12): JP’s 3rd Bday & Photography Fun

By bobbi
August 24, 2012
1 Comment

– 1 –

Well, another week and another 7 days of no blog entries. I seriously doubt I will get back to my normal posting until after all the kids return to school. (The rest start the day after Labor Day.) John-Paul started this week and he was a little apprehensive at first but by the end of the day he had fun and was all smiles.

JP after his first day of school.

Meanwhile Matthew was at Target trying on new hats.

“Evening, ladies.”

– 2 –

This was also the last week of JP being 2 years old! Today my little man turned 3. It seems like such a short time ago that we brought him home from the hospital.

JP at 1 day old.

Bella & JP

Andrew & JP

– 3 –

These days you can find him giggling and playing and making us laugh with his developing vocabulary.

Although, he has mellowed out a little in his old age and has taken to books. He carries one around with him all the time. The other day I told him he had to go outside and get some fresh air. My sister snapped a photo of his version of getting fresh air.

– 4 –

As you may have noticed, I love taking photos and I hope to one day get a “real” camera. Lately, it seems all I ever have on me in my iphone and I have been snapping away. Usually I use Instagram and occasionally Hipstamatic and Tadaa to filter my iphone photos. The only thing with these apps is that you can only use them on your phone. I wanted to find something that I could use online to quickly filter a photo. I started using Pixlr.com. It is a great little system with three levels, depending on how comfortable you feel with editing. I used it on the photos posted in Takes 2 & 3. (The one of him reading was done darker with JP closer to my hair color. 😉

– 5 –

Speaking of photos, this weekend is the fun and exciting Snapshots from a Sunday from Clan Donaldson. There is a different take this month and I am touched that Cari thought of me when deciding to experiment with a different format. Instead of each of us getting a different hour in the day (hello 3AM), we will all take photos at the same time – 4:00 PM (Eastern Time). Should be fun!

– 6 –

Okay, let’s just add one more photo topic. If you are looking for photo hints while snapping your kids, check out How to Take Great Pictures of Kids over at Slow Mama.com. (And congrats to Zoe & B on the adoption of their two precious girls from Ethiopia.)

– 7 –

Have a great weekend, everyone!
xoxo,

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

By bobbi
August 17, 2012
No Comments

~ 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!

Saturday Morn {pretty, happy, funny, real} – vol 42 / 7 Quick Take (8/4/12) Mash-Up

By bobbi
August 4, 2012
1 Comment

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~

AND

– 1 –

I believe here is where I insert the mandatory clichéd expression “I can’t believe it is [INSERT MONTH] already.” But seriously, guys, I really can’t believe it is August already! I have been MIA, but this week has been super busy and I have not had a chance to use the computer all week. So on this Saturday (while Brian is at work and the kids are sleeping in) I’m catching up with a {pretty, happy, funny, real}/7 Quick Takes Mash-up.

– 2 –

{pretty}

I don’t have any pretty photos from my beach walks because this week has been so foggy and dreary, you don’t see the sun in the early morning or the later evening (and sometimes not even in the afternoon!) but I snapped these two while running errands.

This the park that is across the street from the youth library we visit. It was early so no tourists were around yet.

Bella and I were at the doctor’s office this week (we were following up on an ear ache she had) and this was our view out the window.

– 3 –

{happy}

We finished the last of our summer swimming classes this week. Bella has done a great job and although she is still mastering different strokes, she is able to swim from one side of the pool to the other. Andrew completed his introductory course and now that he is comfortable in the water he can move on to Level 2 this fall.

Bella practicing her back stroke.

Andrew with his certificate.

– 4 –

I looked at my Google Reader, which was at ZERO last weekend, and it is now over 300. I skimmed through a couple posts and was happy to see that Hallie’s Betty Beguiles is now Moxie Wife (love it!) and that Cari posted her Snapshots from a Sunday, Vol 8. My time slot was 3:00 – 4:00 AM Eastern and I figured I’d take advantage of the different time zones and recorded what I was doing then using Pacific Time. At 12:23 AM I was watching the Olympics. Sometimes it is easier to watch in the late night because I can actually see the screen and don’t have kids bouncing off the furniture in their own Olympic events.

– 5 –

{funny}

Speaking of the kids and the Olympics, here are a few shots in their various events.

I was cleaning under the boys’ bed and Matthew seized the opportunity to prepare for gymnastics’ balance beam.

“But, mama, I won’ fall!” (Famous last words.)

Andrew and John-Paul are practicing their synchronized diving. (At least they did not strip down to their underwear.)

Andrew had a much better form but was very upset that his legs did not go straight up in the air like the other divers. I had to convince him that no, he could not try jumping off from a higher table. (Poor Matthew was not feeling well with his molar teething or else he’d be right up there with the big boys.)

I never did get a photo of their vault routine with them running across the coffee table and jumping onto a nearby chair filled with pillows. (Should I be concerned that I thought this was acceptable behavior from two rambunctious boys, as long as I was supervising? Somehow I think my sister with the well-behaved, scheduled children would disapprove.)

– 6 –

{real}

Are your kids back to school this month? We don’t start until September but we have been getting our school supplies. As a kid, not counting Christmas, my favorite time of year was back to school time when I could buy new pencils and notebooks and various fun school supplies. To this day, that hasn’t changed.

Most normal women get giddy buying jewelry, shoes and make up. I swoon at the journal, stationary and office supply aisle.

While we were shopping, Bella and I found this converse shoe pencil pouch. We considering buying it to match our shoes.

– 7 –

Okay, kids are waking up so I better wrap thing up. It’ll be another busy week but I’ll try to post once or twice. I am suuuuuper excited because two of my sisters living in So Cal are driving up for a visit next week. That means I get both a girls night out and a date with my Sweetie Boy while they babysit. It’s an early birthday present. Yay!
Have a great weekend!

7 Quick Takes (7/28/12): Saturday/ Olympics 2012 Edition

By bobbi
July 28, 2012
No Comments

Hosted by Jen at Conversion Diary.

– 1 –

Did you watch the Opening Ceremonies last night? What did you think? I enjoyed it, even if a few moments seemed a bit odd. (Giant baby, anyone?) The James Bond bit was genius and I loooved the music montage although I am still upset with NBC for bloody breaking to a commercial during some of the best songs. (Did they really cut out The Clash??) At least I got to hear New Order. It was enjoyable none the less and thankfully I was able to sleep in this morn since I didn’t get to bed until after 1AM

– 2 –

It was fun to see the cast of Downton Abbey excited for the games to begin!

Source: https://twitter.com/hughbon

– 3 –

Even more than the sport itself, I love getting to know the stories behind the athletes and picking favorites to root for. I enjoyed this little clip of Athletes to Watch from the Today Show.

– 4 –

Like many, my favorite sports to watch are gymnastics and swimming. I thought it was really cute when the swim team made a video to the song “Call Me Maybe.” (Although, I would have enjoyed it more had they not picked such an annoying song. 😉

– 5 –

Speaking of songs, some people have been complaining that “Survival” (the official song by Muse) was too theatrical. I thought so at first but after a few listens it grows on you. Plus, when you combine it with this montage of Olympic athletes, it fits perfectly.

Okay, if that doesn’t motivate me to get off my butt and get some exercise nothing will! I’m adding it to my beach walking playlist so I can listen to it as I am climbing up those sandy dunes of death. (Or as normal, fit people call them, the small sand hill leading to the parking area.)

– 6 –

Before the Olympics started yesterday I was watching the 2012 Trials of Jordyn Wieber with Matthew. He was fascinated by her, particularly the balance beam and tumbling routine…

– 7 –

He was mesmerized as he watched.

He cheered enthusiastically when she was done.

And that twinkle in his eye tells me that he will soon be reenacting the routine on the kitchen table later.

Okay, time to get off the computer and get moving. Have a wonderful weekend!!

7 Quick Takes (7/20/12) – CO Tragedy, Prayer, Blogs & Recipes

By bobbi
July 20, 2012
1 Comment

Hosted by Jen at Conversion Diary.

– 1 –

Tragedy – I woke early this morning to take my walk and I read the news about the horrible shooting in Colorado. I am speechless. Patrick at CreativeMinorityReport.com had a sobering commentary, but his last paragraph was the hardest. He says:

Again, the speed of things is startling. I found this unsettling story about a young woman killed in the shooting last night. We see her last tweets from the theater and even more bizarrely, we see her last blog post in which she wrote about barely escaping the gunman in that Toronto mall just six weeks ago. So sad, so bizarre, and so quick. /

I read the article about Jessica and it was eerie. She just escaped death at another tragic mall shooting just six weeks ago and now she is believed to be one of the fatally wounded victims last night.
(UPDATE: Jessica was killed. She was an intern at a Fox affiliate.)
It seems even more tragic that some of the injured were not just teens or adults. There was a 3 month old and a six year old hurt. (And I can’t help but wonder who would take a 3 mo old or 6 yr old to that movie, let alone at midnight.)
All this just breaks my heart but my kids are asking me why I am crying, I know I have to get a grip and take care of my little ones. I can mourn and cry for them in private later. But I can at least remember them throughout the day and offer up my tiny crosses for them.
In the meantime, I’ve got a house in desperate need of cleaning and kids with no clean clothes so I am not to leave the house or get back on the computer until I am done. Instead I’ll leave you with links to places I’ve visited online this week.

– 2 –

Prayer – This morning Fr. Jonathan Morris posted the Prayer to Put on the Armor of God on Facebook. It seems especially appropriate these days.
Prayer for Friday, July 20, 2012 (Prayer to put on the Armor of God)
Heavenly Father, I praise and worship you because you are God.
I am honored to be your servant and I take my stand.
Father, as I take up each piece of the armor, please secure it in place on me.
I take up the shield of faith and extend it over myself. It extinguishes all the fiery darts of the evil one.
I put on the helmet of salvation, which protects my mind from the enemy’s attacks. I have the mind of Christ.
I put on the breastplate of righteousness, which covers my body with the righteousness of God. In Christ, every foothold of evil has been washed away and I am clothed in righteousness.
I gird my loins with the belt of truth. Your word, O God, is truth.
Father, sanctify me according to your word and remind me through the Holy Spirit of the truth that destroys the lies of sin.
I shod my feet with the preparation of the Gospel of peace. I have peace with God through the blood of Jesus. I walk in my inheritance as an adopted son of God and have authority over evil in Jesus’ name.
I will use the Sword of the Spirit by speaking the Word of God as it applies to whatever situation I may face today. Father, please remind me of your Word via the Holy Spirit.
I will continue to pray in the Spirit throughout the day, and intercede for all Christians as the Holy Spirit prompts me. I believe that the Holy Spirit is interceding on my behalf according to my prayers.
Thank you, Father, for the whole armor of God. Please surround me with your hedge of protection as I move forward on the spiritual battlefield today.
I praise and worship you now and forever, Amen

– 3 –

Video– Fr. Morris also talked about the shooting on Fox News this morning. Here’s the link: http://video.foxnews.com/v/1744403963001/what-type-of-mark-will-theater-shooting-leave-on-society.

– 4 –

Making It Count – This week I discovered a number of new blogs that I started following. The first is AmongstLovelyThings.com. I first found the blog because of the series Sarah cohosts – Making it Count. Sarah says:

I spend a significant amount of time online- reading blogs, checking email, writing posts, editing photos, and sharing. While online, I seek inspiration to live this beautiful life to its very best- to squeeze every last drop out of these wild and glorious days. It’s far too easy, of course, for that time online to be counted as a waste. A click here, a click there- and suddenly the hours have gotten away from me. I shut my computer and walk away to do the very real and messy living of hours with these precious people in my life.
And what of the time online? Was it wasted? What of all the inspiring ideas and projects that I collected like berries from a bush while I was clicking away? Do they stay locked up in the computer while I live out my days with my family? Or do I bring them to life? Do I seek out inspiration and then allow that inspiration to overflow into my real world? I’d hate to think that the time I spend online hunting and gathering beauty is going to waste.
So, it won’t. I won’t let it.
Here is my chance. Here is your chance, too. Start with any one of those fabulous ideas you have 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. When you’re done, snap a photo, write about it and share it with us. Make your time online count.
Twice each month, Pam and I are co-hosting the Making It Count Tuesday link-up. We’d love it if you would join us. Check out the rules, grab the graphic, and then get to work. Make that time you spend online count, and then show us what you’ve been up to! We’re meeting the 2nd Tuesday of each month at Everyday Snapshots, and the 4th Tuesday of each month here, at Amongst Lovely Things.

(I already have a little project that I finished that I’ll post on Tuesday.)

– 5 –

Binders & Recipes – Last week Pam at EverydaySnapshots.blogspot.com/ hosted Making it Count. That is where I saw Sarah’s link to these great recipes she tried out. They looked so tasty that I made two of them last night. (By the way, if you homeschool, you should especially check out Pam’s blog since she has a lot of great ideas. I don’t homeschool but I loved her binder ideas for general use!)

– 6 –

Yum – I tried the recipe for this Slow Cooker BBQ chicken. I think this is actually the recipe I tried to make last year but I got mad because all my pantry ingredients were gone or expired. Well, this time it all worked out and the family loved the dish.

I also made this Greek salad. It was really tasty but I think I put a little too much dressing on the salad because it was a little strong. I’ll try it again for lunch and put less dressing this time.
I think I might also try The Pioneer Woman’s version of Greek Salad next time I make this.

– 7 –

Keeping it in the Family – The other blog I started reading is SixSistersStuff.com. It is a blog done by six sisters. So cool! I will try and stay healthy and make their slow cooker roasted vegetables and not their cake-mix-cinnamon-rolls.

That’s it for today. Have a great weekend and don’t forget to tell your loved ones how much they mean to you because life is short!

Revolution of Love

Do small things with great love.

Category Archives: 7 quick takes

7 Quick Takes (8/24/12): JP’s 3rd Bday & Photography Fun

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

Saturday Morn {pretty, happy, funny, real} – vol 42 / 7 Quick Take (8/4/12) Mash-Up

7 Quick Takes (7/28/12): Saturday/ Olympics 2012 Edition

7 Quick Takes (7/20/12) – CO Tragedy, Prayer, Blogs & Recipes