EllieMae's Days

I'M MOVING...

2010-07-19T19:46:00.001-07:00

I am finally ready to let you know where I have moved...
When I first started blogging I was a little nervous putting my real name on the web for the world to see. I was unsure how safe it was. I am just really tired of accidently typing the wrong name and really want to just be me.

When I first met my husband he called me Elliemae. My real name is Cherie (shur-ree).
My sweet Lil'D has the coolest name ever...Dash. It is short for Daschel. Yes he is named after a cartoon character. It fits him perfectly.

I have created a new blog called Habadasherie.
I have imported most of my old posts there so I can have everything in one place.

I will no longer be posting as Elliemae.
Hope to see you at my new blog

Lil's first soccer game...

2010-03-29T12:07:00.002-07:00

Lil'D started soccer today. He was so excited to start!! You might have to watch the video a couple times to find him. They all have the number 1 on the back of their shirts. He is the one that keeps touching the ball with his hands!

Letters to Lil'D...

2010-02-25T07:27:00.000-08:00

My sweetest Lil'D,

You have changed so much in the past couple of months. You are talking up a storm. You really never stop except to sleep. Here are a few sentences and words you are having trouble with:

what he does?
that is mines?
Darth Mater

You have also come up with some interesting phrases that you learned at daycare:

cheeze it
cheeze la weazel
booty, booty, booty
You're just kidding me
Stop it! (with a real whiny tone to it)

New phrases you have learned from your momma and daddy:

You're a menace!
Momma, you pass out
You're silly
You're crazy
Shredded Wheat

You love putting s's on everything and adding an extra syllable:

Instead of boats, you say boatses
Instead of jeep, you say jeepses

Some new foods you are enjoying are:

peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (these are your absolute favorite!!)
celery
whole apples skin and all
reese's peanut butter cups
reese's pieces
gummy worms
life cereal
shredded wheat cereal

Movies you are watching right now:

Up!
Garfield The Movie (voice of Bill Murray)
Star Wars
Empire Strikes Back
Return of the Jedi (you still haven't finished this one yet)

The tv shows you are watching:

Imagination Movers
Chuggington

Your favorite toys:

Monster Trucks (you get one for every bible verse you memorize!)
New tow truck that you got at Awana for doing Apple Tree this week
Poingo
Nascar #88 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Cars from Cars (Mr The King, Mater, Lightening, Sally, Mac...)

Games you like to play:

Hungry Hungry Hippo
Hi Ho Cherry-o

Activities you are liking:

playing with Skyanne
playing games on the computer through Kido'z
going out to the soccer fields with Skyanne

My love for you overflows more and more each day. You are the happiest little boy I know. I am so very proud of you. Especially how well mannered you are. I don't even have to tell you to say thank you anymore. You just do it.

You are testing me right now by not listening as well as you could be, but I know that will change and it will be something else.

All my love,

Momma

a thought...

2010-02-18T14:50:00.001-08:00

Lil'Ds book pick...

2010-02-13T14:27:00.001-08:00

Cars and Trucks and Things That Go by Richard Scary

I found this book at the swap meet a couple of months ago. I kept trying to get Lil'D to want to read it, but he always skipped it. I finally talked him into it. We have read through the entire book once. It took us two nights. Now it's all about who can find Goldbug first. Lil'D has memorized where he is on most of the pages. Lil'D says things like:

"Goldbug is really good at hiding."

"Where is that Goldbug?"

a thought...

2010-02-10T14:19:00.002-08:00

Superbowl halftime at our house...

2010-02-07T21:24:00.001-08:00

In the backyard...
Lil'D didn't want halftime to be over. He wore Skyanne out!! They will both sleep good tonight!

Here it is...

2010-02-01T21:44:00.001-08:00

Skyanne...

2010-01-31T17:10:00.001-08:00

She is growing really fast and is in to everything.

Monster Truck, redo...

2010-01-30T23:45:00.001-08:00

We got our money back from the whole monster truck fiasco. So, we decided to go up to Anaheim and try again. The drive to Anaheim is about an hour and a half. Here is the sun setting as we were on our way there:

We stopped at Carl's Junior for dinner. Lil'D had a nice setup in the backseat watching movies.

Here is our exit...

Anaheim Stadium...

Ready to find our seats...

Panoramic view from our seats...

Yes, you understood correctly, we had seats!!!

Grave Digger and Monster Mutt racing...

Monster Mutt and Iron Man about to race...

Lil'D really enjoyed his cotton candy...

Blue Thunder... he was the racing winner.

Air Force Afterburner...he was the freestyle winner.

Grave Digger...freestyle.

Grave Digger...crashed!

We had a great time. We arrived just before all the trucks came in the arena. We found our seats right away and enjoyed the entire show!! Lil'D had a blast! He slept happily all the way home.

A new addition to our family...

2010-01-28T18:44:00.001-08:00

Her name is Skyanne.

She is 2 months & 24 days old.

She is an Australian Cattledog.

She was born November 4, 2009.

She was born in Blue Jacket, Oklahoma.

She is AKC registered.

Her dad's name is Fitz's Stan.

Her mom's name is Houston's Rhinestone.

She came to live with us on Saturday, January 16, 2010.

SHE IS AWESOME!

(if we could only get her potty trained faster)

Giveaway...

2010-01-28T12:19:00.001-08:00

Today I found: Jonquils & Ladybugs (what is a jonquil?)

jon-quil [jong-kwil]

-noun

a narcissus, Narcissus jonquilla, having long narrow, rushlike leaves and fragrant,

yellow of white flowers

Origin:

1620-30; jonquille junquillo, eqiv. to junc(o) rush, reed (juncus) + illo dim. suffix

(from dictionary.com)

Image:

Perdy!!

(image courtesy of Flower-cs.com)

She is opening an Etsy shop: Stiching in Striped Socks (how cute is that?)

And this is what she is giving away today:

Hope I win!!

a thought...

2010-01-27T11:10:00.002-08:00

a thought...

2010-01-26T11:16:00.001-08:00

Monster Jam...

2010-01-25T20:33:00.001-08:00

On Saturday night we went to Monster Jam. It began great, but didn't end well. We have been anticipating Monster Jam coming to town for the past year!! Lil'D has quite the monster truck collection! Jeremy got tickets and went to every Ford dealership in town to get free pit passes. So finally the big night arrived!! We got there at around 4pm and took pictures with all the trucks. Lil'D got more excited at seeing each truck. Here are the pictures from the pit party:

...standing in line...

...meeting the driver of Blue Thunder...

...Grave Digger!...

...Outlaw...

...Bounty Hunter...

...El Toro Loco...

...Monster Mutt...

...Iron Man...

...El Toro Loco in the background...

...Grave Digger...

...Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle...

...Here we are before it started, when things were still good...

These were the best seats for Monster Trucks. They were the nosebleed cheap seats, but it was the best view of the field and it wasn't as noisy as being down below. I walked up about 40 or so steep steps with Dash on my hip and turned around to see this view...perfect!

...our tickets were labeled Section 37, Row 18, Seats 6,7,8...

We had hot dogs, nachos and diet pepsi for dinner. Did you know that 2 hot dogs, 1 nachos grande and 2 sodas = $27.00. C.R.A.Z.Y! (Lil'D had peanut butter & jelly) About 30 minutes before the monster trucks were to come in Lil'D got a little upset. He was getting scared that the monster trucks were going to be really loud. He actually started crying, which is so unlike him. I walked down 40 or so steep steps with Lil'D on my hips and took him for a walk and watched the trolley bring hundreds of people into the stadium. He kept saying he wanted to go home, that he was scared. I finally convinced him that momma would work her magic and make the noise go away. In addition to having headphones on his ears, I pulled his hood over his head and he looked at me and said "Let's Go!" I had worked a miracle. I thought for sure we were going to have to leave. I walked up 40 or so steep stairs for the 3rd time with Lil'D on my hip. We got there just in time. They turned out the lights and announced each truck and their driver. The first two drivers were lined up for the first race when someone leaned over to us and said "excuse me, these are our seats."

It turns out we were in the wrong section. Our seats were in the next section over to the left. I walked down 40 or so steep steps with Lil'D on my hip walked over to the next section and went up 40 or so steep steps with Lil'D on my hips. This was my 5th time. My legs were starting to shake. When we go to the top where our seats were supposed to be there was a large concrete box taking up rows 16, 17 & 18, seats 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14. So...we were sold seats, from Ticketmaster that were not there. It wasn't just us it was 27 other people also. I went back down those 40 or so steep steps with Lil'D on my hip for the 6th and final time. My legs were jello as we searched for an usher to make sure that we were not crazy. I finally passed Lil'D over to Jeremy. I was sweating and my muscles were shaking and aching. I really don't remember what happened for the next half hour or so. We were missing the monster truck show and waiting to see if the ushers could seat us somewhere else. It turns out that the show was sold out. If there was a seat in the house empty you couldn't find it. So we finally gave in and went down to Guest Services. There were no steps but we had to go down 4 floors to get to the bottom. Thank goodness Lil'D didn't have a problem walking.

So we told them our dilemma and they said they could put us in seats in plaza. Which was the very bottom and were probably too loud for Lil'D. We asked for comparable seats to what we had. They had nothing. They didn't even have seats together in plaza. We looked at each other exhausted and frustrated and asked Lil'D what he wanted to do. "Let's go home," he said. So they gave us a refund for the face value of our tickets and parking. We were really disappointed after so much anticipation for this night.

But, during the ride home Lil'D said "That was fun!" That made us feel a little better. Jeremy got on the phone with Ticketmaster as soon as we got home, but their customer service closed at 8pm. So we are still trying to get all the extra fees and handling that we paid for the tickets with the seats that didn't exist.

All day Sunday Lil'D played with all 13 of his monster trucks announcing each one of them, just like the only part of Monster Jam that we actually saw.

Catching up...

2010-01-23T14:14:00.001-08:00

I have a lot of catching up to do. I have several projects that I have been working on and have now completed two of them.

First project is a slideshow that recaps everything we did in 2009. All I need is the music and I will be done. All the 74 or so pages are done. Hopefully, I will post that tomorrow!

The second project is redesigning my blog again. The last design was just so busy. I was over it. I really like this new design. I started with a free template called Colored Paper. You can get it from here. I have tweaked it a bit to make it mine. I'm happy, but for how long I don't know. This is how I got into design. When I was little I would move the furniture around in my room almost every month or so. It drove my mom nuts. My blog is like my home and I am always changing the wallpaper and flooring!!

NOW, on to my next project. Catching up for the month of January. Afterall, it is already the 22nd of the month. Better late than never.

We have a tradition for New Year's Day. We go to Knott's Berry Farm with Auntie E and her family. This is our 3rd year to go. Here is a recap of the photos from New Year's Day...

2010 New Year Resolutions…

2010-01-02T11:36:00.001-08:00

Get up at 6am everyday!
Read Bible everyday
Do chores as soon as I get home from work each day
Create a grocery list each week
Keep and updated list for Wal-Mart
Get everything together for work the night before
Be in bed by 9pm on work nights
Read current book from 9-9:30
Blog at least 3 times a week
Do one project every weekend
Do not eat ANYTHING after 7pm
Drink lots and lots of water everyday
Do not bite fingernails
Lose at least 20 pounds

That’s it. I must find my discipline and really be successful this year!

How I did…2009 Resolutions

2010-01-01T13:02:00.001-08:00

Bible Study/Devotional

I have slipped in this area of my life. I have gotten into the habit of saying I don't have time. That's like saying I don't have time for my Savior. I don't want to go there anymore!!
I didn’t do as well as I could have. I listened to the bible on my ipod for a couple of months. I read devotionals here and there, but did not make a “habit" like I wanted to.

Better wife / mom

Being a good mom has been my priority since my sweet Lil'D came into our life. I can honestly say that I have given 100 percent to Lil'D! It's the one thing I haven't lagged in!
I think I slacked off a little this year because of how independent Lil’D has become. He doesn’t need me all the time like he did before. He can do so much by himself. I need to be better at taking the time to play with him and plan projects to do with him.
I have not been the best wife I could be. My sweet J is so wonderful that he doesn't even let it bother him. (at least I can't see it or haven't taken the time to see it) He gives of himself all the time. He is so selfless and is always trying to make my world better. He is always trying to make better what I feel is falling apart. He deserves so much more than I give. I will be better!
I’d say I didn’t do a better job, just the same as I have always done.

Time Management

I really need to look at my schedule everyday and use ALL of my time wisely.
I’d say I improved on this maybe 50%. I was definitely more aware of where I was spending my time. Just didn’t use it as wisely as I could of thanks to facebook.
I need to schedule ME time...very important!
I really failed this one. I spent 6 days in Cabo in March unexpectedly for work. That is probably the only me time I really took this year.
My true goal here is to include some craftiness/creative time! This would be an indulgence!
I actually did ok here. I organized some of my craft supplies (at least they are all in one place) and set up my desk. Did a few projects. Not enough though.

Cooking

This is always on the back burner for me. It's just so hard for me to get to this place. (when you see my schedule you will understand) My husband had been doing a lot of the cooking during the week. BUT, I have no excuse for the weekends except for laziness and being selfish with my time. (more like wasteful)
Let's start with cooking one day on the weekend. That's realistic huh?
Fail, fail, fail. I am just not motivated to cook with everything else I have to do. I am going to see if I can give this one to Jeremy.

Housework

I have just lagged in this area almost completely. I have done everything I can to keep our "living" area tidied. I have let our master bath and our room completely go. I've got to find a balance here.
I definitely got better. I cleaned (organized) every room in the house before the new year.

Working out

This has to be done everyday. If I'm ever going to loose the 30 pounds I put on with my pregnancy (my son is 2 1/2) I've got to do this EVERYDAY, no ifs ands or buts!!
I have found the "perfect" workout for me and my time constraints. Its about 30 minutes everyday. Lil'D even likes to watch me workout and joins in sometimes.
Was good about it for a while, but just quit because I didn’t schedule my time right. I’ve probably gained weight this year instead of loosing it.

Crafty-Creativeness

I have put this on the back burner for a long time. I'm just not me without doing this. I have a list as long as California for projects I would like to do!!
Always see stuff that I love and say “I can make that.” Then I put it in the back of my mind and think about it often but never do it.

Trip to Perris, California...

2009-12-27T20:46:00.001-08:00

Grandma & Grandpa wanted to take Lil'D to ride on a train. This is what they picked:

...you can't tell that Lil'D loves trains, can you...

...tickets, please...

...ready to ride the train with Grandma & Grandpa...

...taking a ride in the backseat...

...of a 1937 street car...

...maybe momma won't see me pick up this rock...

...my little engineer...

...daydreamin' while riding the streetcar...

...he's gonna be a GQ model one day...

...or at least on the cover of a magazine one day...

Taking down the tree...

2009-12-26T20:57:00.001-08:00

Here is the photo before we took down the tree today:

It was so pretty this year!!! It was sad to take it down. But, I am very glad now that every thing Christmas is all packed away until next year.

We got bored and decided to go to Jungle Bells at the zoo. My niece Andrea went with us.

...Lil'D loves riding the buckets...

...Horton's Way...

...the new Elephant Odessey...

...Lil'D had churro all over his mouth...

...yee-haw, giddy up cat...

...we rode the train afterwards...

...this photo would have been perfect if it wasn't blurred...

...photoshop made it better...

Christmas day...

2009-12-25T20:20:00.001-08:00

...somebody was a little overwhelmed...

He was using his new drill to open all the presents...

...treasure map...

...take along Thomas & Percy's Carnival Adventure...

...santa forgot to leave headphones for mom & dad...

...the drum set was by far Lil'Ds favorite of the day...

...at grandma & grandpa's house...

It was a beautiful Christmas day!

Christmas Eve at Birch Aquarium...

2009-12-24T20:07:00.001-08:00

I took the day off...

2009-12-14T20:45:00.000-08:00

I had some extra time saved up and decided to make it a long weekend!

I decided to hit some thrift stores!!

Here are my treasures:

Train lamp for $4.00

Wooden Calendar w/one number missing $3.00

I didn't find this at the thrift. I actually found a new scrapbook store and they had tons of goodies on clearance. I got all this for $2.13!

Got 3 books for 75cents

& 2 books for Lil'D $1.00

Merriest Place On Earth...

2009-12-14T20:31:00.001-08:00

We have Southern California annual passes for Disneyland. Our blackout dates are Saturdays, holidays, 2 months in the summer and the last two weeks of December. Yesterday was the last Sunday we could go until January 3rd.

IT.WAS.BEAUTIFUL!

I guess it has been about 11 years since I have gone for Christmas time. The lights and decorations are just so beautiful. The lighting of the castle is my absolute favorite!! I don't think I have ever watched it before.

I got some great shots. All the colors are just so festive! My favorite is of Lil'D and Santa. It looks like Santa was telling him "you better be good!"

December Nights...

2009-12-06T19:16:00.001-08:00

I was so excited to attend with Lil'D. I couldn't wait for him to wake up from his nap and get going. December Nights is at Balboa Park. There are tons of small vender's selling jewelry, services, knick knacks etc. All the museums are free and tons of different foods to choose from!

It used to be called Christmas on The Prado, but they had to be politically correct. Here are a few photos that really show the atmosphere that I couldn't capture.

(photo from bidcounsel.org)

(photo from olasisucsd)

(photo from jaunted.com)

The weather was perfect! It was a cool 46 degrees. That is rare, but so welcome! I loved bringing along a scarf and gloves! We arrived at about 4:45 and the crowd was already pretty thick. Friday night had over 100,000 people alone.

We had an agenda. We went directly to the San Diego Model Railroad Museum. We got there right when they opened their doors. It got crowded fast. It got so warm because there were so many people I had to take my scarf and jacket completely off. I was really bummed about this.

Lil'D absolutely loved this place (duh!) He was mesmerized! There was even a playroom with wooden Thomas trains to play with. They had a special display of Lego trains. It was pretty awesome. Lil'D had named all the trains by the time we left. There was also a room that was beautifully landscaped and lit with trains that puffed steam and lots of whistles blowing. Lil'D and I found a really nice corner spot where the air blew right on us. The first time we went in this room it was so stuffy from all the people you could hardly stand it. Lil'D loved it so much and didn't want to leave. I think we are going to get a family pass so we can go visit this museum often. It is only $35.00 for a year. It would be totally worth it considering how obsessed with

trains Lil'D is!

Next stop was dinner. I had Louisiana Cajun Catfish and hushpuppies. A little taste of home! They had run out of gator. Darn! (just kidding) Lil'D enjoyed his peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a cupcake. Everyone else had hamburgers, beans and chips. Boring :)

San Diego Air and Space Museum was next.

Tons and tons of airplanes. Lil'D wanted to touch every propeller or wheel or wing! The highlight of this museum was the Blue Angel. Ever since the air show in October he is all about The Blue Angels. He touched the nose, the wheel and the back engines. What a thrill for him!

Santa Clause was right outside. Lil'D was waving and saying "Hi Santa!" He told me he wanted to hug Santa. So adorable. Well this Santa was a bit distant. The kids had to sit in the front seat and shake Santa's hand. That is it. I thought that was a little weird. I think Lil'D thought it was weird too.

Our last stop was the San Diego Natural History Museum. There were photos of Dinosaurs outside that got Lil'D all excited. What do you know, there was a huge dinosaur when we walked in. It was hot in there too! I really thought I was going to melt at one time. Lil'D was in overload and was just fascinated by everything he saw!

We had a really great time. I had really wanted to go to the Ruben H Fleet Science Center but we just ran out of time. I think we will go there first next year!!