Crazy Eights

I need a distraction right now, so I'm going to answer a tag that my cute niece sent me.

8 things I'm obsessed with right now:

1. TWILIGHT...Are you surprised?
2. Reading Midnight Sun
3. Cleaning and dejunking
4. Getting Christmas shopping done
5. Blogging
6. Finishing orders
7. My hair (wanting it to grow, wanting to cut it, wanting to change it...!)
8. Twilight should count as two. I'm seriously obsessed.

8 words or phrases I use daily:

1. "Are you kidding me?"
2. "Quit fighting, you two!"
3. "We're going to be late! Hurry!"
4. " I love you."
5. "How was your nap?"
6. "Who wants to make cookies?" (Yes, daily. I could eat cookies every day.)
7. ''I can't handle this!"
8. "What should we have for dinner?''

8 T.V. shows I love to watch:

1. The Office
2. Chuck
3. Eli Stone
4. L.O.S.T. (C'mon and start already!)
5. Old episodes of Friends or Seinfeld (I think I have seen them all.)
6. Samantha Who?
7. Oprah or Ellen (although I find that I don't watch these show much anymore).
8. Fox 13 News

8 Things I did yesterday

1. Sewed orders 'til I couldn't sew any more!
2. Played with Max
3. Watched 101 Dalmations
4. Talked to my sister on the phone or was that the day before? I lose track of days.
5. Decorated (and ate) sugar cookies with the boys
6. Tried, but failed at getting dressed and ready (who's gonna see me?)
7. Ate the last of the leftover turkey and yams (mmmmmm)
8. Stayed up too late

8 of my favorite places to eat:

1. Cafe Rio
2. Olive Garden
3. Nothing Bunt Cakes
4. Pat's mom's house (she makes some mean Peruvian food)
5. Numero Uno Pizza (in Cali...that pizza place Jyl and James took me to)
6. Anywhere that serves pasta, it's my weakness
7. IKEA
8. Chicken Empire (more Peruvian food)

8 Things I'm looking forward to:

1. Christms
2. Exercising (Too much Thanksgiving dinner)
3. Being done with boutiques and orders (or at least slowing down)
4. L.O.S.T. to start again in January
5. Meeting up with Jyl!
6. Meeting up with Candy! (Two of my good friends just moved back and I can't tell you how happy I am!!!)
7. Taking the huge pile of bags and boxes to D.I.
8. Pat's finals to be over and the Christmas holiday to begin!

8 Things on my wish list:

1. To own "Twilight" the moive
2. For gas prices to stay down (I swear we have the cheapest gas...It's down to $1.61)
3. To hang out with my sister again.
4. For my kids to sleep in their own bed and sleep through the night!!! Are you kidding me? They are 4 and 2, they should be able to sleep through the night in their own bed by now, don'tcha think?
5. A new play list with better songs
6. No more whining, diapers, laundry or dirty dishes. Hey, I can wish can't I?
7. A finished basement with a sweet TV and surround sound
8. No debt.

We are THANKFUL

This is one of my favorite times of the year. I love taking time to reflect on our blessings and give thanks to those we love. We have so much to be grateful for. Here are a few:

• T- Time & Togetherness(We're thankful for our time on earth and being together)
• H- House & Health (We're happy to have a nice roof over our head and a place to sleep and to stay safe and warm.)
• A- An education (Pat is halfway done with nursing school and it couldn't have been a better time for him to go. His education will provide for us for years to come. Thanks for your hard work Pat!)
• N- Our Nation (We are grateful to live in this great country and to have so many freedoms.)
• K- Kindness (This is such an important attribute and those around us display it daily. We live in a great neighborhood and associate with kind people! It makes us want to be kind.)
• F- Family & Friends (We are blessed to have most of our family close by, and those that are far away, we connect with on a regular basis. We love our families.And we're blessed with great friends who keep us laughing.)
• U- JesUs Christ (We have a testimony of the Savior and His restored gospel. I am grateful daily it's influence in our lives.)
• L- Love (We feel constant love from our familes, friends and mostly from the Savior.)

We are busy getting things ready for the big day. It's my first time hosting Thanksgiving at my house, so any tips would be greatly appreciated. I have to cook the turkey! YIKES. I'm excited and thankful. Ooh, I just can't wait for that pumpkin pie! Happy Thanksgiving and count your blessings!

I heart Twilight

After seeing Twilight, I cannot wipe the silly grin off my face. I'm like a giddy teenager girl!! I'm officially a Twilighter. I have to say that I love, love, LOVED this movie. The dumb $20 t-shirt I bought was worth every penny. I went to the 12:30 show last night and got home at 3 a.m. You think I'd be grumpy, frumpy and tired. But no, I feel like I'm on cloud 9. I'm all smiles today, and probably for the rest of the week, too. I'm going to see it again. And again. :) * * sigh * *

Marshall Cousins

All the grandkids on my side of the family were together this weekend. We finally got them to sit still enough to get their picture. Aren't they cute?

Busy Bee

This has been one crazy busy week, again!

I have been hanging out with my sister. We have had so much fun. She drove from San Fran with her 3 kids (to come to a wedding for her sis-in-law). Even though we are 5 1/2 years apart, we are best friends. I think we call each other at least 2-3 times a week! I am so inspired by her and she seriously has the best recipes and ideas for food. She has great taste in books and music and is just FUN to be around. Here's a run down of our time together:

• Max's b-day party/dinner
• Family dinners and sleep-overs at Nana & Papa's
• Late night talks and just sitting together reading our books until we can't keep our eyes open any longer
• Disney on Ice with our kids, Pat and Nana & Papa
• Hanging out at the park for hours (having deep conversations while our kids play great together. I'm still laughing about Sierra playing so cute with Max and that silly red berry they found.)
• Marshmellow Mint Chocolate Chip hot chocolate with popcorn watching our favorite shows

There is NEVER enough time when she comes and I never want her to go!! If only she or I lived closer to one another. Until then, HOORAH for the time we had together this week!!! ____________________________ I also had a boutique ("Simply Chic") on Saturday that was so much fun and I have so many orders that I'll be busy for weeks! And I also got a lot of my Christmas shopping done :) It's fun having a hobby for a business, but it's also very stressful. I have to tell Patricio how awesome he is. I was gone all day Saturday and came home to a CLEAN house! When I left for my boutique it was quite a disaster and I knew I'd have to deal with it later. Then to my surprise I came home and found everything sparkling!!! The kids were happy and the house was clean. There really isn't much more I could've asked for. OH, and his sweet mother brought us dinner! Gotta love mi suegra! So THANKS to an awesome husband who made my weekend! _____________________________

I was out of groceries and Whitney told me about Smith's having a huge sale...only it was Alpine. So I headed out to Alpine with Whit and we loaded up on cereal, bread, gatorade, granola bars and muffin mix! YAY! Thanks for the late shopping trip.

_____________________________

One of the reasons I'm so tired is b/c my kids are giving me grief again. It's like there is an invisible leash attached to me that they can't let go of. I haven't slept in my bed for 2 nights in a row. When I get up from their bed to go to my bed, they each wake up crying and then my night is shot. It takes forever for them to fall asleep and then I'm so tired I can't do anything else. I'm exhausted and ready for a clean start, a new week. Here's to Monday.

Jealous?

I have an announcement to make...

My awesome sister-in-law called me today with 2 tickets to the "Twilight" premiere on Tuesday (yes that is 3 whole days early!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and she is taking ME! Does that make you jealous??? I'm so excited, I can't wait. And yes, I'm still going to the midnight showing with my friend Emily and I'm going to be just as excited to see it then, too! Now to find me a cool Twilight t-shirt...

6 Year Anniversary

Not only was Max born on November 9th, but it's also the day Pat and I got married. (Yes, I planned that one well...) This year was my turn to plan our festivities. We went to the Marshall Woodland Hills Bed and Breakfast (which included free babysitting). We went to Ottavio's Italian Restaurant (which is waaaay better than Olive Garden, which is saying a lot, b/c I LOVE Olive Garden). Then we were whisked away to a private screening of "Eagle Eye", a romantic comedy (totally opposite actually). Then it was back to our mountain resort for hot tubbing. ----Okay, so we went to my parents this weekend so they could watch the kids while we went to dinner and a movie. Then we were too tired & cold to get in the hot tub! But we had a good time anyway. It was a busy weekend for us with Max's b-day party the next day and my sister coming into town. But it was fun to celebrate our anniversary together. Happy Anniversary to us! 6 years wooo hooo!

Happy "2" to Max!

Max turned 2 on Sunday, and we had a big family party for him on Saturday at my parent's house. It was so fun to have my entire family there (my sister from San Fran and her kids were here!!!) and Pat's mom and sisters, too. It was a dinosaur party and Max refused to take off his dino costume (last years Halloween costume). He was so cute. We had yummy chili in breadbowls and dino nuggets for the kids. He got so many cute gifts. He truly loves dinosaurs. There was also a T-Rex pinata, which Lukas busted after a few hits. We go in order of age, so only 3 kids hit it and then it broke and everyone was sad, so we taped it up and had the kids whack it until it was in shreds. They had fun hitting an empty, taped up pinata! I usually have three different parties (a friend party, and then a different party for each side of the family). It turned out perfect this year combining it and Max was the center of attention! All the cousins had a blast running around and playing and making lots of noise. It couldn't have turned out better. And my mom and I made THE cutest dinosaur cake! I was so impressed with myself. Every cake I have ever made has been a disaster and NOT CUTE at all, so when this one actually turned out just how it was supposed to, I was thrilled! We are so glad that Max is part of our family and we love him so much! Happy Birthday to our little Maxers!