c'mon mcdonald's!!

we drove through mcdonald's yesterday (i had to get my cinnamon melt--i'm addicted ya know!) and i got a happy meal for Matthias and I to share (the cinnamon melt was my main dish :) so we get home and unwrap the the toy and it is this little monster guy. maybe he's from spongebob or something?! guess what he does when you pull down his arm? yep, he makes farting noises! how innappropriate is that?! I mean come on mcdonald's is this the best you can do? don't you have a multi-million dollar advertising budget?! the best part--Matty is afraid of it! nice.

on a brighter note, David decided to brave the tunnel yesterday (we have this blue tunnel for the boys to play in). I came out from the back of the house and he was inside--go David. Nothing is going to hold that kid back!

Have a great day!

challenge for a tuesday

I cleaned out the pantry and the fridge this morning (didn't I just do this a couple months ago?) I got rid of two large trash bags full of stuff--sorry landfill! now I can actually find what I need. My challenge to you is this--set aside 5-10 minutes to organize something--your jewelry, the coat closet or a junk drawer. It feels good! and yes, we do keep candy in the crisper!!

craft/gift idea

these are some gift tag favors from a baby shower I helped with recently--hi Brianna!! They are so easy and fun (Lindsey coached me through). Here's the step by step--1. Buy various gift tags from Staples 2. Dip them in a strong tea (I used four tea bags with 1.5 cups of water) 3. Let them dry overnight 4. Stamp them with some cute stamps--use a brown stamp pad (very important!) 5. rub a lttle glitter glue over the top 5. Place in a cellophane bag 6. Amaze your friends and family!
Isn't this a great idea for teachers or when you have to buy mutiple small gifts? It would be cute to find a nice box and get some fun ribbon, paper, scotch tape and scissors. I love a "theme" gift. Brianna's shower was a blast--I'm sure the favors are what really brought everyone together :) Or it could have been the ice cream sundaes!

iCANNOTwait!!!

Well in less than a week my sister Chrissie (who Matty affectionately calles "sissies") will be traveling up from the OC to spend a few days with us. I cannot wait!! She is so much fun--so real, and silly and she totally "gets" me. Steve laughs because we go into "twin mode" and start finishing each other sentences while we jump around from topic to topic. I've got at least one babysitter lined up so we can have some concentrated sister time--without those pesky kids interrupting us :) YAYY! I am so excited!

ID tag bracelets

Aren't these fun and beautiful? I have done quite a few in the last couple days--with words like--captivate, beautiful, old friend, soulmate, sweetheart, lucky mommy and blessing. I've gotten a great response to them. I think I'll probably charge about $45 for them--they are hand wrought, filed, drilled and stamped. Each one takes a little elbow grease! If anyone wants to order one, I'm going to run a special for the next few weeks--only $28!!! Email me at lisaleonard@integrity.com and tell me what word(s) and colors you'd like.

day in cambria

so we frolicked in cambria today. there is a great park right on the beach. the boys played for a while and then we walked by the water. david was doing an amazing job standing, walking and balancing. matty climbed the rock wall independently for the first time. the weather was beautiful! then we got lunch at main street grill (same owners as firestone grill--so you know it's tasty!). not pictured--matty running into the street, us freaking out, and the tantrum that resulted! but overall it was tons of fun!

a new step...

so i'm putting away clean laundry in the boys' room (one of my least favorite chores--i don't mind doing the laundry, but for some reason i hate putting it away!) and i turn around and there's david casually leaning against Matty's bead, like it's no big deal. Now David has been getting really close to standing on his own. He's pulled up to his knees, if we help him to his knees he can pull up the rest of the way, but this time it was so completely independent! So I got down on the carpet and held out my hands and said "come here!" and slowly stepped away from the bed and took 6 or 7 steps. We had to reinact it for the camera but we steve and i were freaking out! David was so proud of himself--all smiles! Then Matty wanted to show us that he can step away from the bed and take steps, too! :) I'm a proud mommy!!

valentine's ornament

here's one of my latest soldered ornaments. it's a valentine's postcard from the early 1900's. i added some beads to the bottom! so cute! they look great hanging from a kitchen cabinet or doorknob. i am planning to do a bunch of these for some upcoming shows--kids and weather permitting!

busy guy

david has been so busy lately--making messes, scooting around the house, spinning around doing donuts on his bottom (it's hilarious!), and opening up cupboards. here's a few photos of him playing with his dump truck, looking up when i called him, pulling up to a stand-INDEPENDENTLY!!! and pulling steve's cap off his head. this guy is a trouble maker--watch out!

hand stamped bracelets

here is something new! these are sterling, hand stamped cuff bracelets. they start out as a flat piece of wire, so I am shaping the metal, drilling holes, soldering charms, etc. i am excited about these little beauties! this one has a love charm soldered to the front and a heart charm dangling from the end-with xoxo stamped on each side. i made another one with the boys' names on it. keep watching for more fun stuff!

hidden treasure

Steve and I took the boys to explore the Los Osos Oaks State Reserve today. We love Montana de Oro and the Elfin Forest, but we had never checked out this spot. It's located off to the left of Los Osos Valley Road just as you come into town. It is so AMAZING! The pathways are easy for kiddos (and moms who don't feel like hiking). It's literally a forest of dwarf oak trees growing in the sand dunes--so they grow all topsy turvy. Great for climbing. We felt like we were in Lord of the Rings--the place is magical! Then we grabbed a little lunch and headed up to see the elephant seals. They wre very noisy and active today. Lots of pups as well. We felt like we were on vacation in our own town. Anyone know any other hidden treasures we should explore?

perfectly imperfect

I was reading an article in one of my home magazine yesterday entitled, 'perfectly imperfect' and the phrase really got me thinking. we spend so much time trying to get everything perfect--and what do we really accomplish? Sure i'd like to lose 5 pounds, have a cleaner house, and perfectly behaved kids, but the stress of trying to maintain those things comes with a high price. When I really look at my motives, i think my aim is to impress other people. The people who come across as perfect to me, I actually find intimidating! So, for the sake of sanity I'm going to make a new effort--to relax and let things be perfectly imperfect.

japanese watercolor

I got this funky japanese watercolor at a flea market near Santa Barbara (while on a sister trip!) It was only $15 and sat in the garage for a few months. Now it's found a home in our living room. It's a fun change and I got it for a song!

Update on the potty--after much coaxing and tempting with stickers (and after I demonstrated sitting on the potty) Matty finally agreed to try out the potty. He hasn't actually gone "pee pee in the potty" yet, but I can feel it coming...

a fun and rewarding experience...

We are getting ready to potty train Matthias and I must admit, I am somewhat terrified! Diapers work great--why mess with a good thing?? So, I've created this little book (this is my behavior specialist background kicking in!) to approach the subject in a positive way. It will have photos of...


his new potty seat--notice how I blurred the edges of the photo to make the seat look even COOLER!


a sticker chart


big boy underwear!

The toilet training guide that came with the potty seat says that toilet training can be a fun and rewarding experience! I'm sure they are completely objective in that opinion! Any great tips???

a bunch of sickies...

so matthias and i both got david's cold. steve's still fine. we just laid low today--napped, read books, watched a lot of videos, ate soft foods, like, yogurt, pudding and mashed potatoes (we can't be bothered to chew) and just mellowed out. here's a couple pics of the boys tonight. steve and i got into a very competitive game of barrel of monkeys. matty wanted to play but he cheats--so we disqualified him (i know, it was his birthday gift, we should be more gracious!) and david scooted around with one sock off and a grubby sweatshirt. hope you are all well and more productive than we are!

a few more photos...

here's a few more shots from yesterday. we had such a great time, but now the boys are exhausted (i'm a little tired, too!), david's got a green runny nose. we rushed around getting ready for church this morning, and half way there, i turned around and came home. i can't put David in the toddler room with that yucky nose and the boys are too tired to cooperate. so we are home now. i vaccummed and cleaned the kitchen. we'll take a nap soon. some days you just need to take it easy--like today!

So mUch FuN!!!

We had such a blast at the Rock and Roll Diner today! The weather was perfect. We ate hot dogs and played pin the nose on Percy (which the kids totally didn't understand and nobody wanted to be blindfolded for--but it was darling anyway), opened presents and ate cupcakes. It was every little boy's dream! My blog will only let me load five pics--which is crazy because I've got at least 55 to show you :) Some of the highlights--the cupcakes turned out cute (at least the second batch did!), a cuddle with mommy, David eats a cupcake and LOVES it (look how Nana's tongue is sticking out!), and Matty show David his new Lightening McQueen. Matty had a total meltdown on the way home and then crashed for two hours! It was a great birthday!

Got creative last night and made these necklaces with new silver pendants. They look really vintage! Tomorrow is Matty's party so I've got to make cupcakes and somehow design a "pin the nose on percy" game. I bought some tag board, so we'll see how it turns out. They're 3 year olds, right? They'll think it's a masterpeice! What fun things do you have planned for the weekend?

Matthias is turning 3...

I can't believe Matty is turning three. I know it's so cliche, but I swear, tomorrow I'll turn around and he'll be 17! We had David and Matthias so close together. I struggled with feelings of guilt at being so relieved that Matthias was "typical" and without any health issues. I worried that I would love him more. Then I became resentful because he took so much time away from David. I think Matthias has added so much balance to our family. I get to experience two completely different worlds (that often aren't that different at all)-raising a child with special needs and a child who is typical. The funny thing is, sometimes Matthias can be much more of a challenge than David! And both bring so much joy into our lives. The boys really love each other.

So to celebrate this sweet, energetic and silly little boy we are having lunch at the Rock and Roll Diner-a funky little restaurant in Oceano that is made up of two train cars pushed together. It should be fun--more pics to follow!

Sneak Peek

Here's a preview of a few of peices that will be on sale at the open house. I am trying to use up a lot of my supplies, so these are all fun, brand new peices--not things that haven't sold at other shows!

This is new jade and aventurine-a great, simple piece that would be fun to wear with a sundress and sandels this spring and summer.

These earrings are new! They look great with a scarf in the winter and with your hair pulled back!

This last peice uses bronze freshwater pearls, rose quartz and features a lepidolite pendant. It has a nice heft and feels great on!