Isabella Smile-o-meter

This picture was taken a few days ago by Isabella's daddy...he doesn't like admitting it...but he has a real soft spot for giant hairbows. As you can see, she's clutching her "bebe" who's name changes daily...so far she's been "Seesy" "Pipin" "Kitty" and a few others I couldn't decipher...when she's not lovingly carrying her around by her head and feet, she's nursing her or scolding her...a natural mom, my Isabella. I think I'll look into ordering one of those T-shirts that says "Mommy's milk made me grow" reckon they carry those in baby doll sizes?


I have a ton of projects going on in my house...I was almost lured by the cluttery windows of the craft store today but had to remind myself that I need to finish the things I have already started (window valences, mock vintage Easter eggs, embroidered church bag...etc) before taking on new projects...I have been wanting to post pictures of my living room all week but with Tyler being home on holiday...and then leaving on deployment...the disarray is surely going to take me a couple of days to get back under control.

I have been on a quest for a Calender ALL week...nowhere has any cute calenders, I'm thinking of ordering from my favorite, Gooseberry, or maybe something vintage from Paper Relics...because I'm certainly not finding anything wall worthy around here. Does anybody know where I can find one of those wooden calender display thingies? you know, the ones you hang on the wall and your calender goes inside? I really, really want one.

Ok, well this has tuned into a post about nothing...and it's Bella's naptime, an ice cold diet coke and a bag of BBQ chips have my name written all over them...and perhaps a bit of Lifetime TV :)

almost arrested...

My hubby made a blog...he left for his six month deployment at about 4:45 this morning...I was delighted to receive his e-mail this evening about his shiny new blog he has created. If you've got a moment for a little ol' sailor, give him a clickety...right here

In other news...Our Target here in Hawaii opens in less than a WEEK!!!! finally!!! Three of my girly-friends, Isabella and myself all piled into my SAAB wagon this evening and off we went to the Wal-Mart to stock up on house wares items...chocolate...cheap clothes...bath fizzies and other necessities you need when your hubby leaves (three of us have husbands on the same ship so we go through deployments together)

We decided on the way home to take a detuor and document the progress of the new Target opening up right down the street from our neighborhood. We were slowly cruising past the front of the store, noses pressed up against our car windows and necks craned...trying to find holes in that pesky privacy paper they had pinned up to see if they had stocked those shelves yet, when we got a glimpse of...polka dotted bathing suits!! we began squealing with excitement and I'm sure my car was bouncing from the outside...when just then, out marched a very angry police officer...oops! Someone from the backseat quipped that she had heard it was being patroled by police and there was supposedly no tresspassing...that information would have been very useful...oh, I dunno, before I pulled into the parking lot?!? ...It was then I happened to notice the sign saying something about tresspassing...violaters...prosecuted...My friend in the front seat started mugging it up and waving like a mad woman...he made a bee-line for her window...Isabella was in the back seat loudly saying "Hi! Hey there! Hi!" and my other two girl friends in the beackseat were squealing and bouncing in their panick... Mr. Policeman and I locked eyes...I froze in my panick and then...raw instinct kicked in...I quickly put my little turbo charged mommy wagon in first gear and gunned her right outta that parking lot...In my rear-view mirrow was a puff of stinky turbo engine smoke, and a considerably miffed cop. Whew.

Lord knows, four lonely, Target deprived women (one of them I might add, is extremely pregnant) and an overly friendly toddler could pose quite a threat to an un-opened Target :) Goodness...what a bunch of mugshots we would have made! Thank goodness for turbo-charged mommy cars.



If you're ever on the market for a fast get-away car disguised as an innocent mommy-mobile...these are your wheels. (doesn't come stocked with adorable husband packing beach gear into the trunk...sorry, he's all mine)

busy doing nothing...

Tyler leaves very soon...so we've been sure to do a lot of this...








Oh, daddy...you will be missed.

Yesterday, our missionary friends took us to see the Mormon temple...the temple is under construction right now, but it was still beautiful, even with wooden panes in it's windows and all of it's paint stripped.

It was a long drive out to North Shore, so when we got there Isabella was pretty eager to stretch her toddler legs...she had plenty of opportunity to do so on all of those stairs!

We stopped to take a rest on a big marble bench, she really liked that. We also stopped to smell the Hibiscus, she really liked that too.

I asked to boys to let me take their picture...they got all sheepish and immediately lined up execution style...I told them to relax and "at ease" and this is what I got...silly.

The more I learn, the more I'm impressed. These boys put off college, dating and sports for two years, save up their own money and pay their own ways throughout these missions, and just because they were sent to Hawaii, doesn't mean they get to go to the beach either, they can only see it from afar, focusing only on their work for God. They have some pretty intense stories to tell, people can be pretty mean, they laugh them off, but still, I can't imagine how frustrating it must be to meet such cruelty on a daily basis.
Isabella is completely in love with the one on the right, she loves to hold his hand and a couple of times Tyler and I have caught her with her head propped in her hands, sighing in his direction...can this really start at only two years?!

happy hearts day!

Here's my little cupid last year...I can't believe how incredibly fast this sweet phase passed me by...Tyler and I were hoping for a Valentines this year in the form of two pink lines...but oh well, those two pink lines will just have to wait until after deployment.




Now, for this year. Truth be told, I'm not a big Valentines Day fan...Hubby and I actually have an agreement not to celebrate it...but for Isabella, now that's completely different. I have been gathering up little trifles here and there and stuffing them into a goody bag for her. Last night I even braved the mayhem of the Navy Exchange and I ventured to the florist to get her one of those mylar balloons she fancies so much...lemme tell ya, those sailors? they're serious about their Valentines. I've never seen so many moon-eyed men in my life, all of 'em clutching giant teddy bears for dear life...looked like a bunch of crazies, and I was right in the thick of 'em.

Isabella made me proud, she knows what's really important, she was instantly enamored by her box of chocolates, and even had the presence of mind to finger then sample each and every one before putting it back into the box. That's my girl, right there.

quiet toddlers-be afraid!

Chances are, if you've got a tot, then you know my plight. If your toddler is quiet, then something is up. Mischief is most certainly in the making...in my case, it happened while we were in the same room together...sneaky little minx, my Bella.

One second I look and she sitting in her chair watching Little Bear...next thing I know I hear her pretty little lips just a smacking...and what is it that she's doing? Oh, nothing much, just eating an entire tube of lip gloss. The tube itself was completely filled with slobber and the wand was licked clean of any and all of that new Minty fresh Cover Girl lip gloss.

Well, her lips are sufficiently shined, and her breath sure is minty. That's what I get for leaving my Mothership bag within reach.

I've got it bad!!!

Bloggers block, that is. Hubby is currently on his way to pick us up a tasty pizza because it seems I also have chefs block...and laundress block...and cleaning-lady block...Oh jeez :) Do ya'll ever have one of these days??

Isabella and I stayed tucked away in the house today...enjoying the smell of our new candles and watching The Little Mermaid...we ate brownies and chilled out in our sweats...I did manage to wash all of the sheets today...and I made a considerable dent in the Mt. St. Laundry that has developed in our bedroom...all of this tuckered me out though, and all I want to do now is go finish off that pan of brownies and then hibernate. I need some gumption! anybody know where I can find any??

The anatomy of a day at the park

A typical playdate at the park.












The. End.

dreaming and drooling...

My entire household has been under the weather this week...I've not really been in the mood to do anything at the end of the day except collapse on my bootie and stuff my face with Hostess cupcakes.

I've been shopping around with my bootie time...lately, this is what my eyeballs usually tend to gravitate towards...hey, a girl's gotta dream, right?

Since I went to a few yard sales on Saturday morning and found this...(for only $3!)


...I was able to move this into an empty corner in the dining area. I don't have much space, so I utilize what few empty corners I have, thus the empty corner in our dining area is now home of Isabella's new art desk...or as I like to call it, her homeschool corner :)




I also found this lamp...($1)



One little face lift later, and now it looks fabulous on my kitchen counter :) I got the idea and the know-how for my tufted lampshade from Sarah over at BlueCastle...she's a real lamp genius with tutorials galore!



Sorry for the glare in my pictures, it's been super duper bright lately, I don't even have to turn lights on during the day, you wouldn't think that would make it difficult to take pictures...but turns out, it does. So yeah, this has pretty much been my weekend...that and Isabella's chronic runny nose, humidifier, vapor rub, Benedryll, and Johnson's Vapor bath...whew, poor little feller, it's pitiful when babies get sick :( She's feeling her oats a little bit more today though, she's currently sitting at her art desk working on a masterpiece and chattering away to herself...I love that Noggin is NOT on right now...in fact, I think I'm going to unplug the TV while she's not paying attention...