Sunday, July 29, 2007

I'm on Fire

Not literally, but creatively. It's been months since I actually didn't have to scraplift something but I am finally being more creative on my own. WHEW! Like writer's block, scrapper's block can be a scary thing. You have hundreds of dollars worth of scrapbook stuff sitting there looking at you yelling, USE ME!!! And you're looking back going, HUH? So I finally decided I have sucked long enough (Get your mind out of the gutter), put the pen (or in this case, rub-on, sticker, ink) to paper.


And since I was feeling creative, why not make the kids create too? We put up the table & they painted some little wooden trays & had a lot of fun choosing which paints to use. Jamie opted to ride his bike in the driveway. So proud of him & how well he's doing.


So 1 more day until school & now Kieran is pulling the 'I'm not going to school' bit. I am so not looking forward to Tuesday. I can see it now: me being the awful mother dragging my kicking & screaming son to kindergarten. I'm sure the teacher is going to LOVE that. Hey, in the next few years, Gavin will have a reputation to uphold. He will be one of those 'wild McIntyre boys'. Which explains this picture:




This kid turns everything into a gun. His Mickey Mouse Lightsaber, a toilet paper roll, anything. Then the other day he points to the Army sticker on our refrigerator & says, 'What's that say Mom?' and I say, 'It says Army'. And he says, 'Oh. I wanna be in the Army like Uncle Beto.' So maybe we'll have another military man in the family. Or a police officer. As long as he's not out whacking people for the Sopranos I'll be happy. But the more I watch him, the more convinced I am that he'll be a performer. Tonight while Jim & I were watching a movie he kept trying to get Jim's attention by dancing in front of him & Jim wasn't paying attention. So he climbs onto the table next to the TV & really starts dancing. We were cracking up.
So that's about it. Life's about the same, crazy, busy, hot. And anxious about the new school year ahead of us. How did I end up with a teenager in high school so quick? That's just not right. And guess what? 40 is right around the corner. What a year I'm having! Have a great week!

Monday, July 23, 2007

Ick, yuck, gag, Blah



What a C r a p p y week I had! You know the saying, when it rains it pours? Well it was a freakin' flood here. My washing machine broke, the brakes on the Jetta went out (thank God not when I was driving) & it was just an all around overwhelming week of EW. So here's hoping this week will be better. Once good thing is Jim is a whiz at fixing stuff so he saved us about $500 by fixing everything himself. What would I do without him?


But then on Saturday things started looking up. I went out to my mailbox & found this little beauty in there. Can I just say, the mailman in Brentwood kicks ass compared to the hobos they had delivering mail in Pittsburg. I mean seriously, why did I not get my mail until 4 or 5pm in Pittsburg & get it by noon in Brentwood??






I've only read the first page but the boys started going nuts & I really want to absorb every last bit of the final installment of this series. I am soooooo sad it's the last one but I did get a little ray of hope when J.K. Rowling's publicist hinted that it may not be the last one afterall. One can only hope. But then again, you saw what happened to The Sopranos. And that's a whole other can of worms I can't even begin to open.


So it's the last week of Summer vacation. Kids start school next week & while Jamie & Kieran are excited, Vinnie & I are not. Vinnie, of course, is complaining that his Summer was too short. And I am just sooooo not ready for Kieran to start school yet. I can't believe he is already starting school & I am being the overprotective, clingy mom & just dying for an excuse to keep him home. Horrible huh? But I will do the right thing & take my baby to school & know he will shine like he always does at home. It will be a new adventure for all of us & I am excited to see how much this new world will change my boy.




We did manage to make it to the Cornfest last weekend. Yee-frickin-haw. It was blazing hot & being the paranoid mother I am, I didn't trust the rinky-dink carnival rides enough to put the kids on. But we did manage to get some pictures of me with the kids. Vinnie opted out. Country livin' ain't for him.



And this is how excited Gavin is about being the last kid at home with me.



Aren't I the luckiest mommy in the world? You know I am. Have a great week!



Monday, July 09, 2007

Weapon of Choice

So at 4:30am Saturday morning, the smoke alarm goes off. Just for a few seconds but nonetheless, I get up to inspect the house. Walk to the hallway, smell no smoke whatsoever. So me being paranoid, I go wake up Jim (who would rather let me get attacked than him so he complains about being woken up) and we head downstairs. But what if there's someone down there waiting for us to come down? So what do I do? I grab the closest weapon I can find.




That's right. The Wiggles guitar. Not only is it heavy, but used correctly I can beat the crap of you but actually do it to the beat of 'Fruit Salad, Yummy Yummy'. Jim looks at me like, what the hell are you going to do with that? I was like, 'Hey, if someone's down there, they're going to get the ass whoopin' off a lifetime and imagine that story on the news: Man (or woman) gets beaten down by crazy mother with a Wiggles guitar'. That person will NEVER be able to show their face in public again.' Yes, I am crazy. But I'm protecting my family so that makes it ok right?

So, obviously, no fire. No intruder. Just a 6 foot tall redneck in his Fruit of the Looms & a crazy mom holding a Wiggles guitar. After our little adventure, we went back to sleep for a bit & then went to the Remember When grand re-opening. They have a new owner & I know we are all praying the store will be better. It's a shame that scrapbook store owners are having such a hard time keeping their stores afloat nowadays. Damn big box stores. Cuz you know a Target will never be as cute as a personally owned & decorated scrapbook store. Speaking of, have you seen the new store in Texas?


Here's the link to their blog: http://tracykeith.typepad.com/tracy_keith/ I'm sure everyone has seen it by now. Big thanks to Miss Corinne for the hook up. This store looks amazing & really, is Houston THAT far away? I think not. I am DYING for that frame on the wall. Beeaaaauuutiful. Anyway, hope they are successful. And we need more of these out this way.

After the visit to RW we headed to the Concannon Vineyards in Livermore for the Sports Section picnic. Lots of fun & who knew there was such a beautiful vineyard smack dab in the middle of Livermore? Of course, that's not the only one, there are several. Apparently Livermore is becoming the new wine country. Go figure. Luckily, we got a break from the heatwave so it was very nice out there. Here's some pics:







Helene wearing her Audrey Hepburn sunglasses & looking so cute. This girl is bubbly!






This is where we had lunch. It was really pretty with the grapevines growing over this & grapes hanging down. Definitely want to do this again with the girls.


Lucky me got to crop at Young Play in Tracy with Nancie, Wendy, Daniela & Diana (great getting to know her!). I am itching to get in there & do some creative stuff but it is so hard finding the time.


Last but not least, I found this on another blog (http://withsprinklesontop.blogspot.com/) & liked the idea so here it is. Don't what all this 'I've been tagged' stuff is because I'm still new to this blog thing but if you read this, PLEASE explain to my lamo-butt what 'tagged' is & also YOU'RE TAGGED. Fill this out & let us know about you ok?


1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Bewitched of course. And please, enough with the, can you wiggle your nose? crap. I've heard it a million times & it just isn't funny anymore.


2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Last week when an old friend of mine called that I hadn't heard from in months.


3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Sometimes. Usually when I'm NOT scrapbooking my writing is fabulous. Then when I am scrapping it looks like crap.


4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE LUNCH MEAT? Prosciutto & hot coppa


5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? 4 lovely, rambunctious, destructive boys


6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Hella yeah. I'm helluv funny


7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? On a daily basis. I would not be me if I weren't sarcastic. It's my charm


8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yeppers


9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Does the Great America bungee thing count? Did that twice & it was AWESOME.


10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE CEREAL? Cocoa Puffs


11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Depends on how tired I am. Mostly no


12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? When I have to be I am


13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE ICE CREAM? Vanilla Gelato from Trader Joe's


14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Their eyes


15. RED OR PINK? RED


16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVOURITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? My tummy.


17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? Hanging out with my little brother


18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? uh YEAH!


19. WHAT COLOUR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Charcoal shorts


20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Egg salad sandwich & spicy Doritos. Breakfast of champions


21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? The kidlets playing & a movie called 'Chumscrubber' that is very weird


22. IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOUR WOULD YOU BE? Crimson


23. FAVOURITE SMELLS? Gavin's toes, Jim's cologne, vanilla & jasmine


24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Vinnie


25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? I don't know this person, I stole it off of her blog.


26. FAVOURITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Baseball GO YANKS!


27. HAIR COLOUR? Addison Red (Grey's Anatomy)


28. EYE COLOUR? Black like frying pans


29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? No


30. FAVOURITE FOOD? Italian


31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy Endings

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? This crappy depressing Chumscrubber

33. WHAT COLOUR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? charcoal

34. SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer

35. HUGS OR KISSES? A really good big hug & sweet butterfly kisses from my Gavin are the bestest

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Whoever isn't busy

38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Whoever IS busy

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? Expressions:Taking Extraordinary Photos for Your Scrapbooks & Memory Art

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? I'm on my laptop so there's just this finger mouse thingy

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT? Law & Order

42. FAVOURITE SOUND? Gavin singing, Jamie laughing, Kieran talking to himself & Vinnie acting like a dork

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Old Beatles

44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Washington DC loved it

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? I take good pictures & I'm funny as heck

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Walnut Creek, California

47. WHAT SUPERPOWER WOULD YOU LIKE? Flying or being invisible whenever I want.

Yep, it's long but interesting ain't it? Kids are ready to kill me for taking so long so I'm off to jam on the Wiggles guitar. Rock on!