LA FoodBank

Since serving as the Activities Committee co-chair of my ward I've stressed out a lot about how many people are going to show up at our activities. Normally, this isn't a cause of too much concern, but since we've been given a mandate to turn all of our activities into community service opportunities- most of which require a minimum amount of people to show up to get the job done- I've been a bit worried. Last month we did a Blood Drive. The success was... middling. The Red Cross wanted a minimum of 50 pints to make it worth the expense of sending in their nurse-troops. Even though we had a lot of people show up, we only wound up squeezing 30 pints (I'm glad every single one of those people came because 30 sounds better than 29). I was nervous about our next activity, loading up boxes of food for distribution to 5,000 needy families. About 10 people signed up on Sunday and I figured we were in huuuge trouble. But the day of proved me wrong, we had a fantastic turn out and a ton of fun as we completed all the assignments they had for us and more. The best part was the warm fuzzy that serving gives. aaww.

Our Sweet Little Guys

My friend Lindsay, who is definitely one of the most graphically skilled people I know (just check out her blog if you don't believe me), thought it would be a good idea to take a photo of all the little boys in our ward who are around the same age. I thought it sounded fun, but this was just about the most crazy and hilarious photo shoot in the history of mankind. I dare anyone to try to get a photo of 7 little boys, all well under 2, to sit still in an endlessly hilly, grass filled park. It was total chaos, but everything considering, they didn't turn out too badly. They sure have a sweet group of little friends!! I just want to squeeze all their little cheeks just about all the time...

Disneyland Rocks!

I wish we had some more photos of the boys momentous first day in the magical kingdom, and mine and Ian's first time in a long long while. Honestly, Ian, Caleb, Julian and I had so much fun with Ian's family that we just about wanted to work out a way to come back here every day. From the first moment I stepped through the gates and looked down Main Street to Sleeping Beauty's castle I got a big smile on my face. The boys had a great time too until we started taking them on rides. Their first couple rides were a little frightening. I didn't appreciate the fact that they're old enough to be scared. As we waited in line for Snow White- the first ride- I told Caleb to check out the witch cackling evilly in the display case behind us with green lights under her chin casting up all sorts of creepy shadows. I thought he would find it funny. I don't know what I was thinking. He was also a little traumatized during a few dark moments on Pirates and Alice in Wonderland, but by the end of the day he seemed to enjoy them- Winnie the Pooh and Buzz Light Year were great. Luckily for us we have annual passes- ah the joy. I really wish I had more photos- we're still working on getting a new camera.

VERTIGO!

I just want everybody to know that I have not abandoned my blog- for the past several weeks I have just been really, really sick. I kind of thought that I was mostly just exhausted from taking care of my little dudes because they just hit this really, really active stage. These guys are climbing, running, jumping, whirling and just overall into everything. I was honestly just getting really dizzy taking care of them. At about the same time the doctor stuck me on some crazy medications because we are getting all set and ready to do another fertility cycle... at some point. Anyways, Ian started getting home earlier and earlier from work as my list of things I could do started dwindling- I couldn't cook- it made me too dizzy. I couldn't do the laundry, it made me too dizzy. I couldn't vaccuum, I couldn't get on the computer (hence the long absence)... I basically couldn't do anything. Finally Grandma Louise graciously agreed to watch the boys for a week up on her, well, it's practically an acreage. The boys romped and played and had the time of their lives and I got to rest. After the fourth day of not being able to watch a movie, look at the computer, or even look outside because it made me too nauseous and dizzy I decided to try something really easy- I went to the Family History Library to check out some nice, still, archival microfilms. It made me feel a bit queasy but I thought I would be OK. Well, I wound up puking all over the floor. My friend told me that something was really not normal with me. It was true, I hadn't been able to stand for more than a couple minutes without feeling pukey. Anyways, I went to the doctor right away and he diagnosed me with VERTIGO! It turned out one of the crazy medications he had me on has a small chance of causing this Hitchcockian little quirk. Once he took it out I got better and better. Once I felt a lot better though I was so mad!! My doctor did this to me!! But the good news is that I'm feeling sooo much better. Today I was even able to put in a load of laundry and yesterday I was able to watch a movie all the way through. My next one will have to be... you guessed it... VERTIGO!!

Monkey See

We just got back from a ridiculously fun weekend down in San Diego! A whole group of us headed down and stayed in the same hotel together. Wow, what an adventure- 8 couples, 10 kids and a whole lot of craziness. We hit the beach, Ian got to go surfing, and we took the kids on a carousel ride at Seaport Village in old town San Diego. Not all the kids liked the carousel, but Caleb couldn't get enough. He lifted both of his arms up high over his head and laughed and laughed. The craziest part was when we went out for dinner - the restaurant told us they didn't think they had enough high chairs to accomodate everybody. Needless to say it was quite a zoo! I'm going to put up some photos soon. We feel very blessed to have so many wonderful friends with children that are nearly exactly our kids' ages. Unfortunately we left our camera somewhere in San Diego amidst the mayhem, so I will have to get some borrowed photos unless it magically turns up. In the meantime, here's a silly video I took of my Puente boys- all three of them- from last week. They really know how to get each other going in the mornings!

My first quilt

Alright, so it's not perfect. I had some kind of setback at every single step along the way, from the very beginning when I chose a couple fabrics that just did NOT work together and had to pull out what felt like a million seams to achieve colour harmony in all 16 rows, to cutting my backing a liiitttle too shy of my front, to cutting my ties too short so they were just little baby stubs... anyways, I finally got her done. The process was so fun and I have to say that the end result is a very cheerful comfort indeed. I enjoyed the creative outlet that didn't require the level of intense concentration I have to draw upon when I edit, and I also liked the fact that I could pick it up and put it down at a moment's notice and didn't have to get frustrated about it (this last thing is something I've found to be very key with my two active and increasingly demanding little dudes). Also, so many other ladies in my ward are into quilting that it turned out to be a great bonding experience throughout the process. A group of us hit the fabric district on Saturday and I purchased the goods for my next quilt. I think the best part will be this weekend when I give the quilt to my sister-in-law Faith as a support gift during a crazy time in her lift.
As a random aside, I noticed that the outlandishly cute new line of baby girl dresses on Shabby Apple.com uses a ton of fabrics I used in my quilt, and that I just bought for my new quilt.
http://www.shabbyapple.com/c-16-shabby-baby-dresses.aspx

Hmm... a new project idea? I better master this first.

Happy Valentines Day Card For Melissa

A little early card for Melissa that we thought the rest of you might get a kick out of.

From The Puente Boys

Don't send a lame Starring You! eCard. Try JibJab Sendables!

Julian's Makeover

Before...




and After...




I just love the long baby curls, but Julian was starting to look a bit scruffy so we figured it was time for a little trim. Thanks to Auntie Faith, Julian's first haircut... well, we can't say it went by without a hitch, but it definitely had a successful finale. Although you probably don't notice the difference too much, Julian wound up with bang-free blinks. Julian wasn't too into it at first, but by the end he was enjoying the pampering. Thanks Faith!