Trade Offs

As a stay at home mom, there isn't much alone time or do-what-i-want-without-getting- interrupted time. And that's ok. That's what I signed up for, I imagine. But sometimes those unsolicited moments come when no one is bothering me, and yes, they are at home. It happened this morning. I had showered and was getting ready for the day. No one was coming to ask me anything, tell on anyone, or ask for anything so I was taking my time. At one point, I realized it was very quiet and asked, "Are you boys making a mess?" to which they replied, "Yes." That put me in a bit of a pickle. Do I go stop the madness (which I didn't really know what that was at the time) or do I go along with my alone time? Well I busted out the blow dryer and straightener and decided to do my hair for the first time in a very long time. I don't know why I decided to do that with my free time, but nonetheless that is what I did. When I finished, I went to the crime scene. What did I find? Two boys in the middle of 100 dice and 11 decks of cards, individually scattered throughout a 5 foot circle. Yes, that is a big, annoying mess. The dice... not so much. The cards... annoying. Having to sort through them and put them with their matching deck, just not so fun. The boys were proud of their creation and I really wasn't all that bothered. I mean, is it kinda like spending $5 to make $30? I had to spend 10 minutes cleaning up to have a half hour to myself. I think it might have been worth it. Nothing comes without cost, right? Not even "free time."


We had a fun, relaxing weekend in San Diego. We hit up Sea World and a Padres game. The boys were entertained by Cal and Owen and that's what matters! Monday we got to hang out with Yosh's aunt, uncle, and cousins. We ate at all the best beach spots, Paradise Cove and Duke's, and got to know the cousins better. In fact, we had never met Miss Lucy, their little 8 month baby. Lots of fun. I must say, I love Southern California. I really do. I often feel like I'm on vacation when I'm right here in my own city.

What Am I Loving Right Now?

Really just a couple things. First off, Zappos.com. My little guys have been needing some new shoes, but sometimes I feel like it takes all I have to take the two of them shopping since that isn't their number 1 idea of fun/entertainment. Also, it feels like it takes at least takes a half hour to drive anywhere to look with no guarantees of finding anything I will like. So yesterday I shopped myself right over to Zappos.com and found what I was looking for. Great selection, very organized, gas efficient, time efficient, no screaming kids... seriously, is this shopping heaven? Did I mention free shipping both ways? That's right, have them send all kinds of shoes to try on and send back the ones you don't like... at absolutely no cost to you. And let's look at things how they are, driving to the mall anymore can cost a good $10. It's a no brainer. I have shopped at Zappos before, but I don't think I appreciated it as much as I do now. Oh yeah, and did I mention I ordered them yesterday and already have them today? Yeah baby!

I wish the picture showed how small and cute these little boxes are. Serious, everything that is miniature is ten times cuter... even shoe boxes.

And what else have I been loving? Let me tell you... Honey Baked Chicken with American Basmati Brown Rice. So good and so easy! I cooked it tonight for my little fam but used 6 chicken breasts b/c I also absolutely love the leftovers. Those flavors get to mixing and they aren't messin around. Claire sent me this recipe sometime back and it has been a show stopper (is that the right saying? Who knows.) when we cook for others and is definitely a family favorite. I serve the chicken with Basmati brown rice and it is G- double O- D good! And I will probably cook it for you if you ever come over to my house!

(The tweeks I make to the recipe are the following: I take the advice given at the bottom of the recipe and use 1/2 tsp garlic salt and 1/2 tsp regular salt. Add a bit of cayenne pepper and a little extra curry. Use about half the butter recommended. I use boneless skinless chicken breast. I cut them up in about three pieces so that the chicken is flavorful throughout and moist.)

In all fairness to my husband, I should add an appendage. I'm guessing that if I were him he would say the thing he is loving in life right now is going to Jazz and Lakers play-off games. He was there for game two, and then this week game 5. Oh and did I mention his seats for game 5... center court, 14th row. Yeah, I think that is what he would say he's loving right now!

Wow... it's been a long time. Summary of my life: Chels and friends came for 5 days, Hailey and babies came for four days, AJ came for 1 week! In between we had a few frinds' get togethers, a couple dates with the husband, and then just last weekend a trip to Utah. So we've been busy but I haven't felt like posting. Sorry! Side note: I've been checking everyone's blogs and have been really lazy about posting comments... I'm going to step up my game and show some love!

Top things on my mind right now:

1) Where would be a great vacation for Yosh and I to go on in October without the kids? Who wants to come with us?!! I'm a little bitter right now b/c I want to be on the cruise with the others... I should be in mexico right now!!!

2) How do I raise my kids so that they don't end up on the show INTERVENTION? That would break my heart.

3) How come I'm not motivated to workout, clean, shower, cook, or do anything else? Can you believe I went to the gym for an hour today and only worked out for 20 minutes?!! That's right, I snuck out of my class 20 minutes into it then checked my email and relaxed on one of the loungers in the sun for the rest of the time. Who goes into a class and 20 minutes into it just doesn't feel motivated? Oh well, maybe Thursday I'll have more luck!

4) How do I have a three year old? Is it really possible that three years have passed?

Cousins B's B-day!

The friends! Cheese!

HUSBAND TAG

1. What is your husband's name? Yosh

2. Who eats more? hopefully Yosh
3. Who said I love you first? He did (and it was real funny because all I said was "ok". It really threw him off...)
4. Who is taller? Yosh. He claims that to be one of his better traits.
5. Who is smarter? Me, hands down. Unless you're looking at ACT scores, or GPAs, or doing trivia, or math, or history, or just finding your way around town... you know
6. Who is more sensitive? maybe me but neither one of us are overly sensitive people
7. Who does the laundry? you don't want to know the answer

8. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? um Yosh. I have to be closer to the door to be able to get the kids

9. Who pays the bills? We go back and forth. I haven't seen any bills for awhile so I hope Yosh is right now.
10. Who cooks more? me
11. What meals do you cook together? we don't
12. Who is more stubborn? probably me. no, definitely me. Yosh is very go-with-the-flow for most things
13. Who is the first to admit it when they are wrong? I don't know

14. Who is more clean? me. now that the house is my responsibility I can't stand a mess, or clutter, etc

15. Who has more siblings? I do.

16. Who wears the pants in the relationship? Let's be honest, I make the majority of the decisions but Yosh's opinion definitely holds a lot of weight!
17. What do you like to do together? eat! but also play tennis, chat, play cards, play games

18. Who eats more sweets? that would be my big weakness
19. Guilty pleasures? sports

20. How did you meet? through Lucas Hales when we were all in St Louis

21. Who asked who out first? Yosh asked me out. Cardinals game...
22. Who kissed who first? you know we were feeling it and it happened. very mutual...
23. Who proposed? Yosh of course
24. Best features? His eyes and his height
25. What is his best quality? his nonjudgmental attitude
Now I tag: Cassi, Tess, Tamara, Marlena, Carrie, Lindsay Roberts, and Cami!

Wow, that last experience really was old news compared to our latest! On Thursday at 6:30 am I get a phone call from Yosh saying that we got "the invite"- that would be the American Idol invite! Holla! Yosh unfortunately wasn't able to go to the show but I was! (Thanks to Nancy who took a flight over with about a 2 minute heads up... whoops! Thank you thank you!!) And he was able to join me for the dinner after the show with all the Idols. As you can tell by the photos, he went ahead and took the opportunity to work the crowds. That's right, Yosh came right out of his shell! (For those of you that know Yosh well, you will find it funny imagining him walkning up to the contestants, making small chat, and asking for a photo!)

Highlights of the night:

1) Seeing Brooke and getting to hang out again! So good just to be around her and be reminded of what a great person she is!
2) Being in the audience of Michael John's routine. He talked about all the other contestants for about 20 minutes and I can't tell you the last time I laughed so hard!
3) Having a day and night off with no kids! (Sounds bad, but it's needed every now and then!)
4) Seeing how everything works behind the scenes. Hate to disappoint you, but Jordan Sparks was not there and her performance was not live.
5) Seeing Paula prance around like a bit of a lost kitty cat.

Overall it was an excellent night!! As always, a reminder to vote for Brooke tomorrow night. I'm sure everyone was shocked that Michael John's got voted off. It just goes to prove that no one is safe unless we vote!

PS There is a viewing party for Brooke tomorrow night if anyone is interested!

Before this becomes old news.......

I have some very crafty friends. And it payed off. Thanks to a little inside dirt, the fam was able to sneak a peek of Brooke and the other Idol contestants on Tuesday. And yes, Brooke does look a amazing in person as she does on TV. We could only say hi for maybe two minutes but it was still awesome. We also "ran into" Taylor Swift. We got a pic with her because Dallin absolutely loves her song, "Tim McGraw", which he calls "Georgia."
That night when we were watching American Idol on TiVo, Dallin kept saying as each performer sang, "Mom, remember when we saw him/her and they were outside, 'member?" Well I would hope so. It had only been an hour since it happened!! Anyways, it was a lot of fun and something kind of LAish to do. One of the pros of living here!

Boys

It has begun... these last few weeks, or maybe even months, there has been no denying that I have two boys. Endless hours of shooting baskets out back, climbing and jumping, and now... WORMS. Yes, the boys dug up their first worms today. Actually, it was probably the other day, but I had no idea what they were talking about. They've been playing in an ex-flower pot. Well there is soil but no flower so that is what I would term it. Who knows where the flowers went... Anyway, B kept telling me he found a bracelet and I was like, "Ok," trying to think what he could possibly be talking about. Whatever it was he was real excited so we were all happy and I was really the only one that didn't know why. Well today he starts proclaiming again with glee, "Mom, the bracelet, the bracelet." So of course I come running out because I'm dying to know what this bracelet is. Sure enough... worms. The boys are ecstatic that they have found new playmates. They just kept digging and holding them until somehow a clean escape was made. No death involved in this case. It was just one of those light bulb moments where the old saying was brought to light- boys will be boys.

Once again, please excuse the nudity. We are kind of working on potty training.

Oh yes I forgot about other very exciting news. Friday night we had a family date and went to "Horton hears a Who." While in the theater, Porter said "Yosh" for the first time. This is a big deal to my husband. And Porter has kept saying it ever since. Porter is talking so good and has been saying words for quite a while but has refused to say "Yosh." When ever we ask him to, he responds in a very coy voice, "Nooo-ooo" (voice going high at the end!) Well not anymore, and his poppy couldn't be happier about it!