Beach bums.

This last week we have hitting the beach a lot. The military has to give Joe housing because we live 50+ miles from base and the base hotels are full so they gave him a hotel off base. Alex and I went down there a few times and hung out at the beach while Joe was at work, took naps in the hotel, swam in the "pool beach" (as Alex likes to call it, and then would have dinner and play around a little when Joe got off work. The military is actually going to be paying for a studio lease for Joe in Oceanside, and I cant wait to have a place close to the beach for the summer. It will be so much easier to go to the beach, since there will be a place to come to that is close for lunch/nap time.

Alex is all about sand castles and collecting rocks and putting them in his bucket. He is not fond of the water right now, its too cold so he stays away from that. ha!

One evening before dinner, when Joe got off work we went to the pier and walked and watched the surfers catching waves and sun set. Alex loves watching the surfers and laughs hysterically when they fall.

Was able to get a few pictures of our adventures. :) Enjoy. And have a wonderful week!

The sunset at the pier


more sunset


Looking at the waves crashing below


Sand fun


Collecting rocks


My boy and me :)

Cards for Cancer

There is a group that started something called "Cards for Cancer"..basically we make some homemade cards with words of support and encouragement for patients going through treatment. The first day for card drop off is April 10th, were team leaders drop off their groups cards to a local cancer treatment center. Then staff can hand out cards for a while to patients when they come in for treatment. I love the idea... something to brighten their day. Here are a few of mine that I have made.. I got my mom making some as well and Alex has been having fun helping me glue and also made one of his own, I am sure he will make some more as time goes on.

If you are interested in doing some (there is not maximum or minimum..) check out their blog: http://www.spiritjump.org/ 

This is a nationwide thing.. so you can do the same in your area.

Update

Of course again, I am updating because I have been a slacker and not been on here for awhile. Sorry about that. 

Things are pretty good. Alex is getting bigger and more independent. He is sleeping better in his big boy bed then he was in the crib. He is so good with talking, has a big vocabulary and some of the things he picks up is just too funny. Which is another thing we have to careful with, we need to watch our mouths around him! ;-) We have found a drop in daycare for a few hours that Joe and I can go on dates, he loves it, I thought he would be a little clingy since he has been with me everyday of his life, but he waves and says "bye bye Dada! bye bye Mama! I see you later!" and goes and plays with the trains and cars. :) Joe and I have been going to the gym 5 times a week in the evenings the last few weeks, and they have great child care at our gym, he likes having the hour to play with other kids and they have a huge jungle gym and lots of toys to play with, it is a good way to get his energy out before dinner and his bedtime routine. So he is doing pretty good, though he definitely is in his terrible twos, tells us "No!" when he doesnt want to do something, and has his share of time outs. The kid is very stubborn, the apple doesn't fall far from the the tree. ha! Some of his new favorites: the disney/pixar movie "Up" and the movie "The Land Before Time".. he is really into dinosaurs and also a big fan of Spiderman. :) He is all boy right now. Though he does like Tinkerbell too. Joe says its because she is a cute blond, haha!

Joe and I have been trying to schedule and make more time for just the two of us. Alex is almost 2.5 years old and we definitely deserve some more time alone now that he is more independent. So we hope to be go on more date night and see some movies (that is one thing you really miss when you have kids, Joe and I used to go to the movies at least once a week before Alex! It is months and months before we see a movie in the theater. :) So we are looking forward to more of that. It will be good for all of us, we think we will be putting Alex in daycare/or Montessori part time for half days in the fall, just to start getting used to going to school, so the more he gets used to the child care we have him in now the better. 

We will be potty training soon I think, he is recently starting to show a few signs that he is ready. Though I have tried to get him on his Thomas the Train potty and he did not want to. This is one parenthood task that I really do not look forward to!

Joe is good, he has changed units (yes, again!) but this time he has orders for 18-24 months, non-deploying, so he is safe from Afghanistan for another 2 years, which makes me very happy. He will only have a few years more to go after these orders are over. I am counting down the minutes until he is done with the military and we can move and not worry about him possibly going over seas... He has done his time, it is time for us to settle somewhere, buy a house, etc. We cant wait! Joe is also going to be getting more money this time, so we will be tackling our debt and we hope to be debt free by next year.

School-- well I am in my final class, well it should be my final class for this program. But the school looked over everything and they said one of my classes didnt transfer over, so I might have to take it again, if I can not test out of it. I have not taking the class for over 3 years, so I have a lot of studying to do, but I am hoping I can cram it in my brain, so that I dont have to take another class. I will be done with this class in April, and then I plan to start another program with a different school that I will be getting my credentials and student teaching through in the fall.

Besides that not much, cant wait for longer days and Spring. Though our weather is a lot better than most of the country, I shouldnt complain. I actually really enjoy the rain we got this year. We got a lot more than usual. We have been trying to get out as a family more on the weekends, doing fun stuff like going to the Aquarium and stuff like that. Its been fun. Alex loves all that stuff, he is definitely not a homebody. 

Anyway, I hope to update more regularly, but of course I seem to suck at that. 

I will post pictures later today. :)

my current addictions.

So one thing I like is when other people tell me what they are really "into" at the time. Everyone has their current addictions, some things that make them happy at the moment. We all go through trends. :) So I am going share a few of my current addictions and would love to hear some of yours! :)

reading:
I have a huge love for reading, it is a good way to relax and be in another "world" for a little while. Some current books I have read and
enjoyed:

Soup:
I have been on a huge soup kick the last few months, thankfully Joe loves soup too, because we have been eating it almost 3 times or more a week. :) I have been trying new recipes and its been a fun and yummy experience.
Our favorites have been a tomato basil bisque, potato cheddar bacon soup, and french onion. All of which I have been making in the crockpot, when I can find recipes that I like for the crockpot I am happy girl. :)

Viewing pleasure:
Joe and I have recently discovered Dexter and have been renting the previous seasons. It is fabulous! It's on Showtime, a channel we dont have, so once we are done with the dvd's we are going to have somewhat of a void in our lives. :)

Fresh & Easy:
We recently started going to this grocery store and now I cant remember what life was like before it. Its cheap, local produce, better quality... it's just better! Sadly they are only in three states, Cali, Nevada, and Arizona. I hope the branch out, because the rest of the country is seriously deprived of a good thing.


Scrapbooking:
I recently started scrapbooking again. It was one of resolutions to get caught up on Alex's book and the family one. I have been having a lot of fun doing it, looking back, seeing how much Alex has grown, looking at the milestones that we have crossed as a family. I know now that these books will bring a lot of joy and memories for years to come. And I have to add that I have definitely fulfilled that resolution.. I have done more scrapbooking in the last 2 weeks than I did all year in 2009!

Knitting:
I tried years before and couldn't get the hang of it, but started again last month and love it! I made a few scarves for people and have a lot more ideas one things I want to try. :)

Happy Holidays!

Like everyone else, we have had a busy week and half. :) Hope everyone's holidays were bright and full of joy. My parents were in town and we went to my aunts for Christmas dinner. Alex is head over heels in love with his train table and also got a Cars bike as well. He loves both. 

I wanted to share a few pictures, unfortunately my camera is still not working, but my mom took a few pictures. :) Also I wanted to share a few pictures of Alex from my cousin April's wedding, she got them back recently and I just love them. They came out so nice.

We will be back to our normal scheduling after the new year. Hope you all have a safe night and remember all the blessing we have in our lives. Tomorrow is a new year and a new day. Think about your resolutions, write them down, they don't become real unless you write them down. Some people think that resolutions are a waste of time, but I think it's good for people to try and better themselves and their families. I would love to hear a few. 


Nana and Alex- we have gotten a picture of Alex and Nana in front of the tree every Christmas, it's our little tradition. :)




Family photo


Pictures of Alex from April's wedding:

my cousin Jens playing with Alex






This one is my favorite. He smiles with his eyes, just like his daddy. :)

more blogs people NEED to check out:

Watch your waistline.. this blog is delicious:
http://notsohumblepie.blogspot.com/

Crafty moms and people, you need to see this:
http://mayamade.blogspot.com/

Also another great mom of preschoolers that has awesome ideas for crafts and learning:
http://www.artfulparent.typepad.com/


you will not be disappointed with these blogs. They are truly works of art!

Making snowmen today.. be back with some pictures. :)

Sunshine!

Today the sun is out and shining, yesterday it had stopped raining, but it was still very chilly and the clouds were still threatening to start again. ;-) This is my favorite kind of weather, sun out, nice breeze, and about 60-70 degrees. That is perfect! Could you stay like this in July too please? ;-)

Since we have been kind of locked up in the house the last few days, we took advantage of the sun and went for a walk and stopped at the park. We am blessed with two parks very close to our house. Alex loves the park and talks about wanting to go down the slides. He also loves the titter-totter.


I think we have a future athlete, he is always running! He was running around the park yelling, "Mama! I running!!"

For our next craft I am thinking about paper plate hanging snowmen, or a marshmellow snowman, Alex is a typical kid and will love the sweet aspect of that one. :)
I have been seeing some awesome gingerbread houses! I would like to get one of those going as well.
What kind of crafts are you doing? I love new ideas!