Life On Brixton Lane

Organizing The Junk Drawer

2012-01-16T15:34:00.000-08:00

Since the start of the New Year, I've been organizing like crazy! One of the project's I've had on my list is to reorganize the "junk drawer" in the kitchen. Our "junk drawer" is in the island in our kitchen, so it's easy for it to become a catch-all for anything and everything. Previously, I was using this drawer for the kid's workbooks, pencils, glue sticks and crayons. At the time, we were doing all homework and art projects at the kitchen table so it was easy to have everything close by. Now that I'm homeschooling, I have everything "school" oriented in one general place. So...time for a refreshing look.

At first glance, you'll see a stash of misc. pens, pencils, scissors, tape {actually there was no tape on the dispenser...guess the 6 year old go into it again}, a pile of unorganized coupons, the kid's workbooks, our Christmas cards that I threw in there in a desperate attempt to clean my counter the other day. The first step was to empty everything out of the drawer. I separated into 1) toss 2)keep and 3)put away. Once everything was pulled out and sorted, I grabbed my favorite cleaner.

LOVE. THIS. CLEANER. Every time I use it, I have to tell EVERYONE how good it is. "This is the BEST cleaner." "Just a few sprays, wipe it up and it's SUPER CLEAN!" Yep, I get laughed at all the time, but this cleaner is well worth it. You can get it at Target and I recommend you grab it on your next trip! There you go!!! Back to organizing...After a quick wipe down {with my favorite cleaner ;)}, I measured out some gripper to line the drawer.

I then popped my organizer's back in. All of these were also purchased at Target. Drum roll....here's a look at the drawer all cleaned out and reorganized.

In the first bin, I placed the items I use the most, a collection of pens {I color code my day planner and use these pens}, an assortment of cute pencils because a girl's got to have cute pencils :). A couple pairs of scissors, some cute notecards {to write a quick thank you} and the most important of all...some precut patterned paper ready to jot down a quick note and toss in the kid's lunchboxes.

Next bin is fairly large. It has various sized compartments and works perfectly in a larger drawer like this one. This bin has small notepads for grocery lists and quick love notes between my husband and I. You'll also see my favorite hand lotion-Neutrogena Hand Cream-the best way to soothe your hands after washing dishes and cleaning. I'm addicted to this stuff. I carry it in my purse, in the car, by my bed, in the kitchen and in the scrapbooking room. Love it!!!

I also have a small set of screwdrivers, a measuring tape and some small post it's which are perfect for marking a page in our cookbook. Looking at the before picture, you'll see that I reorganized the coupons. I put all the coupons and various ads we need for our weekly meal planning in one bin so they're easy to find. And...finally quite possibly the best part of it all...besides the lunchbox love notes is...my label maker. I love it and use it ALL.THE.TIME! Well, that's it! One last look at my newly organized junk drawer...not so junky anymore!

{Belle Means Beautiful}

2012-01-06T13:19:00.000-08:00

This is what I love about scrapbooking, preserving memories, documenting, journaling...whatever it may be. On his recent trip to Haiti, my lovely husband captured the moment he gave our sponser children their mini scrapbook I made them for Christmas.

I love how a scrapbook doesn't need to be ornate to be loved and appreciated. It was such a simple book. Sometimes I get sidetracked with the idea that a scrapbook needs to be full of fancy embellishments and intricate designs. In the simplicity, the children were able to see the love that was put into it. "Belle, belle." they said as they looked through the pictures of our sweet family. Belle means beautiful in Creole. Let this be a reminder to you and I, that in making memories sometimes the simplest of designs, or the simplest of lives is "belle."

{Organizing Mementos}

2012-01-05T08:55:00.000-08:00

Having two little ones, I have lots of mementos laying around the house. In the past, I've organized them in photo safe boxes. One for each child. But the boxes filled up quickly and everything was just thrown in there. I wanted a way to organize that would streamline my scrapbooking process, as well as, keep things neat and tidy.

Here's my littlest's photo box. It's filled with photo cd's {previously pulled out of their cases}, invites from his first 3 birthday's, some 12x12 pages and some crafts he's made. This just felt disorganized to me. So...I devised a plan. Shop after Christmas sales to get some bins at a decent price. Create some cute tags, just because everything needs a cute tag :) and get to work.

Each child gets a bin. Each bin will be organized with one ziploc per year.

Once I had everything ready, I began sorting through the photo boxes. In the "pregnancy" bag, I included items I saved from my pregnancy with J.B., I also included things from his birth like his announcement, special cards we were given, his hospital bracelet. I'll also included the outfit he wore home from the hospital and a very special toy he was gifted by my friend, Sarah, who's no longer with us. His first year bag will include things like a napkin saved from his first birthday, his first scribbles and other special mementos I saved. My hope is that as the kids get older, they will look back at these boxes with fond memories.

A picture of his birth announcement. Boy-look at that head of hair! I remember the heartburn well :)

A picture of the process...not too messy considering J.B. doesn't have as much stuff as my little "Drew-Bear." I still have LOTS to include and LOTS of bins to look through. Last night, I was re-organizing the garage and came across a bin full of old bibs, blankets, hats and more. Why in the world am I saving bibs? Don't know...but I did find "Drew-Bear's" baptism shoes. They were so little and cute :) I guess that's why I'm saving them, so one day I can look back and remember how tiny they once were? ...sigh...

So...the next step is to go through the house and make sure everything is in it's designated bag. Hope you enjoyed this peek at how I'm organizing my kid's memento's. My goal is to have most of their bins filled by next weekend. I will post on the progress. Stay tuned....

Word Of The Year {2012}

2012-01-03T16:03:00.000-08:00

This is the third year I've decided to choose a word-of-the-year rather than a list of resolutions. Having one thing to achieve is attainable for me...having a list of achievements= huge fail for me, at least. So...here it is!

The word: Document
The reason: A conversation I had with my favorite aunt over Thanksgiving. She's been battling bladder cancer for a while now and has had many close calls. When I spoke with her, her voice had a different tone to it than I remember from childhood. In our short talk, she was pensive, reflecting A LOT on our past holidays spent together. She mentioned how she longed to have the family together again. That made me sad. It made me think too. What if something were to happen to me. As a parent, I want my children to know their history. I want them to know their family that doesn't live close by. I want them to know where our traditions come from. I want them to cherish moments and as they grow to have visible photos and documents to look back upon.

The Plan: I'll be using Becky Higgin's "Project Life." I bought one kit last summer and I need to pick up another. One for each child. My goal is also to update our family blog, even if it's a picture of the day format. I plan on having the family blog printed next Christmas as a memento of 2012 for each child.

Do you have a word of the year or specific resolutions you're sticking to for 2012?

{Coffee Filter Elf Craft}

2011-12-20T09:07:00.000-08:00

A quick and easy craft to keep your kids busy this season. Enjoy!

Ava's Workshop-2011 Wrap-Up

2011-12-19T11:00:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, we had our second annual Ava's Workshop Fundraiser. This year, our sweet kids made thumbprint reindeer cards, customized artwork cards, cookies, rice krispy treats and ornaments. It was a quiet but delightful evening.

This year, the elves from AW got their own logo. When I saw this on ETSY, I knew it was perfect! We added these 2 Inch rounds to the packaging.

Little thumbprint reindeer cards right before they were packaged up.

All packed up and ready for guests to arrive.

It was hard to get a picture of the entire table set-up. We have a square dining table so we set it up so that guests could walk around the table and pick what they wanted. Ava stood behind the table to answer questions, take money and say "thank you."

This picture was taken after half our guests walked through.

Dressing up our 80's chandelier. You gotta do something with that hideous thing. We dressed it up with white pom-poms and glittery snowflakes.

Always a big seller-the rice krispy gingerbread men and reindeer cookies.

Foam ornaments that the kids decorated. I stamped a small sentiment so people could use it as a gift tag or ornament. Our neighborhood friends bought most of these for their little bedroom trees. So cute!

Last year, Ava was able to raise $75 by selling her cookies and crafts. This year we were hoping to double and we did!!! She raised $150!!! Over the past couple of weeks, Ava had been purchasing blankets, hats and gloves as she found them. On Saturday, we packed everything up, snapped a picture and took it downtown to drop it off at "The Alpha Project." We dropped it at the 24 hour shelter because we'd heard that they were already running short on warm blankets for the many homeless people they house.

The kids were able to see the large tent that provides shelter to so many. They were also able to see the makeshift homes being made on the side of the road and under the bridges. We discussed dignity and how no matter what you look like, whether you have money or no money, whether you have made mistakes or are successful-EVERYONE is a child of God and that God loves EVERYONE unconditionally. I hope that many years from now, my children will remember these lessons and remember that the true spirit of Christmas lies in loving one another and celebrating the love of the Christ child.

{Tour Of Our Home-Christmas Edition}

2011-12-15T16:33:00.000-08:00

Welcome to our home!

This Christmas I decided to go a bit more simple in my decor. I fancied up the trees and left a lot of our other decorations packed up. We hosted my daughter's fundraiser for the homeless a couple of weeks ago and we invited a lot of little ones. That's reason number ONE for keeping the breakables packed up. Anyhow, onto the tour...

When you walk into our house the living room is to the right and the smaller formal dining area is to the left. I don't have a great picture of our living room tree. This year my son was lucky enough to get his great-grandpa's Christmas trains and I'm still trying to figure out the tree skirt with the train tracks :) Here's a photo of my daughter and my mom and step dad in front of the living room tree.

Snugglin' up by the living room tree with their matching blankie's and watching a holiday flick-I think it's "Gotta Catch Santa Claus" They're obsessed with it :)

Here are a few small things we placed around the living and entry area. A simple "believe" sign that I picked up this year at Home Goods, I hung on our clock. And my small collection of nativity's... I'm just starting this up. These are displayed on our entryway table so they are the first thing you see when you enter our home. I'm hoping to pick up another set before the end of the season. O.k., I don't decorate my dining room so we'll go right past and into the family room/ kitchen area.

This is our family/game room. It's connected to the kitchen so that makes it a perfect place to gather for Friday night games and snacks. Our decorations are simple in here as well. We have a simple berry garland on the mantel and two topiaries tied up with red & white gingham ribbon.

The tree in the family room is just a mixture of all the ornaments the kids bring home from school. See the angel on top? That was one my 2 year old decorated last year.

I'm trying to incorporate more red and white into the tree as well. Since this room is attached to the kitchen, I'm also trying to keep it filled with candy and sweets. This picture was taken after we ate all the freshly baked gingerbread cookies we put up. They don't last long!

I decorated the top of our game cabinet. Again, very simply. Framed pictures from our previous Christmas'. I also put out our collection of Christmas books so they're always within reach. The kids have loved sitting by the fire and listening to mommy read stories before bed.

Blurry picture but you get the idea.

A touch of silver and glittery goodness.

We also hung up some lighted garland and tied up some Christmas cards with some ribbon. The kids love it because they can easily take down a card to look at it. I was inspired by this this post. I used the same red & white plaid ribbon I used on the topiaries.

Just past the stairwell is our home office/my scrapbooking room. I added a couple of touches in here.

My "be merry" banner hangs from my shelves, a framed picture of my daughter from her first Christmas, as well as my December Daily from last year all sit on top of the shelves.

Another shot of the family room from the stairs. This is the room we open gifts in. I thought it was more fun for the kids to come down the stairs and see all the presents right away.

Heading upstairs...here's my lil' guys tree. He opted for colored lights and honestly that's the only place in my house that I'll allow colored lights. I'm a clear light snob. I was raised that way, honestly :)

He has the tiniest tree with the tiniest tree skirt. So cute!!! We may need to go a bit bigger next year because his ornaments are bigger than his tree :) I struggled with the theme for his tree. He's not too into sports, at least not right now. He's really into trains but I couldn't find train ornaments anywhere. Finally, I spotted them gingerbread trains-perfect!!! So he has a gingerbread theme with the little guys and trains. It's perfect for him. Our plan is to buy him and his sister an ornament every year with the intention that they will take them with them when they grow up and move out. Hopefully, many fond memories for them.

Onto my daughter's room...hers may be my favorite tree in our house. So fitting for her :)

Little shabby white tree with lots of sweet, glittery lollipops and gingerbread's. I put it up on her desk chair for fear of little hands playing with it.

I love checking in on her at night. That soft glow from her tree is so peaceful.

Well, that's it! Hope you enjoyed a little peek into our holiday home. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Linking up to:
Holiday House Tour on Hooked On Houses
Christmas Home Tour at The Inspired Room
Christmas Tour of Homes at Nesting Place
Holly Bloggy Christmas Tour at Shabby Creek Cottage
Show Us Your Life at Kelly's Korner

{Friday Faves-Thumbprint Cards}

2011-12-09T16:13:00.000-08:00

We've been busy, busy bees lately. Stay tuned in to find out why I've been MIA lately. If you're cooped up in cold blustery weather or not, these are some fun ideas that will keep your little ones busy just long enough for you to load the dishwasher and throw in a load of laundry. O.k., maybe not? Here are some of my favorite links I found on Pinterest {you can follow me here}...

Source: blacktagdiaries.blogspot.com via Jess on Pinterest

Really cute take on the thumbprint tree-could definitely be used in a frame or sent out as a family card.

Source: ucreatewithkids.com via Jess on Pinterest

A cute lil' keepsake or grandparent gift.

Source: sweetandlovelycrafts.blogspot.com via Jess on Pinterest

I'm definitely bookmarking these sweet snowmen for next Ava's Workshop.

Source: fabulouslyartsy.com via Jess on Pinterest

{I thought of this idea when we were crafting up Ava's cards for her workshop. I thought this would be a fun family card if we didn't get around to taking a photo. Also a cute keepsake.

Here's our take on the reindeer thumbprint card. Ava sold these at her workshop last weekend and we sold out within an hour. She's now backlogged with 50 more to do. Her little fingers will be busy, that's for sure. If you're not familiar with Ava's Workshop, check out the wrap up post from last year. And, stay tuned to see this year's pics. We're currently $30 over what we raised last year and she couldn't be more proud.

We used brown paint to create the thumbprints as we ran out of brown stamping ink. Once the paint was dry, we mounted the white cardstock onto cute polka dot patterned paper, which then went onto a white card. We also added red glittered noses which were just hole punched from um...red glitter paper :) They turned out really cute-family just eats that stuff up-especially grandparents.

Here's a look at her fingerprint trees from last year's workshop. Much more simple but sold just the same.

Source: tipjunkie.com via Jess on Pinterest

Well, those are my "Friday Faves." Hope you enjoyed...I'm off to work. Our "elf" {a.k.a, Mom & Dad} is bringing the kids their Christmas jammies and blankets for tomorrow's trip on "The Polar Express." It's a surprise and I can hardly contain myself!

{First VLOG}

2011-11-23T10:13:00.000-08:00

Okay...super self-concious. Excuse the constant hair fixing and hand waving. Oh, and you get to see my "baby-talk"...so embarrasing. For a good cause, for a good cause...I'm gonna keep reminding myself of that. I'm going to run and hide now...Happy Thanksgiving all!

Links:
My Etsy Shoppe: http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheSweetPaperie
Thirty-One: http://www.mythirtyone.com/3Kings/
Childrens Hetitage Foundation: http://childrensheritagefoundation.org/

{Turkey Day Crafts For Kids}

2011-11-22T07:40:00.000-08:00

I'm always looking for ways to keep the kiddos entertained and turkey day is no different. I'm more likely to have "centers" set up on a holiday such as thanksgiving. Turkey's need to be cooked, potatoes need to be mashed and green beans need to be casseroled-- I know not a word but you get the idea :) Feast your eyes upon these craft ideas...

Source: livinglocurto.com via http://pinterest.com/sunnysideup/ on Pinterest

Printables for the kids table

Source: meetthedubiens.blogspot.com via http://pinterest.com/sunnysideup/ on Pinterest

This would be a cute keepsake. Have them laminated and use as their placemats. After the holiday, clean it off and pop it into a scrapbook.

Source: Uploaded by user via Jessica on Pinterest

I'm thankful for...book. A really sweet keepsake. It's always funny to see what kids come up with.

Source: natural-kids.blogspot.com via Jessica on Pinterest

Why not make a feast for the lil' birdies. Don't know about you but we LOVE to bird watch in this house.

Source: nofussfabulous.com via Jessica on Pinterest

Super cute idea for neighbor's or a small hostess gift.

Source: katherinemariephotography.com via Jessica on Pinterest

Cute--love the little heart gobblers :)

Source: parents.com via Jessica on Pinterest

Make the hats before dinner and enjoy dinner with a bunch of turkey's

Source: mymontessorimoments.com via Jessica on Pinterest

This is super sweet. This would be great in a frame too.

I hope you enjoyed these lil' projects. Tomorrow I'll post on some beautiful but easy to create centerpieces.

{The Bees Are Buzzing}

2011-11-18T09:27:00.000-08:00

Today, I'm excited to be heading here...

So bummed to not be selling at this market. I made a vow to myself and to Ava that I wouldn't take on too much with this being our first homeschool year. But I have to admit, I'm really, truly bummed. Oh well, at least I'll be able to see some of my favorite Queen Bees and spend a lot of money :) Have a GREAT weekend!

{Hero}

2011-11-11T08:06:00.000-08:00

It was 2003, we were just walking out of Mimi's restaurant when we got the phone call. I stopped talking with our cousin in order to hear what Dave was saying "what?" "are you serious?" He looked at me, I could tell something was wrong. "We need to go." Once in the car, he told me "Andrew's dead, he's been killed." I felt like I was hit by a semi. I've never felt such pain in my life...I sobbed and sobbed.

Andrew,

Today... we remember your service.

Today... we remember the moms who've lost their sons and daughter's for our freedom & protection.

Today...we will celebrate you and honor you!

Today...we will teach our little ones about what it is to be a hero.

Today...we will talk to our sweet girl about why we choose to name her...

Ava Drew!

We love and miss you, friend. I promise I will write to your mama today.

To hear more about Andrew's story, please visit http://www.iraqwarheroes.org/2003/chris.htm

{Around Here}

2011-11-10T07:40:00.000-08:00

Around here...

We're still working on completing the gameroom/familyroom. I've organized the toys {in a future post}, and added a few decorations. Here's a snippet of our thanksgiving decorations. I realized I didn't have decorations that are kid-friendly, so I waited until the HUGE rain storm last week and crafted away!

{Mini-garland hanging along two of my favorite pictures:)}

{Book basket, which I switch up according to the season}

The book basket is on top of our Expedit shelf {which holds all the toys}. We're focusing on being THANKFUL for all our blessings, so our gratitude journal is in the basket right now. I added a tag to the front of the basket with a small aqua ribbon.

{Give-Thanks garland on the fireplace} Simple but just enough for my littles :)

A told me it was Jenny's birthday so after the kids went off to bed, I made a mini birthday banner and a party hat, gave Jenny a treat. She enjoyed it ALL night long! When A woke up she was a bit confused but I caught a glimpse of her cutting Jenny's "cake" for her--too cute!

Speaking of cakes...

This was my birthday cake! Growing up my mom always made my sister's and I doll cakes for our birthday's so when my birthday rolled around I wanted to see if she still had it. She's got it all right! Perfection! She said it took her all night but she did it!!! And she was quite sentimental...the things we do for our kids, right? Even when they're turning 21 ;)!

Love my mama to pieces!

There you go---total randomness. Have a sweet day!!!

{What I Wore Wednesday}

2011-11-09T11:30:00.000-08:00

So, it's been a while since I did a "WIWW" post. Can't believe I was able to snap a few pics before heading out, even if it was only a couple of days :). It's a start right? Here we go...standing on the kids step-stool...

{Day 1: Heading out to a field trip at A's school.}

Pouring rain outside...no point in doing hair!

Dress: Target

Black Leggings: Target

Orange Sweater: Target

Sweater Boots: Old Navy {Winter 2009}

Knee Highs {because my feet control my entire body temp}: Target

{Day 2: Homeschool Day & Errands}

Getting tired of the rain...needed a bit of sunshine!

Skinny Jeans: Old Navy

Grey Ruffle Shirt: Target

Grey & White Striped Tank: Target

Yellow Scarf: Gift

Yellow Shoes: Payless

Yellow Cabachon Ring: Handmade by me :)

Again...no point in styling hair!

Linking up to Lindsay's Blog

Have a sweet day!

Bake Sale Goodness

2011-10-27T17:02:00.000-07:00

We started our day early with a 6:30 wake up call from the kiddos. They could NOT wait to celebrate my birthday!!! I woke up to a handsome hubby holding a very yummy pumpkin spice latte from Starbuck's, one excited little girl giving me endless birthday kisses and one crabby little boy who wanted me to come downstairs so he could yell "furprize" a.k.a. "surprise." Yep, since I had coffee in hand, I was ready to oblige. Downstairs we went...balloons along the stairwell and super cute hand drawn cards sitting on the kitchen table. Nope, didn't take pictures because, well it was 6:30 in the morning! But handsome hubby did manage to snap one of a tired mommy and two VERY excited children. They could hardly contain their delight. Me, well I'm turning 36 {enough said}.

Later, after school drop off {it's a workshop day}, the boy and I headed home to finish up the last minute details on the bake sale goodies. Our sweet girl goes to an awesome school. They are having a harvest movie night on Friday night and I volunteered to make some small goodies for the bake sale. Having a child with food allergies has made me SO much more aware of what I'm feeding not only MY kids but other kids as well. That being said, I decided to make organic sugar cookies, which are both gluten free and dairy free.

I was super bummed because I designed some REALLY cute stickers for the front of the bags but our printer was being difficult and I had to do a back up. Lucky for me I only had to make 15 cookies, otherwise handwritten would've gone out the window!

I also chose to take a twist on a classic. The tootsie pop ghost were a classic when I was growing up. Every Halloween, my mom and I would cover pop after pop for trick or treaters. Can't do that considering the HUGE amount of kids that come to our house on Halloween so I did a few for the bake sale. I didn't want the ghost pops thrown into a bucket so I made a cute stand for them.

I simply wrapped a piece of Styrofoam {bought at michaels}with some orange wrapping paper, made the pops and poked them through the Styrofoam. Quick, easy and cute! This would be a great centerpiece for a pumpkin carving party or a Halloween get together.

Hopefully these little sweets help raise a few buckeroos for the school. They're screaming "Boo"--can't you hear it?

Black & Orange Day

2011-10-26T18:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was "Black & Orange Day" at B's preschool. The kids woke up so excited that we decided to make it a family affair. A& B dressed in their black and orange finest and set out to school for the day. So bummed I didn't get pictures as we barely made it to school on time. After preschool pick-up B and I headed to the grocery store for a scavenger hunt. Goal? To put together dinner with foods that are well--black and orange.

The kiddos ate oranges, orange tic tacs, black olives and bat sandwiches with chocolate chip eyes. Yet, again-no picture! Ha! I do have a picture of the "tablescape" B and I put together before picking up sister at school. Our kitchen table's black so we just needed to add the orange :)

For dinner we decided on black beans, orange bell peppers {which cost a fortune}, kielbasa sausage, onions, garlic and tomatoes served over rice. Here's a picture before we added the sausage and tomatoes.

And since it was black & orange day, I took that as an excuse to buy me new Halloween decorations. We're having a lil' birthday shindig at our house this weekend and thought we needed a few extra things ;)
Kind of a minimalist in my decor, so please excuse the lack of extra "fluff" Here's our buffet in our entryway.

I couldn't deny those lil' vintage treats. They begged A and I to take them home. A tinge scary, no? And, here's my sweet little spider chip and dip bowl. Gotta think of something to serve on this plate. It's too cute! Unlike the big black spider that crawling up my arm the other night-NOT CUTE, NOT CUTE AT ALL!

Well, that's a glimpse into our lil' black and orange day. I think we may need to make this a tradition. I'm off to make cookies and ghost pops for the school bake sale.

{10 Years-A Look Back}

2011-09-11T10:13:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking about this day for the past week. I wondered what to write about, should I talk about where I was when we discovered we were under attack or should I simply post a picture from that day. Then, late last night, I was talking with David and remembered my journal. The very journal where I shared those raw emotions from Sept. 11, 2001. I only have two entries in this journal, one being 9 days before and the other being on Sept 11. I saved a bulletin from the Interfaith Service we attended that evening and that was it. I have read from this journal maybe 2 times since the events of 9/11. The emotions are still raw and a tad bit overwhelming. I thought for today's post, since we are remembering, sharing, grieving and unifying once again-I would share some excerpts from my 9/11 experiences.

It was early morning and we were getting ready to head out to work for the day. We got a phone call from my mom, thinking it was very strange, David picked up the phone. On the other end, my mom with panic in her voice, told us to turn on the t.v., that we were being attacked. We immediately turned on the tv, just before the second plane hit. Yes, indeed, we were being attacked.

Excerpt #1
" Today, America was hit by foreign terrorism. I woke up this morning @ 7:30 to see the World Trade Center on fire. Amazed, I watched and realized that a plane had crashed into the side of WTC tower 1. As we watched in horror, another airplane @ 600 miles an hr. slammed into the center of WTC tower 2. After witnessing this footage, I, along with the entire United States, realized we were being attacked."

David and I stared at the t.v. in utter disbelief. Stunned, we didn't know what to do. Immediately, we prayed. We prayed for those we didn't know, we prayed for their families and we prayed for my dad. He frequently traveled Flight 11 from Boston to Los Angeles for work. Being that he lives on the East Coast, we had no idea if he was due to travel that day or not.

Excerpt #2
"I immediately became terrified and thought my father could be on one flight, American Airlines flight 11. I called Kim (my sister) to see if she knew where Dad was. She called him right away and he was safe at work. Thank God! I was SO relieved. I called my dad later that night and he sounded very upset. He had lost a friend, an old co-worker. His friend had been on Flight 11."

Everyone has a story, a moment where you realize that this has become your history. A moment that years down the road we would share with our children; just as our parents and grandparents had shared their memories of Pearl Harbor and the Vietnam War. I remember in the days following 9/11 having an overwhelming feeling of guilt. I guess the technical term is "survivor's guilt."

Excerpt #3
"The news has broadcast families pleading with authorities to find their loved ones. Many have made flyer's, like missing person flyer's with their stats and family pictures. I can't help but think how lucky I am that my father wasn't traveling this day. I fell numb and fell an extreme sense of grief and loss. I hope and pray that more people than anticipated will be found. If there's anything positive that can come from this tragedy is that America now has thousands of angels to protect us. God bless America"

Excerpt of prayer from the Interfaith Service attended on Sept. 11, 2001
"Loving God, have pity on those who mourn; the family and friends of those who were victim's of this morning's terrorist attacks. Be with us as we struggle with the mysteries of life and death; in our pain, bring your comfort, and in our sorrow, bring your hope and your promise of new life."

I want to hear your story. If you feel inclined to do so, please share your experiences from September 11, 2001. Share how you will teach your children and grandchildren about this day in history, your history.

{First Homeschool Day}

2011-08-31T16:39:00.000-07:00

First day of homeschool is DONE! This is the view of our small school space {excuse the crooked blinds-keeping a 3 year old boy busy while teaching 1st grade history was no easy feat} literature and history books scattered across the table...no tears and A LOT easier than I thought.

First day of workshops at school went off without a hitch. She's got a great teacher, who's REALLY passionate about teaching. And that's totally awesome!

{Annual back-to-school photo session}

{Heading off for her first day of workshops}

{Brother was headed off for a meet n greet with his preschool teacher. He insisted on bringing a lunchbox & backpack}

Tomorrow it's preschool orientation, workshops and cleaning day for me!

{A Tonsilectomy and A Trip To Haiti}

2011-08-24T08:36:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

So sorry I keep going in spurts of writing and then neglecting the blog...We've had a busy summer thus far. Not busy like in "fun in the sun." More like scheduling surgery, caring for child post surgery, helping hubby fundraise for Haiti mission's trip, seeing hubby off for said Mission trip, caring for 2 crazy children while hubby's away, lovingly welcoming hubby home and listening to his life transforming "vacation" and processing it all, falling head over heels in love with a little Haitian girl I've never met before, celebrating 11 years of marriage to my best friend, deciding to opt out of public school and taking on the commitment to partially homeschool our 6 year old daughter, potty training our son so he can go to pre-preschool in the fall and finally settling down to catch up with friends. Whew....let summer vacation begin! Ha-just kidding...busy setting up our "school room" and getting reconnecting with my teaching side.

{Pre-tonsilectomy}

{Farewell dinner for Daddy}

{Our beautiful "belle" whom we hope to adopt one day}

{Happy Father's Day}

2011-06-19T10:14:00.000-07:00

"A father carries pictures where his money used to be." -Unknown

My favorite quote about father's. Today, I'm honoring my husband. He is by far, the best father I've seen in my lifetime. He's the kind of dad who is willing to take a day off work and chaperone's the kinder field trips, the kind of dad who rushes to care and nurture the children when they are hurting or sick. He's the kind of dad who models kindness,compassion and most importantly-God's love. Happy Father's Day David!!!

{Playing Catch-Up: Pt. 1}

2011-06-14T09:05:00.000-07:00

{High of the day: loosing her first tooth. See note to the "Toot Fairy?"} {Low of the day: fighting off tonsillitis}

O.k., I'll be playing major catch up over the next few days. Catching up on our lives over the past couple of months; the fun and the not so fun-blah! Anyhow, first I'd like to apologize for leaving you all hanging. All "extra-curricular" mommy stuff was put on hold to figure out why my sweet girl was continuing to get so ill. Since January, she has been sick every 2-3 weeks. I noticed some enlargement of her tonsils back in February and shortly thereafter came strep throat. We took her to the dr. and she was started on round 1 of antibiotics. She seemed alright until 3 weeks hit and she got another case of strep. Round 2 of antibiotics was started. Once again, she seemed fine until 3 weeks hit and she got sick again. This time her fever spiked at 104.9 and we rushed her into urgent care whereupon they told us she had a virus. Really?

Momma's know. And, this momma knew it wasn't just a virus. I truly felt that her pediatrician was not being proactive about trying to figure out WHY she was continually getting sick. So, in stepped "mamma bear." I insisted on seeing a ENT specialist right away and was able to get an appt. for the following day. The specialist took one look at her throat and knew she had tonsillitis. She was diagnosed with chronic tonsillitis, which means it CANNOT be treated with medication and will in turn need to be removed. By this point, her tonsils had become so enlarged basically attaching themselves to her uvula. Her speech has become muffled and nasal. I am so thankful that we insisted on seeing the specialist, in one appt. she "hit the nail on the head" The reason for the sicknesses, fatigue, loss of appetite and crankiness. So...my sweet girl will be having her tonsils and adenoids removed on June 21st. I am so anxious to get my little "firecracker" back!

{Managed to sneak in a smile when we surprised her with a trip to Disneyland}

Time Flies When You're

2011-04-22T16:39:00.000-07:00

Cleaning up after two kiddos. And for those of you wondering...that IS wet toilet paper splattered all over the bathroom. Thank goodness it was water from the sink.

Kickin' it with your 5 year old at AWANA P.J. Nite

{Teaching said 5 year old the importance of accomplishing set goals and taking care of yourself}
Picture taken after her first Jr. marathon. She ran the entire 1/2 mile and I couldn't have been more proud!

Lots of gardening and discovering bugs. We planted peony bulbs-we'll see how they do. I'm the worst at gardening...if a green thumb means you're savvy around the garden, what color is your thumb when you're NOT savvy-because that's me. With homeschooling on the horizon, I'm REALLY trying to make the nurturing of our environment a top priority.

Enjoying good books-quick read, excellent book!

Enjoying the simple things in life; like stopping to watch a mama and her ducklings scuttle around. Those chicks were SOOOO cute!!!

Here are some other sweet lil' ducklings. Mama just wanted a cute picture to put on the Easter card. Strike 1!!!

Um, yeah-no! At least my hair looks good. Strike 2!!! Maybe next year?

In all the chaos, I've re-opened the shop and done some late night and nap time crafting. Our office is now becoming known as the "mom cave"

And, since today is Friday-the memorabilia boxes are coming out and it's back to the "mom cave" to catch up on baby books. One box is overflowing and the other, well...he's the second child, you know how the story goes. Let's just say, it's VERY light.

Wishing you a BLESSED Easter weekend!

Tip Me Tuesday- Mealtime Prep Made Easy

2011-03-15T16:34:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you but Sunday nights around our home are quite chaotic. Since it's a school night, we try to have the kids bathed and in bed for stories around 7 p.m. The most important thing is that they're in bed before the Amazing Race starts :)

Sunday's are our prep day for the upcoming week. We go through the family calendar, get laundry done and clothes picked out for the next school day. We also go over our menu for the week; cleaning, cutting and packaging up all our fruits and veggies for the week. Everything is washed, dried and put in sassy lil containers making snack and meal time much easier. And, when you have a son who eats his weight in carrots, celery and hummus it makes going back and forth to the refrigerator much more fun!

Do you have any fun tips for making meal prep easier?

Office/Craft Room Re-Do

2011-03-14T13:24:00.000-07:00

For hubby's birthday this year, instead of giving him a traditional gift like a shirt and tie set, I gave him an office. A newly designed, welcoming place for him to write his awesome stories in. When we moved into the new home, we immediately claimed the downstairs bedroom as an office. Here's a peek at the space when we moved in.

Not the best pics, but you get the idea. A bit unorganized and honestly I'm not fond of the mismatching furniture. Yes, I'm one of those matchy-matchy types. We were using a large dining table for a desk. See there-on the left hand side. It was large enough for both of us to work at. However, I quickly took over the ENTIRE table-like I took over the ENTIRE room. Poor hubby was banished to the kitchen table. Oops, sorry. :) I tried setting up a small space for me and giving him some room on the dining table. It just didn't work for me.

Things were hidden in drawers and not set up, leaving me feeling like I didn't want to pull everything out each time I wanted to scrapbook. So, I took a long look at the space and decided to go another route. Knowing that I am a messy crafter and need LOTS of space to spread out, I opted to create work spaces for EACH of us. After some serious shopping on Craigslist and an entire Saturday moving things around and re-organizing comes the finished product!!!

Welcome to our home office! A wide angle shot looking in through the double doors.

To the left is hubby's workspace. Or should we say, his shrine to me :)

To the right of hubby's workstation is a newly designed bulletin board unit. Since he's very visual, I needed to design something that would help him stay organized and on top of his deadlines and such. This was a simple project that took all of a half an hour. It's basically cork tiles covered with fabric. I hung them with command strips {my favorite 3M product} and quickly put together some tacks to well, tack stuff up!

It's a slightly distressed wood bistro table. The perfect size to spread out all my materials and keep some important supplies always on hand. My cricut expression is set-up as well as all of my project life supplies. All of my developed pictures, my project life album and other needed supplies are in the closet directly behind my workspace.

Ahhh-a clean, organized room always feels so good, doesn't it? Now, to conquer everything I stuffed into the closet. :)

*A slice of humble pie: I'm so thankful for this space and beautiful home we've been blessed with. I hope it brings and CREATES happy memories for our family.

{4 Thirteen}

2011-02-23T16:38:00.000-08:00

I'm writing over here today. Pay me a visit! Oh, and add that I ate WAY too much candy to that list. Drowning my motherly sorrows in chocolate works right?