australia Slideshow

2009-02-14T22:26:00.000-08:00

Shower Boy

2009-01-13T20:57:00.000-08:00

Daddy was putting Nick's diaper on after his shower and Nick said,

"I Shower Boy"

daddy said, "You're Shower Boy, huh? Is Shower Boy a super hero?"

Nick - "ya"

daddy - "What kind of powers does Shower Boy have?"

Nick - "Shower Boy has super power that he puts SHOWER POWER on me."

daddy - "He puts shower power on you??

Nick - "Ya - he puts shower power on me"

Eric chimes in "I have super powers too....that I can get up."

Well...okay, then. :)

Eric's Christmas Program

2009-01-09T22:12:00.000-08:00

Eric practiced his song for weeks before hand....so much so, that Nick actually knew it all too. And he was always quite animated. But when it came time for him to get up in front of a couple hundred parents and grandparents (ALL taking pictures and videos...some parents doing both!), he FROZE!! Well....he picked his nose AND froze! Near the end, he does decide to join in on some of the sign language, but kept his hands down really low to do it.

After I picked him up, we went back into the church sanctuary and took some normal pictures. :)

STUD MUFFIN!

Silly Dog!

2009-01-06T20:34:00.001-08:00

My computer was having trouble with all the december pictures that I needed to upload, but that's taken care of now. I'll be going through all our Christmas photos and posting those soon. In the meantime, this is what's going on in our house tonight. :)

We noticed over the last couple days that Harley's mouth looked really bad. We figured that it must be from her new, hard, plastic toy that she has eaten to pieces...well, it's cut her lips up really bad! So matt took her to the vet. $300 later - Harley had a bad infection in her mouth from all the cuts. She came home looking like a stumbling drunk because they had to sedate her. Matt felt (and still feels) bad for her.....I'm busting at the seems. She got stuck on the corner of the coffee table - oh my gosh - I about died. She was too tipsy to even figure out how to back up so that she wasn't stuck anymore. And we keep hearing her run into things, like chairs and corners of cabinets. I know she'll be fine, we've got the meds to help her, that's why this is so comical for me. Matt is sad enough for the both of us. :)

Fly on the wall

2008-12-23T14:00:00.001-08:00

So I finally started wrapping my Christmas presents...the day before Christmas eve. I was sitting on my bed and the boys were playing on the floor, and playing very nicely I might add. I'm sure they started to forget that I was even close by. After a while, I started listening in to the "game". They were re-enacting their birthday parties. :) When they got to the cake part at Eric's train party, Eric was trying to convince Nick to "be the cake". Nick sort of got it, and he certainly wanted to do it for Eric, but just wasn't sure how. "Just BE THE CAKE, Nick!" said a frustrated Eric. Finally, a compromise was made. "I be the candle", said a proud Nick. So he stood there, tall and still, while Eric sang happy birthday....to himself....and then blew out the candle, which had Nick crumble to the ground in response. Eric then shouted, "TIME TO EAT THE CAKE!" and starting attacking his little brother.

good times! :)

Thanksgiving

2008-12-08T21:21:00.000-08:00

We have SO MUCH to be thankful for!!

Towel boys

2008-12-08T20:51:00.000-08:00

The boys were goofing off one night after their bath and they were just so cute, I had to take pictures.

Eric's 4th Birthday Party

2008-12-08T20:37:00.000-08:00

Eric birthday was lovely-in theory, but it was the same day as the terrible fires in Orange County. A dark cloud fell over the party...literally. The skies went from a beautiful blue to and orange/brown, the smell of smoke of awful, and ash was falling on everyone. Fortunately, the kids didn't seemed to fazed, but the party did end sort of abrubtly when everyone had to leave to go check on their homes. Eric seemed to have a great time, though, so that's really all that matters, right? Eric is a BIG fan of the Happy Birthday Song

The picture on top was taken as the beginning of the party, when the fire could be seen off in the distance.

The picture on the bottom was taken as one of friends left our house....scary stuff!

To Tennessee We go....

2008-12-08T20:14:00.000-08:00

Anytime I catch the boys playing pretend, they are usually taking a "trip" to Tenn. They reenact the entire thing, from the plane trip to where we have dinner (and even ordering their lemonades at dinner), to the fishing trips. I know that trip to see my brother and his family was memorable for all of us, and we can't wait to go back.

In these pictures, I was listening in on them playing the Tennessee game, and I just had to peek in. They had cleared a section of the closet out and had made that their airplane. So cute! And SO great when they play nice together!!

The Steinys go Country

2008-12-08T20:07:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Eric's Birthday

2008-12-08T19:52:00.000-08:00

Eric turned a whopping 4 years old this year!! We all had a great time celebrating his birthday. First, we went to Disneyland with our playgroup. Not only did they give him a birthday button, our friend Amy bought him birthday ears, AND Mickey Mouse himself called to wish him a happy birthday in City Hall. Eric was so excited. Because of the hat and button, people were wishing him a happy birthday all day. He felt special. For dinner, we went to In N Out. Eric insisted on wearing his hat and pin, and the manager noticed it. So after we got our food and sat down, he came over and had Eric stand up on the table. He then told the whole restaurant to sing Happy Birthday to him. Eric's face just lit up, and Matt and I were beaming for him. The manager also gave Eric a milkshake. Talk about a good birthday dinner.

After dinner, we went and saw Madagascar 2 at the movie theater, which was fun for all of us. Nick was a little hard to contain, but the popcorn helped tremendously. :)

Opening up presents....with Nick's help.

Elf Yourself

2008-12-08T19:34:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Halloween

2008-12-08T19:33:00.000-08:00

lots of catching up to do

2008-12-08T19:25:00.003-08:00

I'm trying....I'll get to it all soon! I'm "elfing" my family first. :)

Nick......

2008-11-14T13:55:00.000-08:00

Only one silver lining in the madness - Baby Wipes. Why does he do this on days when I am completely overwhelmed???

Nathan

2008-10-13T20:51:00.001-07:00

Pray for my little (but bigger than me) brother, Nathan. He leaves for Iraq in the morning.

35 things

2008-09-30T08:39:00.000-07:00

I saw this on a friend's blog and it looked fun.

35 Odd Things About Me
1. Do you like blue cheese salad dressing? not especially - it weirds me out. But it's my hubby's favorite.
2. Do you own a gun? No - I don't even think we have any toy ones.
3. What's your favorite drink at Starbucks? If I want froofy - Vanilla Bean Frappachino with a shot of chocolate. If I want simple (and cheap) - Black iced tea with 6 pumps of classic or earl grey hot tea.
4. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? HOT TEA!! Maybe chocolate milk if I'm feeling crazy
5. Do you do pushups? I don't want to get addicted..... :)
6. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? My wedding ring. It's the only piece of jewerly I wear really.
7. Favorite hobby? Swing dancing is my constant favorite hobby, although I don't get to do it much. But currently, it's scrapbooking. It comes and goes in phases between scrapbooking and quilting.
8. Do you have A.D.D? Depends on how much sleep I've gotten that night.
9. What's one trait that you hate about yourself? I get really down on myself and convince myself that I'm failing at things.
10. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment: I REALLY should be getting ready to go to the playdate soon. Why are the boys so loud, and play so much, while they eat their breakfast? I hope Micheal's has what I want when I go there this morning.
11. Name 4 drinks you regularly drink. Hot Tea, Iced Tea, Coke, water
12. Current worry right now? All this darn financial crisis talk. I want to remain calm and confident in OUR situation, but everyone makes it sound like the end of the world. Even an older women in front of me at the grocery store yesterday was freaking out (literally) and told everyone around her to RUN to the bank and withdrawl all your money.....it's just creepy!
13. Current hate right now? I hate that my kids are kinda sick...doesn't slow them down, but they have a yucky cough.
14. Favorite place to be? Disneyland. Walking through the gate, every time, I feel like it's the happiest place on earth!
15. Do you like to travel? We LOVE to travel, and I'm so glad that matt loves it like I do.
16. What color shirt are you wearing? A funky bright green tank top....I'm still in my pj's.
17. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? Eeek, no! Love the jersey knit cotton.
18. Can you whistle? Not very well
19. Favorite color? Purple
20. If you could would you be a pirate? No. I don't do well in situations where I could get in trouble, and pirates are constantly doing things that could get them in trouble.
21. What song do you sing in the shower? Usually a song from the Wicked soundtrack.
22. Favorite girl's name? I go back and forth between Kate and Molly......I'll probably never get to use them though. I only make boys. : )
23. Favorite boy's name? Love my Eric and Nick, but I also love Dane and Graham!
24. What's in your pocket right now? Flannel pajama pants don't have pockets.
25. Favorite bedsheets as a child? I have no idea!
26. Worst injury? I went to open up a window at my old church, and it shattered instead. Sliced open 2 fingers (middle and ring finger) , cutting the nerve in the ring finger so now I can't feel half of it. And then it sliced off the entire pad on the pinkie finger. A friend had to go "retreive" the pad, put it on ice and take it with us to the ER. Fortunately, it reattached itself after several week of my hand being in a cast.
27. Do you love where you live? I like placentia, and I LOVE being close to family. Southern California....I'm 50/50 about.
28. How many TVs do you have in your house? 2 in the house, and one big one in the "man cave" (aka the garage)
29. Who is your loudest friend? ya right.....
30. How many pets do you have? One dog, Harley
31. Does someone have a crush on you? Just my hubby
32. What is your Favorite Book? Any by Jannette Oak
33. What's your favorite candy? Right now, it's soft peanut brittle
34. Favorite Sports Team? Does the Treanor/Walsh beach volleyball team count? If not, I don't have one specific....just as long as it's a football team. I use to like the 49ers, but only because I had a crazy crush on Joe Montana.
35. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? WHY oh WHY do the boys wake up so freakin' early?!?!

7 years!!

2008-09-14T21:59:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's been 7 years. The time has flown, the number sounds big, but I also feel like I can't remember life before we were married. I feel like a different person too. We talked this weekend about the best times over the years and about the hardest. We've seem to have a lot of hard times that should have really rocked us. Man, have we come through some doozies. But recalling the good times was so great. We both have a lot on that list. We have 2 amazing children, we've been a lot of neat places, and we gone through a lot together. I've changed and grown tremendously. I am so blessed that Matt has stuck by me, and we are blessed to still be happy! I find that to be a huge deal these days. I am so thankful that God has sustained our marriage.

Cambria

2008-09-14T20:32:00.000-07:00

Matt and I went away for the weekend to celebrate our anniversary. We drove up the coast to Cambria. It was so nice. The weather was nice and cold. The place we stayed at was so quaint. It was a perfectly, relaxing weekend!

Our bed and breakfast was right on the beach.

We had a nice relaxing morning, with breakfast in bed provided by the inn. After we got ready, we went to see a local attraction. We got lucky, and a tour was about to start. Nitt Witt Ridge is a house made out of junk! It was fascinating!
A man named Art Beal really did live here for a very long time. He was the local trash collector. But instead of taking stuff to the dump, he just dumped it at his house and built what he called "the poor man's Heart Castle."

His workshops were still full of supplies from when Art Beal lived there 20 years ago.
Art used toilet seat covers as picture frames. The guy in the picture was our tour guide/pirate. hehe
The kitchen was still stocked with full jars.....it was gross!
His and Hers bathroom, right next to the outdoor BBQ. How convenient.
Wallpaper made out of magazines.
Fancy window dressings made out of can tops.
The closet still had Art's cloth in it.
1958 Calendar

This is how he built the garden walls: beer cans and concrete.
A water fountain...in case you get thirsty.
Another workshop, complete with his hat still hanging.
A water fountain made out of a bathtub and sinks.

After Nitt Witt Ridge, we had lunch in town, then headed back to our place. On the way down the road, we saw dolphins in the ocean, so we stopped and took pictures, and then walked on the beach for a while.

Matt went crab hunting.

This was taken from the bench right outside our room. Not a bad view, huh?!

After dinner, we took the evening tour at Hearst Castle, which is just up PCH from Cambria. Unfortunately, they don't let you use a flash for pictures, so they are pretty blurry. But the place is too amazing, so I had to share some pictures anyways. This was quite a contrast from our morning tour at Nitt Witt. :)

All the elevators in the Castle are Otis, which is the company that Matt works for. You can kinda make out the name in between the black buttons.
On the evening tour, they have volunteers that dress is period clothing (the 1930's). It was both weird and neat to see people walking the grounds, singing at the piano, playing poker, typing on typewriters or talking on phones in the guest rooms. Made the whole place come alive.

First day of preschool

2008-09-14T20:19:00.000-07:00

**sniff sniff** where has the time gone?? I know he's still little, but it seemed so weird to be taking him to "school". Fortunately, Nemo had a "first day of school", so Eric thought the whole concept was really cool. He seemed very hesitant when he first entered the room, and a little overwhelmed. I stood by the window and just watched. After a couple minutes of watching him just stand by the table with a clipboard and pencil in his hand, I finally crept over to the window, whispered his name and motioned for him to sit down and write his name (that's something they are supposed to do as soon as they get to school). But because I didn't want to be "that mother", I left after that. When I picked him up, the teacher said he was an angel, listened to instructions and followed directions, and helped out so much....which we witnessed. As Matt and I stood there and talked to the teacher, Eric was determined to help the teachers aid put away all the puzzles, even though we'd said hi and told him to come. He kept shouting, "I'm helping put away puzzles, hold on." He really enjoyed it!! Nick and I had a lovely morning just him and I. We went and had breakfast, ransacked a book store, and cleaned out our cars with daddy. :)

STUBBORN

2008-09-14T16:43:00.000-07:00

The boys are pretty different in most areas. However, when it comes to eating, they can both be equally stubborn! We have a simple rule: ONE BITE & SWALLOW IT!! It can be a major battle of the wills. Eric wouldn't even take the bite, and Nick will hold that one bite in his mouth for an hour...literally. This is the result.......

(nick still has the ONE piece of chicken in his mouth in these pictures)

Who knew.....

2008-09-14T16:39:00.000-07:00

I don't know how, but Eric figured out how to write his name. He brought his magna-doodle to me one night and this is what he had drawn.....

....it took a couple seconds, but I can see the E-R-I-C. So smart!

LA ZOO

2008-09-14T16:15:00.000-07:00

Matt and I both grew up reading books by an author named Gary Richmond. He use to work at the LA Zoo, and incorporates his experiances there into his books.

Our tour guide, Gary Richmond

Eric figured out how to read a map. He kept us on track.

The highlight for Eric and Nick was the very last exhibit: the seal lion. This one sea lion kept swimming circles right by the glass, and it would aim for the kids that were enthralled with the game.

Of course, we couldn't pass up an opportunity for a photo shoot.

Nick's 2nd Birthday Party

2008-09-14T16:05:00.001-07:00

Nick had such a great birthday party. We spent the day at our community pool, eating and swimming. So many great friends came out to celebrate with us and Nick enjoyed it all!

A face full of birthday cake! :)

Eric rrrrreally wanted to "help" Nick open his presents.

Nick's favorite gift was a toy stroller. He also got a handmade teddy bear from Grandma, which was quickly strapped into the stroller. That poor teddy bear (we named him Homer) was driven around the pool (with great speed I might add) for a while. A little odd.....

geez....

2008-09-14T15:57:00.000-07:00

I just realized that I haven't posted pictures from Nick's birthday a MONTH AGO!! I am so behind. prepare yourselves for a bunch of pictures!

Just too cute!!

2008-08-14T21:50:00.000-07:00

enough said!

Whale Watching

2008-08-14T20:33:00.000-07:00

If you read the post below, we had a nutzo weekend a little while back. On Monday of that weekend, we went whale watching. It was a blast! We found one blue whale pretty quickly and were able to follow it around for a long time. In the 5-8 minutes that the whale would go under water, we were able to play with a couple hundred dolphins that liked playing with our boat. The boys really enjoyed it!!

A crazy weekend

2008-08-14T20:26:00.000-07:00

Before I get to pictures of Nick's 2nd birthday, I need to catch up on some other neat things that we've had going on. We had a CRAZY weekend a few weeks ago. On saturday, we had a family picnic, then we went to the circus, and then to disneyland for a tribute to dancers that have passed away. Long day....but a great day!!

A "Wicked" good time!

2008-07-11T15:48:00.001-07:00

So I'm addicted.....I LOVE the Musical Wicked. I have seen it 3 times in the last month. In my defense - the first time was for my birthday. Matt and I went with our good friend's, Dave and Marci. And then it just happened that 2 great deals fell into my lap soon after. I couldn't pass it up! All 3 times were SO MUCH FUN!!

4th of July

2008-07-11T15:44:00.001-07:00

looks like Nick is on fire, huh?

Balboa Bay Beach Day

2008-07-11T15:39:00.001-07:00

Eric's new bike

2008-07-11T15:31:00.001-07:00

Eric is big enough for a big bike (with training wheels, of course). He really enjoys it!

Cherry Picking

2008-07-11T15:07:00.000-07:00

We love our annual Cherry Picking trip to Beaumont!

Nick is ready to go.

The trees were full!

Eric with his loot.

Nick soon realized that the bucket hanging on his neck with all those cherries in it was just like a roaming snack bowl.
He LOVED the cherries.....pits and all! :)

Beware - LOTS of Vacation Pictures!

2008-06-11T22:24:00.000-07:00

We had an unbelievable time in Tennessee visiting my family. It had been a year and a half since we'd seen each other, and catching up was a blast. We just relaxed and enjoyed each other's company. No big plans or event - just good ol' family fun!!

Our one "touristy" thing was going to Opryland. We first went by the Grand Ol' Opry, walked around the beautiful Opryland Hotel, and ate at the Aquarium restaurant inside the Opry Mills (outlet mall).

(inside the Opryland Hotel)

(slumber party style)

(grasshopper hunting)

We did this A LOT - Walmart Shopping! We were getting ready to go fishing the next morning.

But before fishing, we stopped at a fantastic pancake house. SO YUMMY!! At the lake

The first fish of the day! :)

And they kept biting......

....and biting.....

.....and biting.....

After fishing, we stopped by the Bass Pro Shop. For me, it was just another photo opportunity.

Brenda took me to have lunch at a tea house one day. Then we walked around downtown Franklin and bought fabric in a cute quilt store.

They even have a bowling alley just for kids. The boys loved it!

Of course.....back to fishing! This time, we went to a local fishing hole.

The fish were little, but it didn't matter.

I caught the only fish that weight over an ounce in the entire "hole". Who knew??

Movie & Cookies!

Just before getting ready to leave, we took the 4 cousins to a Civil War site and took portraits. The whole red, white & blue "thing" was a coincidence. Promise!

Then off to our last meal before leaving....so sad!

love my big brother!!

26

2008-05-27T13:20:00.000-07:00

Here's some pictures and a video from my 26th birthday celebrations.

My 3 boys!

Birthday brandy cake. YUM!!

This is always the highlight of my birthday season: The birthday dance! :) (sorry it's dark)

The girls came out to play.

Even Matt came dancing with me! :)

Medieval Times

2008-05-27T13:05:00.000-07:00

Matt and Eric took me to Medieval Times for my birthday with 2 other couples. We had such a great time. It was almost more fun watching Eric get a kick out of it all.

Matt and my friend paid for me to get "knighted". thanks guys....
My best bud, Megan
Eric's favorite part: PEPSI!!

Daisy....

2008-05-25T13:54:00.000-07:00

This is mainly for Grandma who is on vacation in Texas and probably needs a "grandkid fix" by now. Plus, I think it's stinkin' adorable!

A Pirates Life For Me

2008-05-12T15:41:00.000-07:00

The boys can break into this song at any given moment....and DO! In case you can't figure it out, it's "YoHo YoHo a Pirates Life for me." Eric sings that line and then goes on mumbling the "verse". Come on....does anyone really know those words??" And then Nick just tries to keep up by inserting a "ME!" here and there. It's pretty cute!

Bowling

2008-05-12T14:56:00.001-07:00

Matt's been working a lot of overtime lately, so he took a day off a couple weeks ago to hang with us. We took the boys bowling for the first time. The bumper lanes weren't available, but they gave us a ramp. They didn't get many pins down, but it didn't matter. They had so much fun.

This is my favorite picture.............

After using the ramps a couple of times, Eric decided that he wanted to throw the ball like we did. He actually did better that way.
In the end....Daddy Won!!

Coldstone Playdate

2008-05-12T14:06:00.000-07:00

Our playgroup went to coldstone for a tour this week. Eric loved it. He got to go in the freezer, see the back room, and make his own "creation".

The kids in the freezer.

Eric making his ice cream: Cotton Candy and Gummy Bears. :)

Eric shares his ice cream with Nick

Harley

2008-04-28T19:52:00.001-07:00

We added to our family this week..... MEET HARLEY!! Harley is 10 months old. She is an Australian Cattle Dog. We are loving her to pieces right now. She is really sweet with the boys (especially Nick - who hasn't figured out "gentle" yet). Her favorite things are sleeping on our feet and being loved on, and she HATES being left alone. She loves meeting new people so feel free to come meet her.

40 Inches!!

2008-04-08T19:56:00.000-07:00

Eric has finally reached the magic height! We went to Disneyland yesterday and got to ride the "Big Rides". Eric had so much fun....most of the time. First, he rode splash moutain and got soaked. Next was his favorite, Thunder Mountain. While the beginning and end were fun, he shouted, "GET ME OFF THIS!", during the middle of the ride. Lastly, we rode Matterhorn. When the ride started to get serious, he shouted, "I DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO THIS!!!!" While it sounded like he was scared, he told us all that he wanted to go on them again when it was done, so it must not have been that bad. It was a really fun day at Disneyland! :)

(slightly worried, but still having fun)

(throwing in a pic of Nick and mommy)

Mr. Manners

2008-03-27T18:48:00.001-07:00

A couple nights ago at dinner, Matt asked, "Honey, can you pass the tea, please?"

Eric looked at daddy with a proud face and said, "Aw, daddy, good job asking mommy!"

At least some things sink in. :)

Animal Hospital

2008-03-25T21:35:00.000-07:00

Some days, at nap time, I tell Eric just to head on up to bed and I'll be up in a few minutes to tuck him in. Of course, I can get side tracked....but sweet little Eric just sits there in bed waiting for me. The other day, I forgot to go tuck him in, and it had been a while. All of a sudden, I hear a noise and I start to go up the stairs. Eric meets me in the hallway and starts telling me in a worried voice, "The animals are sick, the animals are sick!" He sleeps with 6 stuffed animals. :) As per Eric's suggestion, we put all 6 animals on the changing table and covered them up with the blanket. After nap time, Eric said they all felt better! :)

This week's holiday - Easter

2008-03-25T21:05:00.000-07:00

Last Week's Holiday - St. Patty's Day

2008-03-25T20:45:00.000-07:00

I love my new camera...... :)

Full of Funnies

2008-03-20T13:49:00.000-07:00

Eric has been cracking us up lately. Not only did I want to share the stories, I also need to have them in print before we forget them.

Boys vs. Girls
A friend of mine had a baby last week. I called and left a message that went something like this, "I hope you're feeling well, I hope Logan is feeling better, call me later."
Eric asked, "Who was that?"
Me: "That was Amy. I was leaving a message."
Eric: "Who's Logan?"
Me: "Oh Eric, Amy just had a baby. His name is Logan, Ethan is now a big brother. Now we'll have another friend to play with."
He then let out this annoying breath and said, "I don't like boys."
Me: "What do you mean "you don't like boys"? You have lots of friends that are boys. Do you like girls?"
Again...another deep sigh, "No"
Me: "Well then, what do you like?"
"I just like FOOD."

Mustache
Nick is now refusing to eat anything we give him for dinner. When we all sit down for dinner and I put his plate on the highchair tray, he looks at the plate and wrinkles up his face as if he saying, "Oh man...not this again....I want Chick-Fil-A....why are they feeding me...I'm so not going to wat it" It always amuses Matt and I, and Matt mimicked him the other night as we were both chuckling over his face. I commented on how alike Matt and Nick look, except for that "mustache-thing" on his lip. This is when Eric chimed in:

Eric: "What's a mustache?"
Me: "It's when a guy grows hair on his lips."
Eric: "Oh......I don't want a mustache!"

The 'new' resurrection story
Eric made a cross necklace this week in Mops. When we ask him what it is about, he answers "God". That night, he elaborated a bit on the story (with some persuassion from us). We told him that Jesus died on the cross. Eric replied, "he didn't die." We kept telling him that he did, but that it was so neat that in 3 days he wasn't dead anymore. For some reason, something appeared to click in his mind. He started telling us about this ONE GUY (he tends to do that in stories....zero in on "one guy"). This "guy" stomped around (apparently), talked to alot of people.......Eric went on for a minute or so. Matt and I were really thinking that he remembered some part of the story they had told him in class. That's when the story took an unexpected turn: All of a sudden, "this "one guy" took another boy to the potty and then to nap time." The end.....
We have no idea what the heck it meant. It could've been something that just happened in class...who knows. :)

The GAS discovery
Nick was squatting while he played the other day and let "one" slide (passed gas). Like always, Nick stood up, swung his arms from side to side, and makes a blowing noise like it stinks or something. So the mom response is, "Nick, are you poopie?" Sweet Eric chimes in, "Don't worry, I'll check mommy." So he goes and sniffs..... Eric looks up at Nick and says, "it's ok Nick, it's just gas!" Then....

Last friday, we went out to eat at a restaurant. Near the end of the meal, Eric was in a comical mood. He wasn't loud or acting up, but very playful. He gets on his knees and turns towards me, probably getting ready to tell me something, and he let "one" slide. I jump right on it and say, "Eric, do you need to go poopoo?" And in a very confident, loud voice, he says, "No Mommy, it's just gas!" Matt and I IMMEDIATELY start telling him to whisper and not to talk like that in restaurants, but we were cracking up! That only motivated him to keep going. He was now loudly whispering, "GAS MOMMA...It's just GAS.....I have GAS....it's GAS momma....." right in my face. We were dying....

Snow day

2008-03-15T19:47:00.000-07:00

We've been trying for a while to go play in the snow with some friends. But in Southern California, it can be a tricky thing to do. We had a good cold spell for a while, but then it's been really hot this past week.....of course, today was the day we were going. But we went anyways. The morning was perfect weather: chilly, but bright and not raining. There was enough snow to sled on, and the boys LOVED it!

Eric and his best buddies.

We knew it was time to pack up when Nick took a face plant and there was blood, not alot, but still....happens all the time. :)

After sledding, we went to the local ski resort to eat lunch. It was lightly snowing when we sat down. Seemed appropriate, and very festive. It was the first snowfall for all three of my boys. :)

Soon....the snow picked up........
After a few minutes, we threw the food back into the cooler and headed to the car. It was really coming down. It was the perfect way to end the day.

Another Photo Shoot

2008-03-13T13:44:00.000-07:00

Now that the majority of the camera drama is over (see post below), we are left with a new camera that takes great pictures. Fortunately, all my boys need to see is the camera and they strike a cheesy pose. Love it!

That pained look on Nick's face is actually a smile.....that's what he does when you say, "Smile"!

Lessons Learned

2008-03-13T11:05:00.000-07:00

What good is learning from your mistakes if you can't share it with other people?? It makes me feel slightly better just to know that I might be able to help someone else through my misfortune. So here's what I've learned over the past year (especially the last month).

#1 - There really is a thing called the "Nigerian Scam"! (thanks Oprah) I sold something through ebay. I was informed by ebay that the auction was suspended, but then got emails from ebay and the buyer saying it was back on track, and even a payment email from paypal. It was all false, and I almost sent a digital camera to Nigeria without being paid a cent (in fact, the shipping was over $100). Bottom-line: Double check ALL emails from ebay and paypal that you get in your inbox. If you go to ebay or paypal, you can go into your account and there is an inbox there too. If the email is legit, it will be in your account inbox as well. Never ship until you've checked that the cash is there. Paypal said they would NEVER "hold money" until you provide a tracking number. Lessons learned........

#2 - Costco now stands very firm on their 90 day policy. We bought a digital camera and the battery just never stayed charged. But with the crazy busy holiday season, we kept putting off taking care of it. And at 110 days after the purchase, we were stuck with the stinkin' camera. So figure out right away if electronics work properly or not! Lessons learned......

And now for the past couple weeks - After all the madness with the small digital cameras, we decided to take advantage of a price cut in the big digital slr camera we've wanted. So we bought it all in pieces (as recommended by a lot of people).

First, we bought a lens on ebay, and paid for insurance.
Then, we bought the batteries and memory card.
Lastly, we bought the camera body.

The first place we bought the body from was an online scam. So....

#3 - Don't always trust the reviews from the online store, or even online "comparison sites". The scam artist that do these websites know how to create false reviews too. A trusted review site is http://www.resellerratings.com/. And remember, if it looks TOO good to be true, it probably is! Lessons learned.......

So we cancelled the credit card, ordered a new one, waited the 2 weeks for it, and then ordered the camera body again from a reputable online store. When it came, I put the lens (from ebay 4 weeks ago) on the camera and the lens was BROKEN!

#4 - Shipping insurance is so important, and it doesn't just insure that the items gets to you; it insure that the item works as well! But in order to take advantage of the insurance you purchase, you MUST keep the original shipping box. Since it had been a month, the box had been tossed and the lens was put into a camera bag with the other accessories. So keep the box! Lessons learned.......

Seems like we've learned a lot more than just 4 lessons, but that's the gist of it. Just be careful....

German Night

2008-03-01T09:27:00.000-08:00

My best friend and her husband have been coming over for Survivor Nights (the tv show). Since they lived in Germany, and we went to visit them there, we all have a big love for German food. We've been working on perfecting "schnitzel", a breaded meat dish. On Valentines day, we went a little over the top....9 pieces of pork schnitzel, 5 pounds of potatoes, a couple different gravy flavors.....all I can say is STRETCHY PANTS!! :) It was so fun....we're well on our way to opening up a restaurant.

Valentines Day Playdate

2008-02-26T13:48:00.000-08:00

Catching up

2008-02-26T12:58:00.001-08:00

I'm so behind. Here's some new pics. :)

Here's a normal playdate for us......LOTS of kids (mostly boys) and just a few moms = madness! :)

Some more playdate fun

The hidden joys of PLASTIC pages (with our great friend, Katelyn)

Nick showing us his teeth. This is how he smiles for the camera. Attractive, huh?

Nick wanted to just leave one day, so he first brought me ONE sock.....then one shoe......and then a different kind of shoe. He was happy though.

Nick is definitely living up to his middle name: Danger! He took a nose dive off a chair on the driveway (we were having a garage sale). He bit his lip, bonked his head, scrapped his cheek, lip and nose......just another day for Mr. Danger.

We've always thought that Eric looked like Calvin from Calvin and Hobbs. So I guess it's no wonder that he enjoys reading the comic book. :)

A simple photo shoot with a new camera.

Christmas Pics

2008-01-06T16:05:00.000-08:00

We had such a nice Christmas celebration! Just low-key family fun. :)

Christmas Portraits

Evening at Disneyland

Looking at Lights (with milkshakes)

Christmas Cookie Decorating

Christmas Eve

Christmas Day

Gettin' "Elffy" wit' it

2007-12-10T15:33:00.000-08:00

Matt's mom and sister turned our little family into dancing elves and sent it to me. I about died laughing....wasn't expecting to see Nick look good in an elf costume, or for the boys to look so much alike, or for Eric to really be able to cut a rug.

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1267768362

Black Friday

2007-11-23T16:04:00.000-08:00

I decided to do something today that was new for me.....

Last night, Matt was going through the after Thanksgiving sales ads. I know better than to do that. I could easily get caught up in the good deals and talk myself into doing silly things like getting up at the crack of dawn or camping out in front of stores for days. However.... I did ask Matt to keep an eye out for something I've been wanting since summer: A die cut Cricut machine. Basically - it's a scrapbooking thing. It was on my Christmas list and I had planned on buying it after Christmas regardless.

Of course, Matt finds it in the Wal-Mart ad and the Micheal's ad, both at a ridiculously low price. That was it! I was going to get it! The store opened at 5am, and I was bound and determined to get one. I had butterflies in my stomach all night, wondering if I would actually be able to get it. Would they have any available? Would I have to stand in a 4 hour line to get into the store? Would I have to fight old ladies or make children cry? I was prepared for it all, and I WANTED THAT MACHINE!!

My alarm goes off at 5am, I throw on jeans and a sweatshirt and grab my glasses. I had no idea what I looked like. Let me tell you: there are NO cars on the road at 5am. I only passed 3 cars before getting to the shopping center, where ALL the other cars in the county were. I parked super far away, and hiked to the store. At first, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I could just walk right in. SO NOT THE CASE! A disgruntled employee barked at me and told me to go around to the other side and "GET IN LINE!". Fine, fine, calm down! As I went to the other side, the line was 6 people wide and extended past the neighboring store. We were being herded in like cattle. And once we got through the doors, it was like a gun went off and the race began.

I knew exactly where I was heading, and grabbed the LOUDEST cart in Wal-mart (just my luck). I got dirty looks as my cart shook people as I power walked by. Come on....it's not like I wanted that cart. You take what you can get.

On a side not: I did get a glimpse at the payback that some parents get for having newborns that keep them up all night. The look on the poor children that were, no doubt, dragged there straight from their beds. Sleeping kids in strollers...exhausted babies in carseats.....they were not having fun!

As I rounded the corner into the craft section, there was the stack of my cricut machines! I wanted to shout, but didn't want to alarm anyone. So I grabbed one, and went about my shopping as fast as I could. The crafts are right next to the electronics department, where 75% of the people were, with carts piled high. I did get some other good deals on pj's and toys for the boys, but I was quick about it. I wasn't about to get caught in a 5 hour line to check out. To my utter amazement, it was a quick process. All the lines were open and they only had 1-2 people checking out in each.

In theory, my excursion would have only taken an hour, but I got greedy. I could have been back in bed by 6, but the ad for Micheal's was haunting me. They had the same machine for $10 more, but that one came with accessories. So I went to check it out. There were only 30 or so ladies in line, and I only had to wait 15 minutes until they opened, so I thought it would be worth it. When the doors opened, I ran to that section and couldn't find anything. There was a crowd of people looking at the accessories wall, so I asked, "So, where are they?". The lady next to me said that they only had 6 and that they had come outside earlier and sold them to the first 6 people that wanted one. So I left.....

I was still home by 6:15, and back in bed. It was such a short trip, that I drifted in and out of weird dreams. When I got home, I had taken my jeans off before jumping back in bed and that was it. So I dreamt that I was standing there at the accessories wall in Micheal's with only my t-shirt on. Fortunately, that was not the case in real life.

So I have my machine. Merry Christmas to me! I'm not sure if I'll be participating in Black Friday again. While I did get a good deal on something I really really wanted, it's just too early and the people are a little too crazy for my taste. :) :)

Christmas - Here was come!! :)