Our Very Fun Tuesday!!

Today was such a fun day, we decided that we wanted to go to the mall, but instead of going to our normal mall (BREA) we decided that we would go to Puente Hills and visit that mall.
Neither Sarah or myself had been there in quite sometime, so we thought it would be a change of scenery for us. We were surprised at how slow and empty that mall was...I mean, I know that it was a Tuesday morning at 10 am, but Brea usually has significantly more people than we encountered!
Our favorie part of the trip was a stop at the pet store, where we fell in love with the cutest English Bulldog puppy! Scott has always wanted this breed of dog and I'll tell ya, we were this close to getting that puppy, but there was just one issue...it cost $4500.00, so really it was like 4500 issues!!! Other than that we totally would have bought that little guy, instead we'll have to settle for a pic of the doggy, which JT fondly refers to as "ruff-ruff"!
After the mall we ate some lunch at Arby's and JT just loved the few french fries Sarah let him have!
The afternoon concluded with some playtime in the yard, where JT chased the cats, laughed at the birds flying by, and picked some flowers off the bushes to give to his mommy!
Sarah just loved the flowers, and JT was so excited to help fill a little bowl with water and put the flowers in it!
It was such a fun day! But I think that next time we will go to Brea Mall, it's just more fun and alive..I mean, when you pass the same 15 people in the mall like 10 times in an hour, the mall is just too dead for me!

What's Roseola??????????

So for the last 4-5 days JT has had a fever, sometimes low-grade, sometimes as high as 103.3, either way he's been warmer than necessary. Sarah took him to the doctors on Tuesday, and they said he has a virus and that it would subside in a few days. Well, last night at bath time we noticed this rash on his belly and back, and we thought, hey maybe it's that Roseola virus we've heard about, well, we looked it up and sure enough, he has all the symptoms. Rash, fever, poor appetitte, and the clincher...IRRITABILITY!!! He has been so awnry the last 5 or so days,he's been a terrible sleeper, which means no one gets any sleep either, so very un-JT like! So, JT has Roseola, and they say it will go away on it's own, and that's good, but more importantly we can't wait for the awnry JT to go too!

OUR FAVORITE VALENTINE!!!!!

Just wanted to post a cute collage of our very favorite valentine!
CLICK ON THE COLLAGE TO ENLARGE IT!

Baby Sam

Kelly just sent these cute pics of Baby Sam, so we thought we'd post them for everyone to see! He is such a cutie! Kelly says he's a very sweet baby, and that the kids just love him! We think he's adorable too! We love you Baby Sam!!

Our Little TOP CHEF!!

JT is an amazingly curious little boy, which basically means he's into EVERYTHING!! We can't turn our backs for one minute, which can make doing things difficult! So, you can imagine that cooking with him under foot can be a bit tricky. So, since he's so curious we have started to let him cook with us, and he loves it! We give him a bowl and a whisk and some flour and spices and let him have his fun. It can get kinda messy, but hey it's only flour and it washes right off. So tonight, Melissa decided to do semi-fried chicken and so JT made is own version, not to mention a huge mess! But it was so cute to see him having so much fun. He loves to do what we do and we love to have him with us, so its a win-win for everyone!! Watch out Emeril and Bobby Flay, our JT is the next Top Chef!!!

Fun Valentine Crafts!

So, JT might be a little too young to do some of these but we thought that we'd share a few of our favorite V-day crafts with everyone, you might want to make some of these with your family! There are really great website that you can look at for inspiration, you can download directions and templates, and a lot of the materials you probably have on hand! We love to look at the Martha Stewart website and then make a simpler, less fussy project,her site is great for ideas. The whole point is to celebrate the day, to have fun and to spend time with your family.

(This project is super easy and can be done by kids of all ages. It's a great craft to make for the grandparents, or aunties, or special people in your life. It's great because it's a keepsake of the child's hand prints and it's fun for the kids to make as well!!)

(This is one of our favorite projects, melted crayon hearts. You take broken up pieces of crayon and put them in either metal heart-shaped pans sprayed with PAM, or for best results use those silicon baking pans, they work best. You put the pans in the oven at 250* for a few mins until all melted, then place the pans in the freezer for a few mins, and then they will slide out. You can attach them to construction paper with a cute message, or package them in cute containers. The best part is that the crayon hearts are totally usable, kids love to color with these! Stay away from using black or purple crayons as they muddy up the colors!)

(A sweet project, is this cute candy necklace. Just tie together the ends of the wrapped candy, and voila, you have a sweet necklace for the girls in your life!)

(A super cute idea, and great for the older kids, are these sweet sentiment hearts. You can purchase these plastic hearts at any craft store, we got ours at Michael's for around 50 cents, you write sweet little notes or inspirations on little strips of paper(enough for a month), roll them up and put them in the heart. You can decorate the hearts with bows or stickers and then the recipient can open a new thought or inspiration every day of the month!)

(These projects are super easy and fun, and kids really like to make them and they are great to give to the especial people in your life.)

(This is an easy bookmark to make, you take a calendar and cut of a week, and glue it to some card stock, and them decorate with stickers and a ribbon on the end. You can write a cute saying on it like: You make my day, or It's a date! )

( This heart wreath is super-easy and super-cute to make. You cut out several colors of hearts and then cut out the center of a paper plate and then glue the hearts on the plate..EASY!! You can even add stickers or ribbons or glitter to make them even more special!

Powerful tips for a better life in 2009

Sarah's friend posted these and we liked them so much, we thought that we'd share them with everyone! These are really very powerful. Implement whatever you can.


1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile.
It is the ultimate anti-depressant.
2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Buy a lock if you have to.
3. Buy a DVR. Tape your late night shows and get more sleep.
4. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, 'My purpose is to __________ today.
5. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.
6. Play more games and read more books than you did in2008.
7. Make time to practice meditation, yoga or stretching, and prayer. They provide us with daily fuel for our busy lives.
8. Spend more time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6.
9. Dream more while you are awake.
10. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured from plants.
11. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds & walnuts.
12. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
13. Clear clutter from your house, your car, your desk and let new and flowing energy into your life.
14. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
15. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
16. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.
17. Try to pay an honest compliment to someone you wouldn't normally.
18. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
20. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
21. You don't have to win every argument. Agree todisagree.
22. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil thepresent.
23. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
24. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
25. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter?'
26. Forgive everyone for everything.
27. What other people think of you is none of yourbusiness.
28. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
29. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick.Your friends will. Stay in touch.
30. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
31. Envy is a waste of time.. You already have all you need.
32. The best is yet to come.
33. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
34. Do the right thing!
35. Call your family often.
36. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: I am thankful for _____. Today I accomplished ______.
37. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.
38. Enjoy the ride. Remember this is not Disney World and you certainly don't want a fast pass. You only have one ride through life, so make the most of it and enjoy the ride.