A video that makes me wish I took more video

I'm sure someone thought we were silly taking a quick video of our little girl "shivering" at cold ice cream the other day.

Like maybe the young guy in the background that you see very briefly.

Or maybe the older man across the way whose eye I caught during the process.

Perhaps he wished he had the same type of videos of his kids.  I mean no one brought "camcorders" into Jason's Deli back in the day, at least not that I saw.  It's amazing what we can do with our phones these days.

I have a kazillion pictures of my children, ESPECIALLY Baby K.  But I have not taken as much video as I wish I had.

So I'm going to start.  Because these little videos are priceless to me.  Just like my babies. :)




p.s. I think it's pretty funny that I wipe her mouth right before she takes an enormous bite of ice cream with her tea spoon!!

Oh So Silly - i heart faces

I immediately thought of this photo.

I mean, who wouldn't?!

:D

All eleven cousins on my side of the family... being OH, so silly! (well, most of them anyway...)

Back

So the kids and I drove off to Big D (Dallas) on Thursday afternoon for some visiting of family and friends.

The main reason we went was because one of my "besties" is about to have her second son and we girls surprised her with a shower/dinner.  She had absolutely NO idea that it was happening or that I would be there all the way from a neighboring state.  She was a tad surprised. ;)  And our time together was wonderful but all too short... 

While in town (OMG Dallas is B.I.G. after living in small-town LA!!!), we also got to see my MIL and the kids' Great Grandparents and some other great friends. (Of course a shout-out to the Clarks is needed for letting us stay at their house - thanks y'all, as always)

And the "mom mobile" served me well, lemme tell ya, on our first official road trip.  Although since the toddler is obsessed with "Finding Nemo" and there are only 2 sets of wireless headphones with the van, I now have that movie memorized. 

"Mount Wannahockaloogie" is pretty funny, but not eight times... (okay, just three, but still)

When we arrived back home last night my husband was HERE.  And we were able to spend the entire evening as a family.  And when the kids went to bed he was still HERE so I left the internet ALONE and that's why there is no Miss Elaine-ous Monday and why my post is later that usual. 

But I don't care because man, I missed us ALL being together.  It's amazing what family time can do for the heart and soul...

Now for some pics from our trip.  

Every time we visit the kids' Great Grandparents the kids help G.G. Gordon "feed the birds".

Just hangin' at The Clark's house... 

Playdate at Mickey D's (and Little G is not in this photo because he threw an EPIC tantrum, wanting to take his pic alone with Ronald.  I was THAT mom taking him out of the restaurant.  P.S. He was just really tired and fell asleep on the way home!!)

SO good to see my girlfriends in Texas.  I miss them. 

Hope everyone's week is off to a great start...!

Funky Town

Do you just ever feel like your life is on "repeat"?  Sort of like that movie "Groundhog Day"?

he's tickling her face. gah, they're cute.

I've kinda felt that way lately.

Wake up. Feed kids. Drop off kids. Run. Grocery shop. Feed kids. Run (other errands). Compute (which encompasses many things...). Laundry. Pick up kids. Feed kids. Help with homework. Bathe Kids. Put Kids to Bed. Compute. Go to Bed.

Repeat.

Let's get outta that funk for a bit, shall we?

The kids and I are off on a little adventure tomorrow afternoon.  I'll fill you in next week.

And Shhhh...... it's a secret for some.

I'm even taking The B Man out of school for a day.

Such a rebel, I am.

And apparently a rebel who talks like Yoda.

Anyway, hope you all have a fab weekend.

Be safe and love those around you.

Thank goodness I have LOTS of photos...

She's growing up.  Already.

Yeah I know, she's only a little over two (2 years and 3.8 months to be exact) but when she's your last?  You kinda wish she could be a baby forever.

Maybe this is why I have yet to give potty training a real "go" or I am hesitant to completely pull the plug (a.k.a. the paci)...

She talks (a lot) and runs and rides her scooter and hollers at the boys and gives her opinion about clothes/shoes and her hair style.  She tells me she wants to go to "my school" and plays with her "babies" and draws (sorta) pit-chures and demands what she wants (we are working on that... ), especially to play "An-ree burrs" (Angry Birds) on my phone.

I have no idea how all of this happened so quickly and all on my radar.

So... in order to feel (if only for a few minutes) that she IS still my baby, I edited a portion of the scads of photographs I took of her as a wee one and now I'm sharing some with you here because, wow, she was so damn cute (and still is, of course) and we can all use a little, darling "baby" in our life, right?

I think so...

Where's the "rewind" button??

Also, Lightroom is SO awesome...

*these were all taken in the 5-6 month time of her life.  There are MANY, many more from other months... 






                                               

Listable Life {Fave T.V. Shows} & MEM

Today I'm linking up with my friend Nicole for her Listable Life series...

One of the choices for this week was to list your top 5 movies or television shows and I chose t.v. shows, so here's my sorta short list:

1. Friends - this is kind of a no-brainer for my generation, I believe.  I still miss this show.  I kinda wish it could be on forever.  I cried when it ended.  Funny thing was, I didn't start watching it from the very beginning.  I remember being in my dorm and passing by one of the common rooms to go do some laundry, and a bunch of students were in the room watching it.  I popped in on my way back from moving the clothes to the dryer and sat it on the rest of the episode and was like "that show's alright..."  I had to go back and re-watch the first couple of seasons... :)

2. ER - I was a die-hard fan and watched this show from the very beginning until the bitter end.  I'll never forget the episode where Noah Wiley's character and the actress from Life Goes On got stabbed by that crazy guy.  That will stick with me forever. And when Dr. Green died I cried SO hard. (I also have to give NYPD Blue an honorable mention here because it was one of my favorite dramas as well).

3. Three's Company - I could never get enough of Jack Tripper and his antics as a kid. I can still see him getting hit with that swinging kitchen door and Mrs. Roper's awful mumu/robe/dresses and later, Mr. Furley's crazy polyester leisure suits.  I'm pretty sure there was nary a situation of misunderstanding that this show did not explore. "Come and knock on our door..."  Also?  I wanted Chrissy's hair.

4. Modern Family -This show makes me laugh OUT LOUD every single week.  If I have to pick a favorite character it's totally Phil.  That man kills me! I love how dysfunctional yet sweet they all are.  Maybe because I can relate. *cough*

5. The Wonder Years - I loved this show because even though it was set in a different era, I was about "Kevin Arnold"'s age while it was on and could relate to so many of his feelings, etc.  And I loved the family dynamics and the friendships - oh, and the theme song "With a Little Help From My Friends". (other honorable mention sitcoms I loved - Growing Pains and Family Ties.  Oh and Who's The Boss... And anyone for some Facts of Life?  Okay, I'm done.. I think... )

6. Lost (the first season) - Lost sorta "lost" me during season 2 but every episode of the first season BLEW me away.  I was hooked from the first one with the plane crash, until "Walt" got nabbed by "The Others" at the end of the season.

Other shows I thought of while typing this list: Two and Half Men, before Charlie sheen went totally nuts, was REALLY funny when it first started. I also loved Cheers and Dallas in the 80's.  Oh and Happy Days, before the Fonze jumped the shark of course, and Dynasty.  Anyone remember Knots Landing and Falcon Crest?  Yeah, my parents let me watch these shows! Can you believe?

*I realize this turned into much longer than a list of 5 or 6 but I watched a lot of t.v. as a kid.  If you couldn't tell...

It's also Miss Elaine-ous Monday, so please link up!

Remember, ANY "miss elaine-ous" post will do, something from your archives or something brand new! :) 

Do you have a post that meant a lot to you but wasn't read by as many folks as you'd hoped? Or one that has great pictures and you want more people to see them? Or do you just have one that you really want to share!?

I'll also choose a random post from those who link up to feature on The Miss Elaine-ous Life Facebook page (please "Like" if you have not already) so even more folks will see a new post every week! Grab the button and link up!  And please visit some of the other linkers as well...








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If you do not post the button, please still link back to my blog, even if you just put a little blurb at the end of you post such as "It's Monday and I'm being "Miss Elaine-ous" over at The Miss Elaine-ous Life!" - Thanks!! Oh and extra bonus points to anyone who puts a tweet out there, that would be awesome too!  Thanks for linking up! 

And if PLEASE go visit Nicole at Moments That Define Life and check out her Listable Life prompts for this week (linky goes up on Tuesday)!

She's So Random

I'm *pretty sure* I want to will run another half marathon in Austin at the end of March.  Like really, THE last day of March.  I've started training again like I'm going to do it but I've been eating like a pig lately peanut M&Ms are good. (I must be making up for low-carb lost time) and feeling kinda weird lately too, probably for that reason alone!

(Additional motivation is that my friends Lisa and Kim are going to be running the race and I really want to join them...)

Anyway, I had a massage (FINALLY!) on Wednesday morning and then yesterday I had this weird dizziness ALL morning and I basically laid on the couch while the kids played around me.  I have no idea if those 2 things are related and the massage was FAB.  But I have NO motivation, so far anyway, to run more than 3 times a week and I've also had some pesky headaches lately.  I plan to get up at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow and go run with a local running group for a 5-miler and I feel like I MUST step it up this time if I'm going to beat my time and be more prepared this go 'round.

But it's HARD.  Tim has been working practically non-stop this week and taking care of kids is exhausting in itself sometimes...


I'm a little bummed to be missing out on Blissdom this year.  It was SO great last year and now the tweets and posts and general talking are gearing up for this year's conference and I just wish I could beam myself over for at least one night.  There is talk on twitter that a "Flat Elaine" may make an appearance so if you're going, keep on the look out for me, k?  Also, I told the girls (@BeccasCrazyBoys @prairiemama @ErinMargolin @angelaamman @Missy_Stevens) that it better be a FLAT Elaine and not a FAT Elaine. *ahem*


Are you people watching "Revenge"??  I love this show.  Which is really kidna funny becuase when I originally saw the previews I remember saying to Tim, "why would anyone want to watch such a mean spirited show??" and I can fully say now that it's to escape from the "real world" for a bit.  It's kinda like the old soap operas that I grew up with, so there may be a bit of nostalgia there too.  Tim said he read somewhere that they had to re-write the show from the original script because they didn't think the show was going to last this long! Anyway, I like it A LOT.



Lastly, just want to thank Dumb Mom for the awesome Snapfish credit I won over the Summer for winning a photo contest at her place.  So far I've ordered a photo book of mine and Tim's trip to New York City and a canvas from our Florida trip this past summer.  I adore them both.  So, thanks girl.  Please keep up the contests! ;)

Happy Weekend everyone...

Just Flowers

Our winters are warm here. They just are.  The temps usually only get below freezing 2 or 3 times each year.

Which I'm really fine with.  Our weather lately has been more like early Spring or late Fall.  65 to 70 degrees?  Yeah.

And as a bonus we have these beautiful camellia bushes all around the house.  I think we have six or so bushes that I pick from (although some belong to our neighbors but they don't care if snip from theirs too...) and then I place them in vases around the house.

They keep the winters bright and pretty.

Can't beat that with a stick!
(that's southern talk for "awesome")

Life is Messy

Her face is rarely clean.

In order for it to be I would have to chase her around the house with a wet wipe or wash cloth.  ALL. DAY. LONG.

So instead I just take a lot of photos like this.

But it's okay because those baby blues seem to overshadow the messiness and she does get a bath at the end of the day.

When she's DONE eating.

You know, until the next day...

yes, that would be my 2 year-old daughter lying on the floor with my phone in hand, looking like a teenager, thankyouverymuch

Memories Captured - Little G

It's hard to choose just one child to post a picture of when you have three.

But sometimes you just happen to snap a shot of one of them that you feel is perfect for the moment.

This is one of those pictures.

























My second little boy, wearing his Cars jammies, standing in front of his name that he LOVES to spell and sporting that dimple that gets me every single time he smiles.

There's no "big" memory here, except that he's at THAT age - the one where we as parents just know so much is going on in their precious coconut shampoo-smelling heads as they learn and play and grow.

He still has all his baby teeth and wants me to say "I love you too" and hug and kiss him many, many times when I tuck him in at night.

It won't always be this way so I'm taking it now.  Ten fold.

My Space & Miss Elaine-ous Monday

Last week you all saw the desk that I cleaned up and out.  Since then I acquired a new BFF (also known as a new laptop, and no, it's not from the apple family, don't start) and two photography actual, legitimate paying customers.  So... I decided that I needed to sit at said desk instead of parking my hiney on the sofa while blogging, tweeting and photo editing.  I even use a mouse now and my back is supported.

This is what almost-37-year-old computing looks like, peeps.  Ergonomic support IS essential, just FYI.

Anyway, as I was sitting at my lovely and rejuvenated space, I realized there was nothing on the wall above it.  I happen to be perusing Pinterest at the time and thankfully the internet idea gods aligned and I found inspiration there.  Since I had yet to use these frames, the light bulb went off in the ole noggin, I kicked my creativity into high gear and I now have this display above my desk:

Yeah, I kinda love it. 

I just put nails in each side of the frames and then used random scrapbooking supplies I had around, including yarn and ribbon, and tied pieces of them from nail to nail.  Then I found these darling little "clothes" pins to hold the pictures.

Since the frames were ready to go this only took me about 20 minutes and I'm so happy with it and excited that I FINALLY used them! WOOT!

So, have you done anything inspired by Pinterest lately?  I just love the ideas and recipes and I hope to use more of them this year.

And Guess What!?!?

It's Miss-Elaine-ous Monday!!

Remember, ANY "miss elaine-ous" post will do, something from your archives or something brand new! :) 

Do you have a post that meant a lot to you but wasn't read by as many folks as you'd hoped? Or one that has great pictures and you want more people to see them? Or do you just have one that you really want to share!?

I'll also choose a random post from those who link up to feature on The Miss Elaine-ous Life Facebook page (please "Like" if you have not already) so even more folks will see a new post every week! Grab the button and link up!  And please visit some of the other linkers as well...









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If you do not post the button, please still link back to my blog, even if you just put a little blurb at the end of you post such as "It's Monday and I'm being "Miss Elaine-ous" over at The Miss Elaine-ous Life!" - Thanks!! Oh and extra bonus points to anyone who puts a tweet out there, that would be awesome too!  Thanks for linking up!