12) Mash-up.

By bobbi
August 17, 2012
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~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~

AND

– 1 –

As I mentioned yesterday, I’ve been away from blogdom for two weeks. It’s been super busy here and blogging was the first thing to fall to the wayside. However, I am itching to get back and I have a small window of opportunity so I’m doing another {pretty, happy, funny, real} / 7 Quick Takes Mash-up. Enjoy!

– 2 –

Part of the reason I was so busy is that I was enjoying the company of two of my sisters who drove up from So Cal. I loooove when they are able to visit us! The first evening they were here we had a girls’ night out and went to see The Dark Knight Rises. Loved it.

It’s a little fuzzy since it was taken in the dark but you get the idea. 🙂

– 3 –

The second day we took the kids to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, one of the kids favorite places to visit, especially Andrew.

{pretty}

Walking on Cannery Row in Monterey.

Sharks at the Aquarium.

Can you spot Nemo?

Fish

– 4 –

{happy}

The kids at the play area of the Aquarium.

John-Paul having fun on the slide.

Matthew tries on a Nemo costume.

My munchkins.

Bella and Andrew with my sisters Jacinta and Bridgette. Bella looks so much like my sister. I’ll sometimes catch myself calling Bella “Jacinta” by mistake. (Thanks to the girls for letting me post a pic of them on the blog. Not everyone wants to plaster their images all over the internet. Go figure. heehee)

We also had a beach day, which made all of us happy.

The kids at play.

Bella and I with my sisters Jacinta and Bridgette.

– 5 –

{funny}

John-Paul, as usual, could not step out of the door without his books.

We were finally able to convince him to put them down long enough to play in the sand.

Andrew loves sharks so we thought it would be funny if he took a picture with the Sharkman on Cannery Row.

– 6 –

Okay, I know it is no way near Halloween but these are too funny not to post.
I went to Costco this week and they already had their costumes out. Andrew was dead set on being Spiderman and when I saw Costco had them a lot cheaper than other stores, I knew I had to get it now while they had his size. John-Paul wanted to be a super hero as well so he picked out Captain America. I think they are hilarious.

John-Paul and Andrew

I was looking for a super hero costume for Matthew that didn’t have a mask and this Thor one seemed perfect, right down to the hammer.

Love those muscles. LOL.

– 7 –

{real}

Lastly, tomorrow is my birthday! I will be 35…again…and again….and again….and…you get the picture. 😉 However, Brian has to work late tomorrow so we celebrated last week while my sisters were here. They brought up a gift basket from my family filled with items they knew I would love – Itunes gift card, stationary, journal, notepads etc. The best part of the gift, though, was the card in which they all signed and wrote little notes to me. It was so sweet it brought tears to my eyes. I miss them so much!

Since the girls offered to babysit, Brian and I were able to go out on a lunch date. Woohoo!

I finally got that pizza I was craving with tomatoes, roasted peppers, garlic, chicken and feta cheese. Yum!

We topped it off with a shared dessert – peach cobbler with vanilla bean ice cream. Mmmmm.

Have a great weekend!

{pretty, happy, funny, real} – vol 41: Summer Fun 6 & Happy Feast Day of St. Anne

By bobbi
July 26, 2012
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~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~

Here are some favorite Instagram photos from the past week.

{pretty}

Happy feast day of St. Anne and St. Joachim! St. Anne is my patron saint so she has a special place in my heart. (Especially since I prayed to her continuously to find a holy husband and later to be able to conceive children. She didn’t disappoint on either account.) This photo was taken at the Carmel Mission Chapel.

I looove these flowers on the walls. They are all over downtown Carmel.

Lately, I have been walking more in the evening than the morning so I have more sunset shots.

{happy}

It’s hard to believe that someone so small and cute could get into so many shenanigans. (See photos below.)

I have to keep Matthew busy to keep him out of trouble. Here he is looking at his book at the library.

We went to the mall but left Matthew at home with Brian. Andrew begged me to let him sit in Matthew’s seat (even though he could barely get his legs in the stroller.) He was happy that I let him relive his youth.

{funny}

Matthew got tired of sharpening pencils. He sharpens straws now.

I bought a 2-pack of Thomas hats but John-Paul put it on without separating the hats first. He looked like Sherlock Holmes.

(Warning to my mom: Do not look at this photo. You will think that you have failed to teach your daughter the importance of removing their child from harm before taking a photo. Luckily, I always have my camera phone on me and I’ve become a pro at snapping a blurry shot as I am running to remove a child from danger.)

The other day I told the kids to grab my keys so we could leave. The wrong kid heard me.

{real}

Bella begged me for this pretty Brave journal. (She loves journals as much as I do!) I got it for her and truth be told, I bought one for me too. 😉

It’s official. Bella is a tween. I found the first guy poster taped to her bedroom wall.

Matthew finally conked out after a long day of testing my patience. (Notice how we had to remove the couch cover and the seat cushions because he kept jumping on the couch and falling off. This way he just sits. Go figure.

Making It Count (Vol 2): Mama & Me Journal

By bobbi
July 24, 2012
2 Comments

NOTE: Since “Making It Count Tuesday” is no longer, I have a Pinterest Party instead every 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month. Join me and link your post! 🙂

*****

Today is Making It Count Tuesday over at AmongstLovelyThings.com. As Sarah explains:

Start with any one of those fabulous ideas you’ve found online. Then, do it. Make it. Cook it. Create it. Take it from the screen, give it life and let it bless your world. Making it count!

Anyone who knows me well, also knows that I have been in love with journals since I was a little kid. Even today, if I see a really cute or pretty journal I have to buy it. I envision myself at home looking out at the mountains behind us as I scribble away or sitting at the beach filling it with prose. In reality, I have a collection of blank journal sitting on my bookshelf as I chase the kids around but should inspiration hit, I am well prepared!

When I was pregnant with Bella (and all the kids, actually) I kept a pregnancy journal that I planned to give her one day when she is older. So when I saw this simple project for a “Mama and Me” journal on Pinterest, I could not resist it!

I went over to Jenn’s blog MamaJennBlogs.com and she wrote:

What exactly is a “Mama & Me” journal? Well, it is basically a journal for my daughter and I to share. We write letters back and forth to each other…kind of like being pen pals (without the envelopes & stamps). My hope is that these seemingly simple letters to one another will become a book of memories to treasure for a lifetime!

She gave easy directions and a link where you can download the label for free. (There is one for a daughter journal and another for a son journal.) She actually got the idea from another blogger who got it from another blogger so the different versions continue to multiply.

In my version, I already had a blank journal I got on clearance at Target. It was a little too “pink” for me but I thought Bella might like it. (See, I told you those extra journals would come in handy!) The cover had a felt design so I used a Martha Stewart label to make a simple label on the front.

I then went through my binder of stickers and scrap book paper I had collected over the years and decorated the inside cover.

Here is the first page inscription.

For the introductory letter to Bella, I used the same basic letter that Jenn used.

Dear (child’s name),
Would you like to be my pen pal? Instead of mailing letters to each other, we can keep them here in this notebook. Does that sound like fun?
I will write to you and then leave the notebook on your bed. Then, when you want to write me back you can begin writing on the next page and leave the notebook on my bed when you are done.
You can write about anything! It can be funny or serious! Just write about whatever is on your mind! 🙂
I am so excited and I hope that you are excited too!
Love,
Mom
P.S. Write back soon! 🙂

I just changed the words slightly.

I love it, and more importantly, Bella loves it. (She has inherited my journal madness.) We’ve already exchanged a few short letters and this morning she asked me if I answered her last letter yet. I haven’t so as soon as I finish posting this, I will. 🙂

{pretty, happy, funny, real} – vol 40: Summer Fun 5

By bobbi
July 19, 2012
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~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~

Here are some favorite Instagram photos from the past week.

{pretty}

Our Lady of Guadalupe. I love the framing flowers.

I have two pretty sunset photos this week.

On Tuesday, I didn’t have a chance to take my walk so Brian told me I could go take an evening walk. I went to the beach and caught this picture of the sun setting. It was hard not to just take off my walking shoes and wade in the water instead.

Earlier this week I was coming home from Costco and the sun was setting over Seaside beach (about 15 minutes north of us.) I pulled over to the beach parking lot and snapped this photo. I didn’t use a filter to alter it. This is how it came out. I love it.

{happy}

After a long and hard day of playing, nothing makes John-Paul happier than getting cozy in his bed with a book. The other day I was looking for him (because it was too quiet) and I found him in our bed “reading” his daddy’s book. I told Brian that maybe he would finally get a bookworm that just wanted to sit and read on the couch with his dad. He said, “Yeah, good luck with that,” as he ran to stop Matthew from jumping off the kitchen table.

{funny}

Matthew loves to feed himself but it also means that we are constantly saying, “Take small bites, Matty!

{real}

I was looking through some old photos and came across this one of Bella at 3 months old. How is it that a decade has passed by so quickly?!

{pretty, happy, funny, real} – vol 39: Summer Fun 4

By bobbi
July 12, 2012
No Comments

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~

Here are some favorite Instagram photos from the past week.

{pretty}

I tried a different walking trail this morning. As I got closer to the forest I kept expecting to see a hobbit or elf wandering about.

If you didn’t see this yesterday, this was also part of the trail.

One of the buildings in downtown Carmel has a mural of Fr. Junipero Serra and friends.

Spanish-style stairs.

{happy}

The kids started swimming lessons this week. This is the first time Andrew has been swimming and he loved it.

My hair has been getting close to “rat’s nest zone” so I was happy that I finally got it professionally cut. I’m glad it looks healthy again.

{funny}

I saw this sign at one of the shops in Carmel.

I can tell who was playing with my phone because I have 50 shots of this same pose.

{real}

Yesterday the sun was finally out and we came close to hitting 70 but a few days earlier this is what it looked like in the early morn. (We don’t get out Summer weather until Fall.)

Revolution of Love

Do small things with great love.

Category Archives: family chit chat

{pretty, happy, funny, real} vol 43 & 7 Quick Takes (8/17/12) Mash-up.

{pretty, happy, funny, real} – vol 41: Summer Fun 6 & Happy Feast Day of St. Anne

Making It Count (Vol 2): Mama & Me Journal

{pretty, happy, funny, real} – vol 40: Summer Fun 5

{pretty, happy, funny, real} – vol 39: Summer Fun 4