Scrapbook Saturday - Family

I christened my new scrapbook area a few weeks ago.  While there were enough sports on TV to make a fan happy, it leaves their wives looking for something to occupy their time. 

So I created this:

This was a page that I easily assembled with a sheet of green cardstock, and then a beige scrap and a maroon color scrap.  I matted the family photos with brown cardstock.  I then put on two flower embellishments that I never bring with me when I scrap at other locations - so it was sort of like I had new utensils and tools!

I then journaled with a tag from a new kit I found at peachycheap.

It was about this point that the husband was busy and the child decided to find something to do (aka tear up the office/scrapbook room). 

Dodger Dog to the Rescue

On this the weekend of the Dodger-Giants Rivalry weekend, what a fitting blog to update you on how Dodger Dog came to Drew's rescue (and that of his preschool teachers). 

Let me back up by saying that since Drew started preschool on Monday he wouldn't take a nap.  Within the past few months Drew has come to love his naps - as have his care givers (Ms Stephanie and us).  Well on Monday - Wednesday he wouldn't nap.  Lay there quiet - yes, but not nap. So his teacher asked if Drew had any "loveys" at home.  While he doesn't anymore, I wondered if a little toy would still help him relax enough to sleep. 

Therefore Dodger Dog went to school yesterday too.  And guess what - Drew took a nap!

However when we went to pick him up, he wasn't wearing the same shirt we sent him in.  Turns out he had "ickies" when they tried to serve him carrots at snack time. sigh

2-Year Old Logic

I can't say that it's due to starting preschool, but within the past few weeks, Drew has really learned to reason and use logic on us.  It's a daily occurrence to hear the following from Drew:

• "First I lay in bed, then I wake up, then we go to school" - As stated last night before bed
• "We don't go to bed yet.  It's not dark".  - His ploy to stay up a big longer
• "I make you proud, then that makes you happy"
• "First we go to school, then you pick me up and we go home"
• "No we no pick up flash cards.  We make a mess first, then we pick up all the toys"

I do have to say that we're hearing a lot more random conversations since Drew started school - of course as I try to recall them nothing comes to mind.  It's amazing how much of  a transformation he's made in his verbal skills in just a few days.

On the preschool front - drop off yesterday went well.  No tears.  You know he likes school when we go to pick him up and he tells us "Just a minute.  I get to swing now".

His teachers complimented him (and us) yesterday saying he was very smart, and we were teaching him well."  We can take some of the credit, but Ms. Stephanie did just as much (if not more) than we did.  I mean she's the one who taught him his Presidents!

Update as of 8:13am - Dropping Drew off this morning went so well I actually had to call him back to give me a hug and a kiss.  Then one of the teachers said how smart he was and that he could advance to the next class already.  It was said in passing, and I think that has yet to be determined, but what a great compliment to Drew!!

How Dirty Can You Get?

Wanna know how long it takes for Drew to get acquainted with the dirt while camping?  Look at him about two hours after we set up camp at Horseshoe Bend at Lake McClure:

Head to toe filth!  I think we'll be cleaning dirt and sand out of his hair for weeks.  As soon as we arrived, Drew plopped down on the ground and proceeded picking up dirt in his two hands and watching it drop everywhere - his hair, his feet, his legs... you name it.

Yes those would be blue jean shorts he's wearing...

Eh if he doesn't mind the dirt - why should we.

We started out the trip a little nervous.  No gas stations in sight and the campground we thought our friends were at.. well they moved - oh and we didn't have cell phone service (nor did our friends).  Thankfully the Ranger told us where to go for the new site was located and he figured we' make it with the gas we had.

At this point it was nearly 7pm on Friday night.  We found our friends and set up camp - it was a cool 90 some-odd degrees that evening as we started to sit around.

The next day after breakfast the temperature quickly soared above 100 degrees.  We were there because of our friends from our old Red Lobster Days in Rohnert Park (near Santa Rosa), and they were joined by their family members.  All said there were maybe 12-18 of us.  Oh did I mention that our friends were camping two weeks after they had their 3rd daughter?!  Yes they are the bravest people I met camping with a newborn!

Anyway while Melody retreated to their air conditioned trailer with the baby, we made plans to find some water relief.  Dave Drew and I set out for the swimming lagoon!  Drew's first experience with a lake.  He loved it!!

After we cooled down we went back and borrowed Mel & Chris' air conditioning (and their trailer bunks) for a snooze for the three of us.  No way we were going to get Drew to sleep in the tent with that kind of heat.  It worked.  He had maybe 2 hours (Dave and I about 1).

Then we introduced the kids to the redneck game of Ladderball.  For the record Dave rocks at the redneck sports like Ladderball and horseshoes.  So ask to be on his team always.  We managed to get the kids to pick up all the bollos for us and then they anxiously awaited their turn to play - we improvised the rules so no one would get hurt and everyone had a turn.

L-R - Makenna (4 1/2 YO), Devon (4 YO), Colin (3 YO), Drew (2 1/2 YO). 

Everyone was right around the same age - it was GREAT!  Everyone played well together.  Got along.  And i have to say there weren't many meltdowns!  That night we all enjoyed a few beverages and dinner.

That's Dave & Chris (our friend who has invited us on this annual trip for about 5+ years)

Um, yeah that funky blink we both have is because of the extra bright flash at night! It has nothing do do with the amount of beverages that we drank.

The next morning we broke down (most everyone else was staying for the entire week) and had breakfast.  After getting all sweaty and dirty we took Drew back down to the lake/swimming lagoon before the 2 hour trip back home.

A great weekend and I'm glad Mel and Chris finally talked us into it!

The First Day

We're now on day two of preschool for Drew.  Here's how everything went down yesterday:

• 7:10 am - Mommy & Daddy wake up 
• 7:30 am - Drew wakes up 
• 7:32 am - start eating breakfast, packing Drew's lunch and last minute things he needs for school
• 8:00 am - All three of us are out the door headed to preschool
• 8:20 am - Mommy & Daddy leave Drew at preschool

Now if you read in between those lines you'd see pure chaos.  We slept in. Drew slept in.  We forgot to make lunch the night before.  Mommy left late for work and to got work late etc.

Here's a shot of Drew before the car ride to school (the battery on the camera is going so focus isn't going well).  Oh and he has to brown bag it until his new lunchbox is delivered (hopefully by today).

And then on the car ride to school we were busy telling him that he gets to go to school today!  We've only been telling him about his impending school day since February. Drew announced that "And then we go see Ms. Stephanie?"  (his daycare provider for the past 2 1/2 years).  We had to break it to him there is no more Ms. Stephanie... that he's now a big boy.

I could see from the rear-view mirror that he was not so sure about this school thing anymore.  So Dave and I were busy talking about all his new friends, and the things he'd learn and that he'd see Ms. Stephanie's boys, Troy and Mason at school. This helped turn Drew's spirits around.  Here's a shot of him about to enter his school for the first time!  Doesn't he look all grown up?

Then we made our way to the front door.  Drew started to back up a bit as we were entering.  Ms. Yvette was there to greet us (the Asst. Director).  Drew's teacher Ms. Janelle was due to arrive a bit later that morning.  We showed Drew his cubby with his name on it, paid our tuition, and showed him all his new friends.

A little apprehensive - Drew asked Daddy to hold him while I was taking care of the official stuff.  Instead Daddy took him by the finger and showed him all the toys and things he could play with.  Our big boy found a puzzle and tried to take it to the mat to play with, and we helped him find the table where he could the puzzles.

Sitting there content for a few moments that's when Dave and I made our exits - giving our little boy one last kiss goodbye.

And when we went to pick him up - his teachers all said he was a fantastic kid. And had such a good day - despite not taking a nap.

Update as of 8:40am Tuesday: Day 2 drop off did not go as well as day one.  Drew cried his little heart out telling me he was "so sad" and he didn't want to play with the number or letter puzzles.  I ended up having to leave him with one of the teachers crying as I waved goodbye outside the window. 

A New Chapter

Today's the day we begin a new chapter in Drew's life.  He is starting preschool!  This isn't an event we view lightly in our house.  We've spent the last several months prepping Drew and pumping up school hoping to make the transition a smooth one.

The potty training.  The new lunchbox.  The drive-by the school on a regular basis.  Even a pit stop by Ms. Stephanie to show Drew the new digs.

This morning Mommy and Daddy brought Drew to school and saw him off as the big boy that he is.  Let's hope the tears were kept to a minimum.  From Drew of course... we know Mom and Dad will be able to hold it together.

Scrapbook Saturday - Zoo Day

We've joined the Oakland Zoo, so I know I'm going to have an abundance of these types of pages.  But this particular one happens to be Drew's first trip to the zoo.

I have to say I was really  happy how this came out since I had NO IDEA what I was going to do when I started.  All I knew is I wanted to use the giraffe paper, but it was so busy I wasn't sure how I was going to tone it down.

So what I did was get a beige piece of cardstock and trim it down so that the giraffe paper looks more like a border.  It then used some tan paper as a border for things like the title and an area which ended up being used for embellishments and the date.

I cut the three photos on the right side down so they were about the same size and then spaced them apart and left the larger photo to be Drew and Daddy looking at the giraffe exhibit.

The title "Zoo Day" was some stickers from a random kit I had recently ordered on Peachycheap.com (which for those who aren't familiar with it - it's a great scrapbook resource of daily deals!).

By the way this completes all the scrapping I did with my Mom that weekend in May when we cropped until we dropped - as a Mother's Day gift to ourselves. I hope you've enjoyed the sneak peek at what  I managed to accomplish.

End of an Era

We have reached the end of an era.  Today is Drew's final day at day care with Ms. Stephanie.  Can you believe he's been there for more than 2 1/2 years?!

He began going there when he was 4 months old (January 2008) and now he's growing up and headed to preschool!  It's a bittersweet day.  So amazing to realize how small and helpless he was in the beginning, and how big and independent he is today.

On a random note - that same day he began going to Ms. Stephanie's... there was a house around the corner from her under construction.  It's still being built all these months and years later! 

Dinner to Remember

I don't think I've laughed so hard at a single dinner ever - let alone a working dinner.  While in Boston we hit up the Barking Crab.  My co-worker Rachael and I saw how busy it looked our first night around the town and so we figured everyone must know something... and that it must be a good sign.

Monday night we thought we'd hit it up, but I was so darn tired after sightseeing that we postponed it for a night.  So Tuesday the four of us walked from the hotel to the restaurant - maybe 1/2 a mile or so.  We put our name in at both restaurants and waited to see where we'd be called. 

Well it turns out the bar was "calling" us! 

(L-R: Fred, Me, Rachael)

We decided to grab a few drinks while waiting for our table.  Well after about 20-30 minutes one of the bar tables opened up so we thought we'd take our chances eating in there.  About the time we placed our food order with the bartender... one of our two pagers went off. 

So we went to take our seat only to find out they wouldn't let us sit there since we'd already ordered our dinners from the bartender.  DOH!  So we went back to our little bar corner to kick out the girls who took our place - pleading they sent us back because we'd already ordered food.

Um yeah... we ordered food alright!

It's hard to tell here, but in the back left corner is a 2 lbs lobster and 4 lbs worth of crab.  No that's not my plate!  Oh and that's not even the biggest order on the menu. That claim to fame goes to a 10 lb lobster and 4 lbs of mixed crabs in a bowl.  You may have seen that on Man vs. Food on the Travel Channel (he's Dave's personal hero).

Yeah this would be Mike who is trying to finish his monstrous order....

And he did - he ate every last bite... included the coleslaw he added on.  Needless to say he didn't realize just how much food it was going to be. He sure offered up a few great laughs on the walk back to the hotel.  Especially all the little pit stops we had to make because he was too full to walk!

Boston: The Real Tour

OK I'm feeling a little better posting this time around... so I'll share with you the tour of Boston as seen from the camera versus the cellphone look you got yesterday (due to my fatigue and laziness).

To give my story justice I have to tell you - I came out to Boston a day earlier than needed so I can stay with one of my Mommy friends who lives in the area.  She was gracious enough to let me stay at her house and we went out to dinner on Saturday night and then drinks and dessert.  The next morning she took me to the craziest store EVER!

It's a furniture store - Jordan's - and inside they have... well furniture, but also a Trapeze School, a fountain light and music show, an Imax theatre, Jelly belly statues and store... and did I mention furniture?  Right when you walk in you're also greeted by a giant Green Monster eating a Yankee's player.

Sadly this was the only picture I got while I was there!  How horrible am I?  It just goes to show what a great time I was having and couldn't be bothered with such things as a photograph.

As I mentioned yesterday, my "tour of Boston by foot in a day" started with our look and walk around Fenway.  We made about 1 1/2 trips around the ballpark, but we did get a sneak peak inside.

Then we sat in a glove - ha!

From Fenway we took the Subway to Harvard - I have to say we were pros by the end of the day on the subway!!  Here's the only picture I apparently snapped with the camera of Harvard.

From Harvard we headed toward the Freedom Trail.  We got to the first and second location - Boston Common, and the State House and got side tracked with a little detour - Cheers!  We sat right at Carla & Cliff's seat - see....

After a pit stop which included a beer at Cheers we were refreshed enough to continue our venture along the Freedom Trail.  Rather than give you the entire history lesson here are just a few of the sights along the way.

The cemetery where Paul Revere and the victims of the Boston Massacre reside...

The Old South Meeting House (where Ben Franklin was baptized, and colonists challenged British rule)

Paul Revere's house - if memory serves me it's the oldest standing all wood house in the US.  I could look it up, but darn it I'm too lazy at the moment.  If you notice this area has cobblestone streets!! It's in North End or what looks like Little Italy.

The picture above is a shot of a Paul Revere monument with the Old North Church in the background... you know "One if by land, Two if by Sea" the lanterns to announce how the British were advancing.  The shot below is a different look at the Old North Church, which was also the conclusion of our escapade.

After this we were in search of the "T" (Boston's Mass Transportation system).  My feet were killing me.  And it was dinnertime.  So we headed back to the hotel for dinner.  Oh we didn't finish the Freedom Trail... there were still a few more things to hit.  Hey a girl's gotta have a reason to come back next year!

Oh and as a little birthday treat for myself today - I get to fly home late tonight to see the family.  Bummer the best part of my birthday will be working in Boston then traveling home.

Boston: A Cell Phone View

Because I'm writing this late at night in Boston and my feet hurt too much to walk across the room to drag my camera out of my purse (we're talking a distance of maybe 8 feet) - I'm going to first show you a look at Boston as seen from the photos I took on my cellphone today.  I show you these images from my phone because it emails me a copy of the message I send.  Therefore no walking. No moving.  No extra effort on my part.  Oh these are the pictures I sent back to the corporate office.  To everyone left behind to actually work on a Monday!

Let's just say I think we saw all of Boston in a single day - and I walked it wearing flip flops for fear of putting a real shoe on with my broken toe.  Yes I'm a woos.

The first shot is from Fenway Park - home of the Green Monster.  They were preparing for an upcoming soccer game by laying new sod.  So we snapped a few pictures of the field.  My shot from the Blackberry isn't as good as the one on my camera... but you'll have to wait for that.

From Fenway we caught the subway over to Hahvahd as the locals call it.  You and I may know it as Harvard.  Here we're on the steps of some random building.  I still can't get passed all the brick buildings out here. It's not like you can find that in California.  You know, for fear of earthquakes.

After Harvard we decided to walk the Freedom Trail - all the historical sites dating back to the 1600's through the Revolutionary War.  But we did make a pit stop shortly after we hit the first marker....

Wait... you mean Cheers isn't on the Freedom Trail?!  Oops.  Well we still had a good beer to keep us moving for the rest of our trip.  I'll be sure to share with you the whole story in the next day or so.  Once my feet have a bit of a rest and I can make the trip across the hotel room to grab the camera....

Nick of Time

Boy did I leave for my Boston trip in just the nick of time.  I come to find out after I arrive that I left two sickies at home.  Both Dave and Drew have Strep Throat! Ahhhh

They saw the doctor this weekend and are on antibiotics, but geesh.  Now it's a sickie taking care of a sickie.  Drew wasn't showing the signs that Dave was, but since Daddy was diagnosed he walked Drew across the hall to pediatrics and sure enough they caught it early, but he had it.

I think this is officially the first time Drew's had it - he had tonsillitis last summer.

Scrapbook Saturday - Shake Your Booty

This next page is a tribute to Drew's Potty Training and his favorite undies - The Wiggles.

These pictures crack me up every time I see them.  But let's talk about how I created this page...

I started with a light blue cardstock background.  The top of this page is a border I cut out of a different 12x12 kit I picked up before I had Drew.  I matted the photos of Drew shaking his thing with complimentary colors and wrote a little something about this shot on another matching piece of cardstock.  In the corners of the journaling area I glued on a couple of buttons - making this a "cutesy" kind of page.

On the top photo (with Drew looking at his booty shaking in the  mirror) I put a little sticker down that says "No Diapers".

The title "Shake your Booty" - I stamped the words "Shake" and "booty", and then wrote in the "your".  I finished that off with a few more buttons.  A pretty easily assembled page! I love it when that happens.

If You Ever Wondered....

If you've ever wondered...
What happens when Uncle Matt has too much time on his hands?  Well he sends texts of funny pictures he creates with his iPhone. 

If you ever wondered...
What would Drew look like with an extra 20 pounds and a double chin?  Let me show you courtesy Uncle Matt's said iPhone.

I think someone needs a new hobby :)  But to his credit he didn't send one of me - THANK YOU!

Two Heart Throbs

If I haven't stressed it enough - we crammed a bunch of stuff into a short weekend.  While we were in LA to see a Dodger game, see Tata and Abuela, and have a mini birthday party - we also met up with some friends of ours.

Luke is one of Drew's friends from my Mom's group online.  Well his mom Angie is my friend and by chance the kiddos really hit it off.  They met for the first time last March when we all went to Kansas City and last weekend it was like Drew and Luke picked up right where they left off. 

The moment Luke and his parents arrived - the boys started running and playing.  So we headed downstairs for breakfast and afterward we let the boys run loose and look at the fish in the little pond area.

Then we attempted a group shot of the two Mamas and the 2 boys - notice how well they're both cooperating.

Last but not least the boys make their way to the stairs where they practice their modeling skills.

I guess they were trying to pick up chicks, but no takers.  Apparently all the girls thought the boys still have cooties or something.

An Early Birthday Celebration

Last Saturday after the Dodger game we headed straight to Tata and Abuela's house for an early Birthday Celebration for Drew - yes his birthday is in September, but we won't be able to make a trip to SoCal like we have the past two years.

This year's theme - a Mexican fiesta!  How cool that we all got dressed up and had our own Mexican names.  I was Rosita, Dave was Chuy and Drew was - well he wouldn't wear anything but numbers so his name was Numbers (not even numeros).

Let me introduce you to Chuy...

After a bit Drew got to meet his Great-Grandma Tomasa (Nana).  This was a real treat for everyone!  The last time we saw her I was 7 months pregnant.

Oh and the dress I am wearing is a traditional Mexican dress that women wore.  It was a gift from Tia Evie.  Dinner was absolutely amazing... homemade pesole and tostadas.  Drew thought dinner was pretty good too - although he called the tortillas for tostadas big chips.

As the sun went down a few folks had to leave including Tia Alice and Nana Tomasa.

But the party wasn't over yet.  What's a Mexican fiesta or birthday party without a pinata.  This was the first time Drew ever really got into hitting the pinata.

Then it was time to enjoy the fruits of their labor!  The candy - while of course wearing a piece of the pinata.

Here's a shot with all of the kids...

L-R: Chuy, Drew, Cousin Johanna, and Cousin Jasmine (not shown cousin Henry)

And yummy - look at the delicious birthday cake!

At this point it was after 10pm and Drew was only working on a 20 minute nap after a very long day outdoors.  Needless to say the sillies things were staring to cause minor meltdowns.  So it was time to say our goodbyes and head back to the hotel.

But not before thanking Abuela for a spectacular party!!  I love this shot of the two of them. 

Dodger Stadium's Future Player

It was a massive road trip this past weekend as we left the comforts of Northern California to brave the traffic and congestion of Southern California.  Drew took the ride in stride:

The trip that typically takes about 6 hours took us about 7 1/2 - so not too bad considering we stopped for dinner, took extra potty breaks and were stuck in traffic both before we hit the 5 and once we hit the 5/10/60 freeway merges.

After we checked into our hotel we all happily slept until about 8 in the morning.  But we had a big day in store for us.  We were headed to Dodger Stadium - for Drew's first SoCal baseball game ever.  Well as an extra bonus it was "meet" the player's day!  So we got to get onto the field!

That's right!  Dave kept saying this is where Drew will be in another 16-18 years.  We'll see if he predicts correctly.

Here's a picture of the three of us... sorry it's a bit blurry.

Dave caught more of the players on the video camera, but I was in control of the still photos.  With a broken toe, big crowds and trying to keep an eye on a wandering two year old.... needless to say I didn't get many pictures of the players, but here are a few (I only know the players from the back when I can read their names...)

After a bit Drew was starting to have enough of the crowds and heat on the field and wanted to go find his seats and get something to drink.  So he didn't cooperate for the candid of him and I.

But before we could go, Daddy and Drew had to pose in left field also known as Mannywood....

Once we made it to our seats - Drew was awfully excited!

He was quite the trooper for the entire game!  There were no incidents, meltdowns or accidents (those who are potty training understand what a big feat this is).  At the end of the game we posed for another family shot.

And we couldn't forget Tata who joined us for the game (Abuela stayed home because her knees were really giving her a bad time).

And last but not least - who can forget the about the Dodger Dogs!

Not so great a day for the Dodgers who lost 7-2 to the Cubs.  Of course of the four game series we went to the one game where the Dodgers lost to the Cubs.  Oh well, at least we had a great time!