time with izzybusybells

this is my first time alone with izzybusybelles in the 11 years shes been alive.

cams and logi are in san diego on a lil summer adventure with their meema.

yesterday was day one.

it was full of this and that. i sure love this girl, she has so much to offer. she is right at the age where she is still a little girl and all of a sudden a big girl too. starting middle school in late august. lots of changes. of course as her mama i feel worried. have i taught her enough to cope with all that will come her way? are we both strong enough to figure it out along the way? i like to think so. we've done pretty good so far. my izzy, she presents herself as loud and crazy and confident with a carefree attitude. but she is also very sensitive and sweet and doesn't often click with people...she gets her little feelings hurt, but lashes out to hide them.

anyway. i am just taking her all in. enjoying just being with her--this little time we have to grow and bond together as mama and daughter.

at the same time missing camille and logan. its very hard for a mother to give her kids time and space to be away. even if we all need it. i always get the sick butterfly feeling inside when any of them are away from me too long. esp. this past year. i have an extra urging to protect them. to need them by me.

i always feel like i fall short on being my best mama to them, but then something or someone will remind me how wonderful they are. how smart and beautiful and healthy and vibrant, and i must admit that it can't all be their natural selves, it can't all be God's graces. i must have something to do with it. i try my best.

i guess i'm loving my littles extra today. thinking of them in my heart.

ok. enough of this, time for adventures with my girlie.

out and about in DC

the photos here are all mixed up, but the little day trip went well. we went down to DC on Saturday. it was nice. it was hot. we drove around and did some site-seeing first. checking out all the foreign embassies. that was kinda cool, seeing their flags and how nice the buildings were. the British embassy seemed to be the biggest one. there are soo, i mean SOOO many weird buildings down in DC. it's kinda neat to imagine what on earth goes on inside some of them. lots of strange names for this or that. i was kinda afraid of being down there when we first got here. too many people, too much just stuff-- but each time i go, i discover the beauty of our nations capitol, the sense of our history pulls you in. the mix of government buildings with houses and businesses and people all mixed in. i got a little photo of the security on top of the white house just as alex was explaining some of it to us. that was cool. we ended up at the free Smithsonian zoo and park. it was nice. we looked at cows and lions among some other animals. it was really hot but the zoo is on a wonderful spot of land within a park, i forget the name. but it would be a nice place to walk around and enjoy when the weather is cooler. we also stopped at the National Cathedral. now THAT was spectacular. what a beautiful place to attend services. the kids and i peeked inside. really beautiful. i just wanted to sit on the lawn and breathe in the peacefulness of it. Its pretty massive and we will defintely be going back for a better longer visit.

we ended our trip to DC by swinging by Capitol Heights, where my whole family (expect me) was born and lived for generations. what a dump. seriously. it was really hard to see how rundown and scary it was. my grandma died in Jan. of 2004, when alex was in Iraq. she lived in her house on opus ave, my whole life and most of hers. even though she passed away-- in my mind sometimes i forget to think that she isn't there in her house anymore. i mean i pray for her soul and sometimes miss the heck out of her, so i know this, but it just doesn't feel true. they tore her house down when she passed and the property was sold. they built another house on the lot and even though it is newer, it looked already crappy. like maybe they started building and someone came and tore things up. anyway. there were very shady people all over the streets around her house...it looks like a horrible drug area and pretty poor. and it was good for me to see. the reality of it all. the new house there even has a different number. granny lived in 706, and the new one was 704. so not only is she not there, her house is completely gone. i do have a few memories of my time living with her there. and the one that sticks out the most is how i thought the house was so big, and the yard, and the hill up the street seemed so big to walk up. well the property is not all that big, and the hill was kinda steep but not very big. the houses were all cramped together and not as my young mind remembered. and we looked at the house that we lived in with my dad at the end of grannies street. all crappy falling apart houses. in a way it broke my heart to be there and not find her. but it gave me some closure too. i don't ever have a reason to go back to capitol heights....well that's not true. my granny and my dad and lots of aunts, uncles, and the grandpa i never knew are all buried there somewhere. (that can be another visit for another time). i was glad that i was the lucky one born and raised in san diego. i only lived back in dc with my granny for a few years when i was younger. and while my dad and others spoke of DC as home, i never ever felt it. i only thought of granny in DC. in her big (little) white house on opus ave. i'll just hold onto the good memories i have of that time and place. thats all i can do really.

reading & pancakes

a few glimpses into our daily life here.

Logan is reading a series called Maximum Ride the book is called The Angel Experiment. he is so into this book. i had to cut him off last night at midnight!! camille has the whole series for him to read and he is loving it. I'm so proud of him for reading without me asking him to.

Also, Camille has been waiting to make us all blueberry pancakes for breakfast, and today was the day. they were yummy. i love when she gets a bright idea and esp. when it only involves a bit of my help. shes such a great girl, highly motivated lately to do all sorts of projects. i just love her. no pics of izzy today. she is sitting as close to the TV as she can this morning having her quiet TV time while the other 2 are out on the porch. they hate her shows, so shes trying to get her time in. :)

that's all for today.

my plans:

important phone calls.

post office.

wash my hair.

help cams finish sewing for terrys bday gift.

as long as i get them done today i'll be good.

xoxo

summer swim meet--last one

today was logans last swim meet. he did pretty good. no ribbons given out yet so we'll have to wait to see what he gets at the swim party next week, but he did beat at least one of his own times, so good for him. :) i am kinda thankful its over, getting him to swim practice each morning takes much effort. it was worth it, he had a fun time, improved all his swimming strokes, became a stronger swimmer AND trimmed up his little big boy body. he has his dads body minus the muscles...and it needs constant work outs or its get a lil chubby. :) of course on logan its still cute chubby. :)

i am happy to have our saturdays back. swim meets suck all your time and energy. and it is on saturdays there is the biggest of hopes that alex may pop in to spend time with us...so i need my saturdays back. :)

a few pics of our morning, and im off to relax. i think i got a lil sunburned too.

xoxo

something creative to share

wow. two posts in one day. amazing. considering i often do two posts within several months.

yippee for me.

just a little something i worked on last night out on the porch while camille knitted and we chatted. 2 cute cards. no stamping, but i did use ink to roughen up the edges. punches, and scraps and a few embellishments. totally easy to do. :)

who wants one????

any of my friends who never leave comments can say HI and i'll send you your pick. :)

good times.

happy stuff.

xoxox

i am actually up at 6am again.

just a note to self really...

i am finally up at 6am. buster is out roaming the yard, the dishwasher is running, ive already checked my email, and now i am about to sit on the porch with a nice fresh mug of coffee. it has been at least 2 weeks since i got up this early. --the reason being, both dogs were having issues with living in this house. henry kept getting up because i assume the noises were affecting him. and poor sweet annoying buster, well, he has some serious allergies that have turned his skin all nasty...and it makes his immune system falter, as well as his ability to stay asleep for 14 hours a night. its more like 3hours now...so up i go each night letting him in and out and then in and out. by the time the morning rolls around; i have been tired and cranky and everything else not so happy. camille has even taken to getting logan to swim team for me on time cause i just cant seem to do it. but TODAY is a new day. i feel tired but i got 6 straight hours of sleep last night-- and i am happy with that. :)

today i will:

clean bathrooms, wash/dry a load of laundry, help cams spray paint her bulletin board, put up logis poster, and paint izzys mirror. those have been on my list of to dos for at least a week. it is time.

happy tuesday all!

and cheers to me for getting back my sleep and my morning quiet time before kids get up. :)

xoxo

ps. how nice are those polka dot ribbons from stampin up?? i adore ribbons. yeah, it sounds cheesy, but really how could you not simply love ribbons that look that good?? :)the crushed curry (yellow) is my favorite.

beach. snowcones. sharks. yes, i said sharks!!!

yes.
there were sharks at the beach today. alex came home for the day and so we headed out for some time together. the state park at the water is as good a place as any to go. water. sand. trees and grass everywhere. trails. playground. bathrooms. little snack shop to eat burgers, or have a crazy flavored snow cone. yes. a great place to retreat as a family on a summery saturday.
as alex and the kids took off their shoes to walk in the water...i noticed something blackish or grey sticking up in the water. at first i didn't think anything of it, but it kept popping up. and then i got this funny scaredy-cat feeling inside and i told alex--there is something in the water. and i dont just mean, way out in the water...about 12 feet away from us...and as we are all looking to see it again, more and more of them pop up. good lordy...there are sharks in the water.
i'll have you know this mama got her babies out of that water something quick. and so we spent some time safely on the sand looking and hollering back and forth at each other...oh there's one...oh theres more oh look---what a commotion we were causing. alex finally decided we needed to leave.
the kids did warn the bunch of teenagers who showed up after us...and they began their own hollering etc...

good times.
good stories to hold on to.
xoxox

ps. if i can remember i will come back to add the photos i took of us at the beach...and a few of the water pictures that do not have sharks in them, even though i tried and tried...they were just too quick for me. but believe me--they were really there. my kids are still talking about it.

$3.50 dinner tonight

i am so proud of myself tonight. i just had to share. i fed the family (minus A-dog) for $3.50. seriously. now, it wasn't my best meal, and it wasn't packed full of vitamins etc. but it was quick and easy and cheap and they ate every single bite. a loaf of soft french bread from the deli for a buck, a box of ricearoni chicken flavored:under a buck, and an applesauce cup for each: a six or 8 pack I cant remember which, for like $1.26. it was most likely under $3.50 for the total meal, and I paid with it in change only. yup. it can be done. :) I only went in for an iced coffee that probably cost more then the meal, now that I'm thinking about it...but i wanted to see if i could feed them on what was left in change in my purse. and i did it.
there have been days where i spent a nice chunk of change and time on a decent meal, and either I A. burnt it, B. undercooked it. or C. the kids didn't like it. so today dinner was good and cheap and it took all of 15 mins to cook up. :)

for dessert they had bananas...so there's the nutritional part. high five to me.
xoxo

sum sum summertime

yup. the lazy days of summer. though not so very lazy around here. we are moved in. although we still have things to put away...once a home for those things shows up. my cousin kelly and her family just spent a week with us. SOOO wonderful to have my children spend time with her children. kelly is my one cousin who i spent time with growing up and she is beyond special to me. i love that the kids will have memories of their time together too. :)

its been just me and the kids for the most part. Alex is off doing whatever it is he does for the world. and pops in on us every so often.

we are working on projects for the kids rooms. posters, little decorating things like painting bullitin boards, frames etc to match. crafty fun stuff.

it seems like every second of each day i am busy doing something. the house is so much smaller and so if i dont keep up with things like laundry and cleaning...well everything goes to h double L. and i just cannot live like that anymore. i have enough chaos with my own mind, and the kids and the dogs. i need the house to run smooth.

so I hope to be back to posting soon, but ya never know with summer. keeping kids busy and everything is a lot of work, regardless of their age. :)

anyone still reading this thing?? say hello!!

xoxo