cousins.

we had So mUcH fUn with the cousins *and aunts and uncles*. avila valley barn, the beach, crafts, cookies and riding bikes in the backyard. i am exhausted but so happy. david slipped last night and hit his head on the corner of the armoir where we keep out tv. he cut his head and cried and cried. he gave me a good scare, but seems to be just fine. now that the house is quiet, i think i'll make a pot of decaf and bake a few chocolate chip cookies!

father's day is coming...

sterling keychain $32

indoor bowling

AKA set the pins up before David knocks them down! We have a long hallway between the living room and bedrooms that is just perfect for a little bowling alley. We picked up this set of plastic pins at Target. Have I ever mentioned how much I love Target?
STRIKE!

mother's day gift...

my boys got me a nikon D40 this year. wow! i am seriously thrilled. i want to play and experiment and learn and get better at photography. below are some of the first pics on my new camera...

david having fun with daddy. good times!
matty and his pancakes with strawberries and whip cream. i won't tell you about the tantrum he had right after this photo...

silly david. sometimes breakfast is so funny!

matty tripped while playing and split his lip. ouch! he got some good loving from daddy and then from me. it just looked like he had collagen injections for a couple days!

candy store love. matty was in heaven.

the camera takes great photos with lots of detail. i am focusing on learning about ISO (film speed) now. then i'll move onto other things! gotta say, i still love my casio exilim. that little guy is easy to throw in my purse and he takes amazing pics. i am not ready to give him up!

double fisted bubble blowing...

Longs Drugs has some great summer toys. These battery operated bubble blowers were $5 a pop and so much fun. David is able to push the button independently which makes for a great cause and effect toy. And hours of fun...well, maybe more like 15 minutes, but still!

And BIG NEWS! Yesterday we raised $983.40 for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. What a huge blessing. Thanks so much to everyone who participated!!

Fundraiser!!!

Today 20% of all sales will go to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in honor of Tricia, Nathan and Gwyneth Rose. They have an amazing story that I know will challenge you just like it has me!!The Gwyneth Rose necklace is an original necklace (under something simple) with a hand-stamped rose that was designed just for Tricia (see first pic). The lettering goes up one side and the disc is hammered. If you would like the same design just request 'Gwyneth Rose design' in the notes section. Of course, you can order anything and 20% will go to the CF foundation. Happy shopping!!

Here is a close-up of Tricia's necklace (the Gwyneth Rose Necklace)...

lovin lolo's.

we recently discovered lolo's mexican restaurant in morro bay. yum!

great food, kid friendly, 2 minute wait (max.)

and the kids can learn spanish while coloring their placemats. perfect!* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
I've slowed down on email this weekend, but hang in there, I will get back to you! Tomorrow is the CF fundraiser!!!

this + that

we are spending some great time with family. i love seeing the cousins play so happily together. just a couple bits of info...

*simple mom has amazing blog with lots of ideas for organization and living life in the real world. we are doing a giveaway on her blog...so go enter!

*confessions of a CF husband tells the incredible story of Nathan, Tricia and Gwyneth Rose as they journey together throught life. I've gotten completely sucked into their lives (in a good way) as many of you probably have, to! On Monday 20% off all sales on the website will go to benefit the Cysitic Fybrosis Foundation. Mark your calendars and shop for a good cause!!

summer

strawberries. sleep in. swim. sunshine. sisters. sand. sidewalk chalk. slow down.  i'm so ready...

estuary.

es·tu·ar·y (sch-r)
n. pl. es·tu·ar·ies
1. An arm of the sea that extends inland to meet the mouth of a river.

Our neighborhood borders an estuary, where the fresh water from land meets the salt water from the sea. I took this picture last night as we were driving home from dinner (Lolo's, but more on that later!). Funny thing, when we bought this house we didn't realize it! It is simply beautiful. The tide ebbs and flows. At low tide there are twisty streams and at high tide the water comes all the way to the road. Low tide at sunset is breathtaking.

breast cancer awareness

Emma and I created this necklace as a fundraiser. I seriously love the way they turned out! Go check out her site and buy one.

the boys.

highlight of matty's life right now? getting a lollipop from the store. so weird to hear the words 'i need to go shopping', and they aren't coming out of my mouth!!

highlight of david's life right now? being free to explore, play and especially pulling things off shelves and tables. he'll still let me snuggle him, but he wants to wiggle free sooner.

these pics were taken last weekend in shaver lake and both boys got to enjoy their favorite things. life is good.

more feet photos...

just couldn't resist matty's sweet feet while eating lunch on the patio.
these feet (and flip flops) belong to my sister sue who is with us for the weekend. it's so, so good to catch up and be together.

it's the little things...

like a snuggle, or unexpected hug, the warm sun, sleeping an extra 15 minutes, iced coffee (it's 90 degrees today), chocolate chip cookies right out of the oven, belly laughing over something silly, catching up with an old friend or sister, ordering in, or eating out.

today i need to slow down and enjoy some of these little things. what little things do you enjoy??

so big and so little

it is very difficult to explain to a four year how is brother is older than him. yes, he is half your size, doesn't use words, doesn't use the potty, and in many ways looks and acts like a toddler but he is still your big brother. we try to explain that david grows more slowly and learns differently, but a child so young can't wrap his mind around these facts. that's ok, around here david is just david. he is a little man. in some ways growing and changing everyday and in other ways still my baby. david will be six this july and i can hardly believe it myself!

four year old fashion expert...

i am REALLY into dresses and jeans right now. it's basically my daily uniform. comfortable, easy, i love it! so a week ago, i got ready and came out with just a dress on. matty yelled, "MOMMY, go put some pants on!!" I had to explain that some women actually wear dresses without jeans underneath.

Then this morning I came out with this black knit dress and silver belt over jeans. "MOMMY! That belt is too BIG and it's too HIGH and you are supposed to wear it UNDER your shirt, not over!". He is seriously questioning my fashion sense. But then, he thinks accessorizing is a superman cape and fireman hat with thomas the tank engine slippers. i guess i'm not too worried...

teacher gifts.

We are nearing the end of the year and I want to show the boys' teachers how *gRaTeFuL* we are for all their hard work, nurturing and love. So, I designed this sweet necklace to say thank you to these amazing ladies. They spend hours of their day focused on my boys, playing, reading and organizing activities to stimulate their little brains. Our teachers are helping to mold and train our kids. I have watched my boys grow and change this year with the help of these teachers.

This is the concentric circles necklace. You'll find it under 'something simple'. Request 'teacher gift' in the notes and I'll make it just like you see here, with hammered edges and different size letters. What an awesome teacher gift this would be!!

shaver lake. spring. 2008.

we are back from a quick getaway to shaver lake. it was so good to lay around and talk and snuggle and watch movies. i didn't realize how much steve and i needed some time to reconnect.

i love how david is turned around in this pic. he is growing in his awareness every day.

matty loved throwing rocks into the lake. *unfortunately some people were trying to fish* oops.

the weather was cool but sunny and the town was all but abandoned, which was fine with us.

a good squeeze from daddy.

somehow they sat still for 2 seconds so i could grab a brothers shot.

happy mother's day! hope you get some time to relax and feel appreciated!

down time.

we had a fun (but chilly) dinner in morro bay this week. we went on a sea lion hunt and ended up finding a sea lion and an otter. so fun!

this weekend we are taking some serious time to be together and relax. i didn't realize how much we needed it. more pictures to come. hope your weekend is relaxing.

secret message watercoloring.

after dinner and before baths, i broke out the watercolors to do a little painting. before i gave the boys their papers, i wrote a 'secret message' in white crayon.matty is just starting to see letters appear...


his secret message? WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR? answer=purple


David and I worked together. His message? DAVID IS SILLY. definitely!

alternating chaos...

i told steve a few months ago that my goal was to get every cupboard, drawer and closet organized. i should never speak words like that outloud. sure, set a goal and internalize it, but never SAY it. i am not an organized person in general. i know where everything is, but it might not look 'orderly'. things move from order to chaos and then back to order again. piles accumulate, then i attack them, but somehow they accumulate again. it's so wierd :) so the pantry is organized and we have flowers and candles on the front porch, but the laundry is in a state of despair (we might have to buy some clean underwear tonight if i don't get on it!!). alternating chaos...

oh my goodness...

Check out Dena's handmade tees for kiddos. So cute and so custom! Mine say 'trouble'. (Just so everyone is warned!) So fun, love 'em! and...


go over to lindsey's blog for a tutorial on how to make a child's apron. so, so cute! matty is using his new apron for cooking, painting and play dough. it's perfect!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
and winners for the freshwater pearl necklaces are...

Jen who likes to layer tanks with hoodies :) or on the babes... a onesie under whatever they are wearing!! love your blog!!

and Rebecca (kjht-tt) who layers vanilla bean ice cream, whipped cream, and juicy red strawberries.

Email me your addresses ladies and I'll get your necklaces out in the next week!
Yay for summer coming!!

two beautiful magazines.

I have a small ad in Central Coast Magazine this month. CCM is a beautiful magazine that is distributed between Ventura and Big Sur. I used this photo for the ad. I am so excited to be a part of this publication!

The necklace that I designed for Victoria Magazine also came out in their May/June issue this week. You can find the necklace in their 'private collection' (page 15). I used fine link chain and a rose quartz pearl. The disc is hammered so it has an organic feel. The photo they took is beautiful. Actually the whole magazine is beautiful and inspiring. Go out and buy one!  I just bought one at the grocery store yesterday. Surreal!!
I heard Fox News was going to use one of my necklace is a mother's day gift guide segment. Did anyone see it??

Ok, off to get some things done!  Hope your Monday is blessed.

serve day.

today was serve day with our church. there were many projects to participate in, but made cookies and took them to the local fire station. right after breakfast we go to work.

the boys were very helpful rolling the dough and 'painting' the egg whites on top. matty is counting the cookies in this picture.

david made sure to slam a few cupbaords just to keep things lively!

then we packaged them up and attached a thank you note.

we met friends at the fire station. when we knocked, nobody answered, so we had to wait a bit. we thought maybe they were out fighting a fire!? I love how lily is *carefully* holding her plate of brownies :)

matty fully expected the firemen to be in full gear with red hats and everything. he was very disappointed to hand the cookies over to some guy in navy chinos and a tee shirt. oh well! david had fun exploring the fire station. this is the back end of a very old fire truck. now I am ready to put the boys to bed early and watch a movie!