too many to pick just one

We love
1. this newly discovered blog
2. Our trip to Seattle to watch the Seattle Symphony and the ballet perform the Nutcracker . My mom and the girls and a friend got to go ( poor auntie C. got the flu and had to give her ticket away).

3. Working on my felt gingerbread house

4. Thinking about our 4 day trip to Leavenworth coming up. Snow here we come! That is, if there is any to be seen.

5. Going to see Santa yesterday. As usual the girls have EXPENSIVE taste.

Peggy Sue got married...

This last weekend was the annual Kerley Halloween bash. Mark and I were not sure we would be able to make it this year because of all the baby happenings, but we were able to throw together a last minute costume idea that turned out pretty great. I have my mom's old letter sweater...class of '61 and some cats eye glasses and Mark purchased an Elvis wig, rolled up a pack of candy cigs in his shirt sleeve and we were off to party for at least a little while!

People came in some pretty great costumes...my favorites were Holly Golightly from Breakfast at Tiffany's, Strawberry Shortcake and Miami Vice...Crockett and Tubbs.

Don't know how long everyone partied into the night but it was a hit as usual!

Week 21 and a few days

Here I am with (finally) a prego belly. We took the girls to Craven Farms to get their pumpkins on Tuesday just before it got dark. It is nice to be out there during the week, when the farm isn't packed full of people. We love Craven Farms and we go there every year.

I think we will carve pumpkins this Sunday because the week is jam packed with activities for us. Mark and the girls are baking two cakes for the school cake walk and I can't wait to see how they turn out. They came up with some really good Halloween ideas. Pictures will be posted after they are complete!

You spin me right round

I think this may be the best coverband I've seen in a long time. I want them to come to Washington something terrible because my love of 80's music never dies.
Check out the band here. And with a super cool name "the Molly Ringwalds" what is not to enjoy?

Wooden candle holders

aren't these the cutest candle holders ever?

Halloween Pasta and other fun stuff

In our search to find San Pellegrino "soda" we headed over to Cost Plus World Market and picked up a bunch of fun food items today. I love that they sell holiday pasta. I usually pick up a bag of the shape pasta which includes black and orange colored witches, pumpkins, etc.
This year we saw extra long angel hair pasta there in regular pasta color plus black and it's called "witches hair". We also bought pumpkin flavored pancake mix, a bottle of Ed Hardy Sangria, and some really yummy Pomegranate flavored tea. If you have a Cost Plus near you, I highly suggest heading there. Typically I don't look much at the home decor stuff, but I might next time.
I am so excited for fall. I love all of the pumpkin flavored items out there. I may even try to get decorating for fall this next week. But that means I have to get in the shed. That doesn't sound like much fun!

all i wanna do

Hi everyone, it has been another month since I last blogged. I have been doing absolutely nothing. For those of you that have been sick while pregnant you totally get it. I felt so bad when my friend and hairstylist Heather told me she pulled out her old pregnancy journal and had been sick for 5 months. I am just pleading that will not be me because there are so many things to get done and so many more fun things that I want to do!
The girls are going back to school soon. About a week and a half. We have all school supplies purchased and I suppose they will want to pick out their first day outfits soon! It's hard to believe my oldest is going into 5th grade. Time is moving too quickly.
This weekend should prove to be a lot of fun. Our friends Kelley and Lee are having an end of summer BBQ during the day on Saturday. They have the cutest little house in Seattle and they are the cutest couple. Ahhh, the first months of love. Oh, and they are soon to be married. I can't wait. It's been forever since we've been to a wedding!
Saturday night we have a going away party to attend. Over this last couple years we have become friends with our friends Nanny, and we absolutely adore her. She is moving on to a new family and will be extremely missed (luckily I will get to see her from now and then for coffee/passion tea lemonade) and I wish I could afford her to take care of our new little one on the way because she is phenomenal with kids. The new family is so lucky to have her in their lives! But, our friends are throwing her a "peace out nanny" party and although it will be sad, it should also be fun. I suppose I'll have to be the designated driver? Keymaster? Hmm......I don't know that I have been either one of those before.
Hopefully if I am still feeling well on Sunday, my mother-in-law will be coming over for scrapbooking. I am way overdue and am slowly feeling crafty again. My scheduled project is to finish our Leavenworth Cabin trip from last December. There are just a few finishing touches that need to be done. I've seen a ton of cute projects and page layouts so after Sunday I'll post what I get done and the links to the other great projects online.
Oh, did I mention that we have a color scheme for the baby's room? Linda is going to make a crib quilt for us so I am super excited about that. I just have to pick out some fabric and deliver that and the pattern to her.
Nothing else to report at this time, so this is me logging out.

A month...really?

I have had a lot I could of blogged about over the past month, but I am now 10 weeks into pregnancy land and I am sick and grumpy and I can't seem to shake it yet. I am sure my happy time is just around the corner.
In the meantime we have squeezed in a few fun things.
1. 4th of July at Martha Lake with an added bonus: battle of the rock/mariachi bands.
2. Anti-nausea meds so I could go out to a birthday dinner cooked by the Kerleys. Delicious mexican.
3. Mark going back to his RR job. Yay. A little less stress for awhile.
4. McDonalds friends reunion. It was awesome.
5. BBQ dinner cooked by the Kemps and a beautiful sunny day to celebrate my birthday.
6. Birthday dinner with family and some new cool books for birthday gifts.
7. Ryan's 3rd birthday at Carkeek park in Seattle. We haven't seen Nina or Lindy in a year and were sad that Kelley could not be there. Miss you Kelley! But Lee is hilarious...so glad he made it.
8. My daughters 10th birthday. She's hitting double digits. We're getting her ears pierced and she is getting a birthday dinner out at her restaraunt of choice.
9. Oh and I almost forgot, celebrating 60 years of marriage with Mark's grandparents. I can only hope we are married this long to each other.

So, with that it may be awhile before I post again. The couch is screaming my name right now. I wish this super hot weather would GO AWAY!
P.S. Amanda and I also went and played bingo. We might have been the youngest players there, but it was still soooo fun. Tulalip bingo is expensive! Next time we better win!!!!

celebrity old school

A few weeks ago I stumbled upon the funniest little blog.
I hope you will check it out and get as many giggles as I do.
Plus you get to see lots of old pictures of celebrities. Boggle Mama is the place to be!

all things bacon

If you like trinkets, funny stuff or anything unusual that is cheap you need to check out Archie McPhees which is now located on 45th in Wallingford. They have so much fun stuff, but my favorite right now is the bacon flavored dental floss. Maybe Santa could bring me some of the pickle bandaids in my stocking this year? Much better than plain old Target brand bandaids!

Wouldn't it be nice?

Calling all Mom's out there...wouldn't it be so nice to win one of Madsens bikes?
go here to view what they have to offer!

I "puffy heart" garage sales

It has been awhile since I hit a really good garage sale. To me it's kinda like hitting the lotto and a scavenger hunt in one when you go to a good garage sale.
Here is what I purchased for under 20 bucks:
1. Wally Lamb first edition, autographed, special bound hard back book ( The Hour I first Believed)
2. 3 other books (One Good Turn, Generation Loss and The Namesake) all of which I am looking forward to diving into.
3. Two skeins of super cool chenile yarn (cranberry red and mulit-colored)
4. Paul Frank pajamas for MOI.
5. Paul Frank shirt for Molly
6. One yard of flowered fabric in pinks and greens.
7. Ann Taylor black capris that are really awesome looking
8. zip-up Hollister jacket for Hayley
9. Hoodie from American Eagle in yellow that says "sun-kissed"
10. Super cool mirror that I am going to paint and list on Etsy.

I am loving garage sale season already. We are having our own this next Saturday...weather permitting.

Shrek is cozy

For a long time now, every time we go to Build-a-Bear workshop, the girls want me to buy them sleeping bags for their animals. I usually say no and tell them "I can sew that!"

Well today I did just that. A few months back I picked up some orange fleece and about 5 yards of this super cool flowered cotton fabric at the thrift store. So that is what I decided to use. It was a little hard to sew in the fleece for the lining, because the fleece is very stretchy, but I think it turned out quite cute. Shrek is sleeping very well tonite in his new sleeping bag!

Lazy Sunday

Mark and I started out the weekend with a group of friends down in Seattle. I may have shocked him by saying I wanted to take the motorcyle, and I am so glad we did. It was fun. We really don't do it often enough...you know life gets in the way. Peso's was a good little restaraunt and it was fun to celebrate Becky's birthday.

Saturday, Mark worked and the girls had a slumber party. The Wilson girls are so easy to have over, but I am still exhausted today. Mark and I took them all to the Edmonds beach today to play out in the sun. The tide was out so the girls got to see a lot of sea anemones, starfish and this other creepy crazy sea creature ( the orange wormy looking thing).

We came home and took a nap...my favorite thing to do! When we got up, Mark decided he would take his new bicycle and ride it over to Lowe's so he could see how much time it would take him. He wants to start riding his bike to work when the weather is nice. He got less than a mile from home and the chain broke. Of course now Joe's is going out of business so I bet they are going to be a pain in the you-know-what about putting on a new one. What a joke, brand new and the chain is already broke. He walked it back home and now is at the park with the kids. I expect them home any minute.

I've got the ipod on and I have a project cut out for sewing on Weds with Theresa. She is among the many people we know who have been laid off...so send good vibes this way for her and Mark because Mark just got laid off again from the Railroad...AGAIN! Can we say it enough that this economy sucks?

yesterday and tommorow

It has been too many days since I have blogged. But since yesterdays visit with my cousin, Naoto, (who has lived in San Francisco for a few years now) I've decided I better keep up regularly. I can't believe it has been over 10 years since the last time I saw him. He is super funny, and personable and so...GROWN UP! Mark and I can't wait to go to San Fran to spend a weekend or so with him. We talked about his next visit here too...with a trip to the Experience Music Project our first stop in a long list of things to do in Seattle. He used to live here but was 2 years old or something when my uncle packed up the family and moved to Tokyo. It will be such a treat to have him visit again and he will always have a place to stay when he is here. So Naoto if you are reading this...take the hint ha ha.
Hmmm...what else have we been up to.
1. Mark was gone to Portland for work and saw "Grand Turino" at the $3 movie house. He gave it two thumbs up.
2. The girls have met 2 new childrens authors in the past week. The first was was Trudi Trueit and the other Peter Brown, author of a few books....but widely known as the author of Chowder. Lots of fun to meet them both. They have inspired the girls to write and draw.
3. Dan and Linda are gone to Hawaaii, so I am in charge of Spooky while they are gone. She better not have left me any presents, if you know what I mean.
4. Reading...finished the book "Wolf at the table" and "Beautiful Boy" both of which were really good. Sad, but good. I am now reading an old book "Peyton Place". I am not sure if I like it yet, I need to give it a few more pages.
5. Teacher appreciation week is coming up and we are planning for that. We love our teachers, so we hope to do lots of fun things for them.
6. WASL is in full swing. I won't tell you what I think of that but may quote an old friend..."waste a lot of school learning". Enough said.
7. Beautiful weather. Love it, love it, love it. I think it is going away tommorow so for that I may shed a tear.
8. Ebay. Can you believe what people will pay for stuff sometimes? I wish I had the patience to do it full time. All I am selling so far is the clothes the girls have outgrown and a couple of odds and ends. It's crazy.
9. Work, work, work. We are getting a garden spot ready and I think my mom may have planted the strawberries today.
10. Royal Princess Bunco last friday. It was a ton of fun. We dressed up. I wore glitter in my hair, my curly hair piece, pink tutu, pink boa and felt very girly. Theresa and Becky joined and it turns out that Theresa and H.J. used to work together. H.J. has a son at my girls school and is my hair stylist. It is a small world and I say that more and more these days.
OK, I am exhausted. I stayed up way too late last night watching Paranormal State (did anyone see the one with the wife beater, miner, great grandfather ghost? Freaked me out!!!) and literally slept with the kitchen light on. I thought that Mark coming home at some god-awful hour in the night might make me jump right out of my skin.

sun, glorious sun

I used to think that only "old" people talked about the weather. It seemed to be all they talked about. How cold it is, how hot it is...how they have to water the plants, mow the grass, etc. etc.
Now I am officially putting myself into that category. I am super sick of cold weather, wet mushy roads and kids being cooped up. This weekend we got the best weather here in the Puget Sound and we surely took advantage of it!
Yesterday Mark and I took the girls up to the beach in Everett. It is easy to get to and the trail is paved, but every time we go we maybe run into a handful of people and sometimes none at all. When the tide is out the beach is excellent there. Plus Hayley can bring her bike if she wants to and ride with ease. We love it there and it will be a great place to hang out when the weather is nice this summer.
Today, we opened the windows and the slider and let the fresh air sweep through our home. I love those first days of nice weather when you can have the windows open. It makes everything in your bones feel like summer is on it's way! The girls and I took a walk and enjoyed the people driving by with their music blasting. We sat outside at Dairy Queen and ate Blizzards in the warm air. Then we walked back home and Hayley baked and decorated a cake all on her own. She is really getting quite handy in the kitchen and will make a wonderful chef some day!
Now the kids are in bed and Mark is on his way home from Wenatchee. I'd love to steal away with him tommorow for a motorcycle ride because the weather is supposed to be gorgeous again and the kids will be back in school. Hmmmm...we'll see (smile).

Chester French - She Loves Everybody

I can't get this song out of my head! The video is a bit crazy, but still like the song.

things that occupy my time

Really we are all still alive here. That is the beauty of blogging. You can do it whenever you want...but then if you take too long in between people start asking where you are (even if you write about nothing exciting!).

We have really been busy again. Spring break is in full swing...not weather-wise, but the kids have been out all week. The sun peeked out here for about 20 minutes, but alas it is raining again.

This week brought us some very good news...Mark is back to work for BNSF! We can now breathe a collective sigh of relief. At least for this week! We did learn that we can cut back, waaaaay back, and still survive. It is stressful, but Mark and I are a great team! Having said that, I enjoy having money way more than not ha ha.

I have also decided to take the plunge back into ebay again. I used to do it, and made a few extra dollars, but the key for me is to keep it simple so I don't get overwhelmed and fall behind.
So if you are an ebay person here is how to find me....littlebirdtoldme1997. I had to set up a new account because I can't figure out how to get into the old one and it was a million years ago and 3 email addresses ago so for me it was much easier to start with a clean slate! I am also cooking up some stuff for Etsy. My mom and I have found some really cool vintage stuff to list on there. That will probably happen next week though because right now I am planning a trip to Portland next Tuesday. Veerada is here from Alaska and I can't wait to see her! Two other dear friends live there (Sheila and Duncan) so I am happy to say that I will be spending time with them too! That is, if everything works out. Luckily, Veerada made it out between Mt. Redoubt spewing ash. It was looking a little "iffy" for a while for her!

It may be another long break, but we are still alive and plugging along. Oh, and we don't have to move after all! We got a really good deal to stay, so I have to finish getting everything unpacked again. OH THE INSANITY!

american crafts flair

See what my husband bought me today?

Don't you just love the "I love blogs" adhesive flair? I do. American crafts has a bunch of cute new stuff...including sewing machine rub ons!

Went to Vegas

We just returned from Las Vegas yesterday and I still feel like I am recovering.

We drank many many Lemon Drops, Pina Coladas... gambled a lot...walked a lot and most importantly went to see my beautiful friend Tiffany get married.

We ate dinner at this funny place called "Battista's hole in the wall". If you are ever in Vegas and want some good Italian, and lots of fun head there. It is just off the strip next to Bally's and Behind Gamblin Bills.

Vegas is forever changing, we were just there in September of 2007 and there are already new shops and new hotels going up. My mom and I walked about 4 miles total just to go the Paul Frank store to buy my daughter the cutest monkey, which has been named "buddy".

My most treasured memory of this trip is getting to see Tiffany after 20 years apart. She has wonderful, sweet kids and just married the nicest guy. I can't wait to take Mark and go out to Missouri to visit them, or we may wait until they move to New Mexico! Anyways, we won't let it go 20 years this time. We used to have so much fun together as kids...she was and is still like a sister to me!