Registering for Soccer

I can't believe that soccer season is upon us already..well at least registering for it. Furthermore, I can't believe that my little one is old enough to play on a city league team. Where has the time gone?

On the up side..I am excited about getting back into soccer. This has been a big sport for our family. Our older son has been playing since he was about 7..first indoor..then rec league..the high school team. I was the team mom..Dad was a coach..it was so fun for us all to be involved. It has been an entire year now since we have had a child in a team sport with our oldest off in college..so this will be an exciting fall season for us to be back into sports.

Here is a photo of the line I was standing in to register. I arrived 15 minutes early and was #14 in line. About 5 minutes later there were 20 people behind me. Thank heaven for early arrivals.

Onto Phase 2

Hooray !! We are done taking the glue down out of the craft/guest room..what a relief to have it all done. Mike helped me finish taking down the last 2 1/2 panels tonight..it was fun working side by side..getting glue water all over each other and scrapping that lovely glue off the walls. All this while the boys sat and watched Star Wars oh so nicely. (they don't move an inch when that movie is on)
Now we are onto Phase 2..filling in all the little holes that have been made from hanging photos and things..priming the walls and then painting it. Should be some fun photos to come as I was going to see about letting the boys help with the primer. It could be a very interesting weekend :)

Let's Go Fly A Kite

So the boys have been asking to go and fly kites for what seems like days on end. They started asking as soon as it got warm..it just wasn't windy enough. Well the wind finally came on Monday, actual gusts were all around us really, so we went to fly kites.

Here they are flying them high.


And here they are 5 minutes later, climbing the backstop !

The weather conditions were perfect for flying the kites..my boys just weren't in flying condition themselves I think. We did end up having a great day at the park though...

They climbed trees.


Went on a mini hike and took a rest on the log.


Ryan took a photo of me resting under the slide.

All in all it was a fun day just the 3 of us..we don't often get those it seems..as we are usually going to the park with friends (which we love to do)..it was just nice to be with the 2 of them. Reminded me so much of why I LOVE being a mom !

Thank you My Love

I received the best birthday gift today..actually it was given to me on my birthday but today was the day I was able to use my gift certificate. My loving hubby gave me a gift cert for a 1 hour swedish massage with aromatherapy ! It was WONDERFUL ! I haven't felt so relaxed and rested in a long time..it was so peaceful, relaxing, calming and soothing. Being given the gift of relaxation was by far the best present this year. I am so thankful to have a husband who knows just the right things to do and say..and to give :) Thank you my sweet love for being so caring to me.

Mommy & sons weekend

This weekend my hubby and our oldest son went for a guys weekend to the Bay Area with family. They were going to be having fun playing basketball, poker, xbox ... you name it ... they were having a good time. So this was a weekend for me and the little ones..here's a little of what we did...

A little painting on the driveway.


A picnic in the front yard.


A little nap together.

We had a fun time together..just having fun..no chores, can't do those as well when you're the only adult around. We even had friends over for pizza on Saturday night..all the kids managed to stay up til 10:30..what a treat ! I cherish these times with my boys..it is so fun to just enjoy and play together..but I also LOVE it when my hubby comes home and we are all together.

Feeling Good...

... about being organized today ! Last night I was able to go through all my fabric, scrapbook paper & embellishments and seperate it all out. It took some time, but with my hubby gone for the weekend I had the whole night..once the kids were in bed. :)
This morning I took the kids to Target (a favorite around here) and picked up a few containers and then headed on home to put it all together. I must say I am so pleased with how things have turned out. I can see what fabrics I have to work with in a nice closed container..I was keeping them in a very large gift bag that was starting to split at the sides. I also put my current projects in a smaller carrier so that it can be moved around if need be. The patterns are all together in a file folder..I hadn't realized how many I had collected..there are a few projects that may have slipped my mind.
As for the scrapbooking items..I rearranged some things..putting the boys craft tools and items, such as yarn, wiggly eyes, glue sticks and so forth, into a couple art bins. This cleared out space in my roll around cart that is at my work table. Now it is filled with all of my goodies..stamps, stickers, brads, eyelets..just so nice to see it all together. Paper is also neatly in my 12x12 holder, sorted by color and then patterns. I even rearranged the space in the closet so it looks much cleaner..Mike will be very happy about this. :)
The time that I thought I would spend doing work on projects this weekend turned out to be time well spent going through things and getting nice and organized. Now I am ready to tackle a project tonight after the boys go to bed..and it will be so much more fun now that it is all right at my fingertips.

Makeover Day 6

I have made it onto the last wall with only 4 1/2 panels of wall paper glue left to go ! I feel so good about the progress I am making in there. It is such an amazing feeling to have this sense of accomplishment. This has not been light work..it takes time, sore arms, a sore back and an understanding family to have you spend an hour or so a day to get the job done. I think as a fun reward for the boys..I'll let them help me do the primer painting in there. They would get a kick out of that and so long as I have the carpet covered well, I won't care if it isn't on just so..it's only primer after all. Now it's off to bed for some rest so that I can get up and start all over again tomorrow.

Enjoying the Sunshine

My poor boys have been sick for almost 2 weeks now. We have had fevers, coughs, runny noses and pink eye to top it all off. It hasn't been the best couple of weeks around here. But yesterday we were able to enjoy the beautiful SUNSHINE in the backyard. The boys played on the slide, in their shrinking playhouse..it used to be bigger they said..and with the dog. It was nice that they got to burn off some stored up energy after being cooped up at home for most of last week. Wish us luck as we have another round of pink eye floating through here. I pray by this weekend we'll be able to come and go as we please..until then, we'll enjoy the photos of playtime !

Here are the boys in shorts in March !

Bear enjoying a chew stick..he loves the sun too !

Makeover Day 5

Since yesterday was a Sunday, and we didn't get to go to church because of pink eye..long story, I took advantage of Daddy being off work and did some great work today. There are only 6 1/2 panels of glue left on the walls ! YEAH ! I was able to put in a good 3 hours in the room yesterday along with moving more furniture around..the room looks like a tornado hit with some mild organization.. I am still on track for having the glue down by the time Darren gets home on Friday. He'll need a bedroom to be in for his spring break after all.

Here's a shot of another wall of glue coming down.

Makeover Day 4

Today is going to be about getting down more glue..just love that wall paper. UGH ! There were 14 panels total that needed to come down and so far I have removed 3. I took a break yesterday to go and buy some shelves at IKEA for the finished room. Had to go yesterday because I had a coupon, it was good to take a small break too..stay refreshed on the whole thing. It was fun to walk around and get some ideas and check out items that may just end up in there..we'll see. Well it's back to work...

Made with Love

My adorable niece Emma lives in New Zealand and I miss her so. I love to make things for her as she is the only girl grandchild...I feel the need to spoil her. So this year for her 2nd birthday, which was just last week, Auntie made her a butterfly apron. Her birthday party theme was butterflies, so this was fitting. I can't wait to see a photo of her wearing it and having a blast in the kitchen with her Mama. Enjoy my sweet Emma Girl !

Here is the apron complete with butterfly pocket.

This is the pocket up close..I embroidered her name on it as well as antenna.

Craft Room Makeover Day 1

When we bought our home almost 8 years ago..every room in the house had wall paper in it..it was a model home and the previous owners didn't take any of it down. The last room in the house to have paper remaining is my craft room/guest room. Well today it came down ! YOOHOO! I let the boys go crazy and tear it all down..they had so much fun..they couldn't believe they were allowed to actually TEAR the wall paper! They kept on saying how much fun it was..and it made great ripping noises which just added to the fun. Now I am on to the fun stuff..getting all the glue off. The paper was the easy part..the glue not so much. It is the same as every other room in the house..takes a while to come down..but I have a goal and a plan in mind so it will get done. Watch for more updates to see how it all turns out.

Here I am working on removing all the glue.

Rainy Day Thoughts

..it is a blustery rainy day here..as it has been the last 2 days and will continue to be for the next 2 days. We are experiencing spring showers in all their glory. Our flower garden is being fed, our grass is a little greener and the tiny birds are coming to eat the seed we left for them out front. It is a good reminder of God's goodness and providing for our needs. We have been in need of some good rain storms, and as much as I am starting to get cabin fever, I know it is what we need. Plus this gives us time to get well from our colds, pull out some new puzzles, play dough, or time to play on the cricut :) This is also the time I pull out the rainy day book of activities for us to do some fun things. Not only are we being blessed with rain..I am being blessed with quality time to spend with the boys..since they are not running around outdoors in sunshine.

Family Time at Mini Golf

This weekend family was here..we had such a good time together. Saturday we went out to lunch and enjoyed a round of mini golf. We had never taken the little guys so this was a real treat ! They LOVED it! Matthew and Ryan got the hang of it right away and were swinging their clubs like pros..at their ball..at everyone else's ball..it was great. They really enjoyed the hole in one tins..they helped us all get at least 1 each. We made it through with only Mom losing her ball in the river..I just couldn't make it over the ramp..oh well..some kids went for a quick dip and pulled about 7 balls out for all. We even finished off the day with Mike hitting a hole in one for a free game..YEAH Mike! It was so fun to enjoy time together..can't wait for our next visit !

The boys working on their putting.

Watching Grandpa make the shot.

I got a hole in one !

Dad showing us his skills.