Tis the season

For some reason I'm having the most difficult time getting into the Christmas spirit this year. I'm sure it's because we don't have our tree up yet.

Well to try and get into the spirit we took the boys to pizza with Santa claus at Big Johns pizza. Which was a HUGE hit with Adam. He sat in his seat so well behaved. We purposely put him in the seat that was closest to Santa so that he could look at him the entire time he was eating. Let me tell you what a good boy we had at dinner that night. There wasn't a crumb dropped on the floor and he at almost 2 pieces of pizza. He and Santa kept looking at each other. I told Adam he was watching to see if he was being a good boy.

After pizza we spent and hour and drove around town and looked at lights. I have to say I'm sad that Ladow street is not even close to what it used to be.

We are going to get our tree this weekend and I can't wait to decorate our home for Christmas.

Preschool

We decided to enroll Adam into preschool this year. I was a little concerned because he isn't even 3 yet. I mean really, is preschool necessary? Well, so far I've been extremely surprised at what he has already learned in his first month of preschool.

He knows the letters sounds for h, m, and o. He also informs me that O is a vowel. He must be listening to everything his teacher talks about. He brought home a colored paper of a picture of wheat the other day and explained to me that wheat makes flour and flour makes pancakes, muffins, bread, and waffles.

So I guess enrolling Adam in preschool has been a good choice.

100% finished!

Thought I would post a couple of pictures of our completed kitchen. Danny did such a great job.

All we have left is crown molding and baseboards. The countertops were installed today and they look fantastic!

I'm VERY happy with how the kitchen has turned out. Danny has done a really good job. He has worked on it everynight and on the weekends for 2 months with the exception when he and David went to Oakland.

Not sure why but my last post doesn't show up unless you click on August. weird... hopefully it won't happen with this post.

20 year reunion

I can't hardly believe it's been 20 years since I high school. I really enjoyed seeing everyone from school at the reunion this weekend. Reconnecting with old friends remincing about the good ole days.

It's getting closer!!!!

OMG! My kitchen is so close to being finished. Danny (with a HUGE help from my brother) was able to install the double oven yesterday. The rest of the cabinets we should finish install today. It's turning out beautiful. I'm really looking forward to having a kitchen sink again. It gets rather old going out the the trailer to do the dishes and cooking.

Progress

The kitchen is coming along pretty well. After a weekend of sore knees the wood floors are installed thanks to the help of Erin.

The exciting news is that the cupboards were delivered yesterday!!! So now the fun part begins. If all goes well the kitchen should be pretty much completed by next weekend. Then all we have left is all the door/floor trim.

It's looking so good. Danny is doing a great job and I can't wait until it's finished!

On another note. David has been in Arizona for a week and I miss him like crazy. He will be back on the 25th and I can't wait to see him. I'm posting a current picture of my kitchen and a picture of David with Daunte Culpepper that was taken last weekend in Oakland. I have a HUGE crush on Daunte and have for more than a few years. I'm super excited he'll be playing for the Raiders this year!

Go Raiders!!!

Harry Potter

David has read Books 5 and 6 of Harry Potter this summer. He was so excited to read the final book so he and I went to the local bookstore at midnight to be able to buy the 7th book. I personally don't care for fantasy type books but I was excited for David.

It took him 3 days to read the entire book and he was not disappointed at all. I love the fact that he loves to read so much.

Now if I could just find enough time in a day to read a book instead of just browsing through a magazine.

remodeling

I'm getting ready to start week 3 without a kitchen. Danny has been working his tail off. By the end of next week we should have the drywall and painting, plumbing, and electrical completed. Then he and Erin will be installing the hardwood floors.

I get worried that he is working to much. Between "real work" and remodeling the guy hasn't had a chance to relax. So he and David are going to Oakland for the Raider Nation Celebration in August. He deserves the break.

Here is a picture of the progress so far. It changes a little bit more everyday.

baggy pants

Isn't this the CUTEST picture?!!! David took it the other day with my new camera. (loving the new camera by the way!!!)

The smile on his face in this pictures lights up my heart and makes me smile. Adam is a very fun toddler to be around. Perhaps it's because there is never a dull moment with him around. I swear from the minute he was born... actually even before he was born he has tried to be independent. After all this is a child who nearly entered the world without a doctor or nurse in the room.

Anyway... he is a little daredevil. At the pool he is going down the "red and blue" slides. These slides are made more for 4-6 year olds. But he has no fear and skips over playing on the little toddler frog slide. I guess maybe he is a thrill seeker. (I so dread him being a teenager!)

All I know is that I'm sure thrilled that he has decided to be finished with diapers!!! I have to say he was SUPER easy. I haven't been brave enough to let him go all night without a pull up but he does wake up dry every morning so maybe I'll be adventerous and let him try it one of these nights.

39

So this is me at 39. I can see wrinkles around my eyes. However, there isn't a grey hair in site so that is a good thing. I feel better at 39 than I did at 29. I feel more confident and peace with who I have become as an adult. Although I still doubt myself, I do know that I'm a good person and I try and be the best mom and wife I know how to be.

some of the things I enjoy at 39

1. going for a walk

2. watching the sunrise

3. listening to silence

4. eating ice

5. getting hugs from my boys

6. chinese food

7. chatting with friends

8. running into an old friends from high school

9. sitting by a campfire

10. being able to talk to my mom everyday

11. taking naps

12. Hearing my husband tell me he is on his way home from work

13. watching the sunset

fishing

I took the boys fishing today. It was the first time for Adam and oh boy did he LOVED it! I warned David that he would have to do all the work involving hooks, worms, and fish. Sure enough he did. He was a bit frustrated because his line snapped a couple of times but seemed to enjoy the rest of it.

Adam on the other hand just wanted to keep casting out and have me reel it in. It reminded me of when I was little and went fishing. I got bored and wanted to do the exact same thing.

On the down side...I forgot my camera. I'm so disappointed in myself. How could I miss Adam's first fishing excursion. As he was kneeling down and picking up rocks to throw it brought back memories of David 10 years ago.

Danny met us there after he was done working. It was a really relaxing evening.

It's 10:30pm and Adam is still awake in his room. I swear this child needs VERY little sleep. I'm sure he'll be up at 6:30 requesting a cup of milk and to watch Cailou.

It's been awhile

The life of having a toddler and a preteen keeps me so busy. It seems like there is little time left for myself.

I had a fantastic Mother's Day. I woke up to a clean kitchen and the smell of pancakes. Danny took care of the kitchen and David got up early to make me pancakes. Adam he did a little bit himself by sleeping in until 7:30am!!! Woo hoo!!

The weather has been finally been VERY nice and warm. The only problem with that is it brought a 3 ft bull snake into my driveway! YUCK!!! Anyone who knows me knows that I'm terrified of ANY snake. David accidently stepped on it and Adam almost did. David and a couple of neighbor boys hooked it with a rake and it went slithering off. YUCK! I wish they would have killed it because now I feel like I need to be constantly looking for it to return. So looks like I wont be doing any weeding and the weeds are getting pretty bad right now. YUCK YUCK YUCK! I hate snakes!

Here are a couple of pictures we have taken recently.

Spring Time!!!

The weather has been incredible. I spent most the weeking Spring cleaning, going for walks with Adam, playing catch with David, and going to the park. It was the best weekend in a longtime.

I'm hoping to get a little scrapbooking in over the next couple of weeks. This is my last week of babysitting and I'm all finished. Adam is going to miss Rylee so much. Life is good right now and I'm so thankful because it was a really long Winter. Now next on the list is getting my winter poundage off my body.

I joined an online support group to help me with that. I highly recommend it. www.sparklepeople.com

I have found it to be very motivating.

The Name Game - A Meme

Shawnie tagged me so here it goes. (by the way I've never been tagged before I hope I'm doing this right.
1. YOUR REAL NAME: Sharyn Marie
2. YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (first three letters of your name, plus izzle): Shaizzle. (same as Shawnie!)
3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three of your last): Smit (Sounds pretty fly to me!)
4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (fav color and fav animal): Purple Pug.
5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, Street you live on): Marie River View (kind of works I guess?)
6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name, first 3 letters of mom’s maiden name): Smishster (it works for me)
7. SUPERHERO NAME: (favorite color, favorite drink): Purple Tea
8. YOUR IRAQI NAME: (2nd letter of your first name, 3rd letter of your last name, any letter of your middle name, 2nd letter of your moms maiden name, 3rd letter of your dad’s middle name, 1st letter of a sibling’s first name, last letter of your moms middle name): hirtkrn (makes Sharyn seem not so bad)
9. YOUR STRIPPER NAME: (the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/body spray):
Cherry Blossom
10. YOUR WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother & father’s middle name): Ellen McKinley.

This was fun! Thanks for tagging me Shawnie! I'm going to tag Natasha.

A rare moment

It's 7:30am. The house is quiet. Adam is sleeping in and my daycare girls are still sleeping also. David is already at school and I'm sitting here enjoying a cup of tea and the silence. This is a very rare moment and I'm appreciating every second of it.

Got the bug!

The scrapbooking bug that is. I haven't scrapped in months and it felt great to actually get a page finished. This photo was taken last spring at one of our local parks. It amazes me to see how much Adam has changed in looks over such a short period of time. I'm planning on working on a few more layouts this weekend.

A fun way to get some exercise!

Who needs to go to the gym if you have a wii! Check out this article, I was impressed with the results. http://wiinintendo.net/2006/12/05/wii-sports-experiment/

Do you live in the past, present, or future?

I took this challenge from the 2peas website.

Do you live in the past, present, or future?

I tend to live in the present with thinking of the future. I enjoy each day and appreciate all the important things in life. It's amazing to me how fast life goes by and if I don't take the time today to enjoy it I'll have regrets later.

At times in my life, usually when I'm having depression issues, I've lived in the past. Not leg warmers, big hair, and polka dot mini skirt past. But I'll think back to my childhood and wonder how things might have been different had I had a dad growing up and I would dwell on it for days and days. I allow myself time every so often to wonder about him but I don't dwell on it like I used to.

I do things today so that I'll be here for my children in the future.

Potty time?

Adam during one of 100 trips to the bathroom the other day decided he wanted to hold the foot stool while he went potty. He is doing pretty good for his age especially for a boy. He still goes in his diaper a few times a day. But he has shown a ton of interest. He'll even tell me he wants to use the potty as soon as he wakes up. I was expecting him to be a little more stubborn about it. Of course he may decide next week he wants absolutely nothing to do with it. Hopefully he'll keep it up and if he is completely potty trained by summer then he might be able to enroll in 3 year old preschool this fall. It's only 2 days a week for 2 1/2 hours but I think he would enjoy it.

What about Brian?

Confession time... I've still been watching "What About Brian?"

I just kept holding out hope that it was going to get good again and it finally is. So much so that Danny is going to play catch up and start watching it with me again. It seems like there is some definite onscreen chemistry between Marjorie and Brian. I just cant help but get sucked in. Oh, and I sure wish Dena and Dave would kiss and make up. Last weeks episode was to funny when Dena showed up at daycare, where Dave's girlfriend works, looking all hooched up.

There are parts of the show I can do with out but I'm a sucker for the smut.

milestones

It's only Tuesday and already it's been an eventful week. First David got his first job! He is delivering the newpaper. He learned the route today and he really enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to walking it with him on the weekends.

The other big news is Adam learned to peddle his tricycle yesterday! He doesn't go very fast or very far, but he is doing it. He needs me to push him a little bit if there is a slight hill. But hey we could all use a push every now and then.

Right now I need a push out the door and to the gym...but that's a whole different post.

Christmas Gift

I absolutely LOVE my Christmas gift from Danny. As always he put a great deal of thought into what he gave me. The picture doesn't do it justice.

Reno

We got Reno a new bed for Christmas and she loves it. The only problem is she uses it more as a step stool to get up on the couch than she does actually to sleep in. If I have her bed right near where I'm sitting than she'll stay in it. Although her first choice is to be on the couch. She is my shadow. I feel bad for her because she is starting to lose her vision in her eye. So she runs into doors and gets caught up under my feet all the time.