project 52, week 17,18and 19

i'm lagging. 

i don't mean to lag, but life gets busy sometimes, and blogging is the last thing on the to do list, behind playing with the babies and cleaning the house, baseball games and laundry, editing and cooking dinner, fulfilling orders and rocking the babies to sleep, and planning baby showers and bridal showers. yes, i do it all. and i love doing it all. and so sometimes, even though yes, i have taken my picture a week (ok, more like my 200 pictures a week- seriously), i just don't always get the time to sit and post them. so here's a recap of the last 3 weeks:

week 17:

old enzo.
we just found out he has skin cancer. now, our epileptic, partially deaf, 100 lb pit pull also has cancer. he is the biggest, sweetest small horse of a dog you could ever meet. we are saddened by the news, but at least it is treatable, and they expect him to live a full and happy life still (minus having to limit his "sunbathing" time). 

 week 18:
my birthday boy

two years ago you came into the world, into our family, and kidnapped our hearts.

 your curiosity takes you to every water puddle and dirt patch.

your sense of adventure takes you to the tops of the furniture.

your fearlessness has you jumping off.

you are my cuddle bug, still loving to be rocked every night.

you bring so much joy to our family.

 week 19:
he makes my heart happy.
mothers day was a joy since the boys are old enough to  tell me how much they love me :) e learned how to make a heart with his hands at preschool, and now it's his favorite way to tell me he loves me.
 it makes my heart glow!

xo

project 52, week 15 and 16: battle wounds and tattoos

 our first trip to the emergency room was this week. 

not too bad for being parents for 4 years! 

two stitches two weeks before his second birthday. 

he took em like a champ. 

 my children are my world. this week, i finally had W's birthday added under his big brother's. 

"more and more each day" is my daily mantra and what I say to the boys every night before they go to bed (i love you more and more each day)

you can read my personal mantra here

project 52, week 14: back to blonde

i've gone back to the blonde side...

and loving it! 

thanks brig! 

project 52, week 12 and 13: family time

when i was young, i dreamed of having a son. not just to have the family name live on, or to see my husband act like a little boy again, but so i could have date nights with him. yep, i wanted to take him out to dinner and ice cream, and have these fun, loving relationships you see in commercials (blame olive garden: "are you meeting some one ma'am?" "yes, he's brunette, with a great smile, and his shoes are probably untied", as the son runs up to give her a hug). luckily, i was blessed with two of my own, meaning mama always has a date to baskin robbins! 

e and i enjoying date night together...

this past week was my family's annual vacation together. 14 of us bunking up in one house, this time in monterrey, ca. here's a peek at the amazing property we were staying on...

project 52, week 11: oooo the claw

project 52, week 9 and 10: my darling first born...

tomorrow you turn 4. 

i'm not sure when exactly you turned from my baby boy into my little man, 

it happened so fast. 

i love your smiles, and i love the belly giggles. 

you can hug me and make the rest of my troubles melt away. 

you have grown so much this year, 

i am proud of the milestones you have surpassed. 

you bring joy to everyone you meet, 

and i never want you to lose the silliness you possess. 

happy last night as a 3 year old EJV

march 2010

april

may

june

july

august

september

october

november

december

january

february

your last bath as a 3 year old! 

project 52, week 8: i'm a few days behind..

but a house full of sickies will do that to you. 

ear infections, eye infections, sinus infections,

pray that this all passes quickly. 

project 52, week 7: i never thought the day would come

that i wouldn't have to change another diaper! 

we have been arm deep in diapers for the last 4 years, and i have prayed about the day i wouldn't have to change another stinky one. 

this week, W decided he wants to use the big boy potty, all on his own and

 at only 21 months if i may add! 

i foresee a pampers-less future soon! 

go W!! 

project 52, week 6: the trailer project part 2

work has finally begun on the trailer. the cabinets and old bed platform have been removed (which took half the walls with it as well), and the prior tenants have been evicted (did you know the walls of trailers could be infested with ants? yeah, that was a pleasant surprise). 

it didn't surprise me that we found old photos in the cracks. but it did make me wonder who the family was that lived, yes lived, in my rusty old trailer. i' found bobbins of thread and even a coin purse made out of a baby bootie, so i know the woman was creative and resourceful. 

i'm sure i'll never discover the life my old trailer lived before calling our driveway home, but i am excited to bring her back to life, with the full makeover she needs and deserves! 

next step, re enforcing the framework...

project 52, week 5: where the wine flows like water

my love of wine has grown since our weekend in temecula...

project 52, week 4: to my love...

another year has passed since you gave me your last name. 

it's amazing the life we have created in this short amount of time. 

sometimes it seems as if we've been married an eternity,

others it's as if we just met yesterday. 

i love the way you balance out my ocd,

humor my craigslist addiction, 

and love me even with my crazy peacock hair in the  mornings. 

you are an amazing husband, father and friend. 

i am lucky to have you in my life, and to call you my best friend.

happy anniversary 

project 52, week 3: peek a boo

Project 52, week 2: my personal mantra

more and more each day, i strive to be a better friend. 

more and more each day, i hope to make an impact on the world

more and more each day, i try to learn something i didn't know before

more and more each day, i'm learning to love myself for who i am

more and more each day, i am more comfortable in my own skin

more and more each day, i grow in my faith

more and more each day, i realize how blessed my life is

more and more each day, i fall in love my husband

more and more each day, i become a better mother

more and more each day, i want to touch just one person with my photography. 

paraphrasing william faulkner, "don't try to be better than others, just be better than you were the day before". 

they grow up so quickly!

project 52: a little more realistic than 365!

i've often warned my hubs that if something should happen to me, before he just starts getting rid of my stuff and cleaning out my closet, he better search through everything first. he's most likely going to find a surprise where he least expects it.

i'm a money hider. in back pockets of jeans that are 10 years out of style, in shoes i haven't worn in 4 years, in between book pages, in vases on the shelves. if i had an old coffee can i could bury and not forget where i put it, i'd probably do that too.

it's not that i don't have a bank account, i do. and i have great interest rates too. i just take after my grandmother, who saved all her small bills change instead of keeping them in her wallet, and hid them throughout the house. "you never know when you might need cash and don't have time to get to the bank" she would tell me. and "it's easier to buy something you don't want your husband to know you bought when he doesn't know you had the money in the first place". i loved my grandma!

earlier today, i was looking for the mate to a sock, and came across a roll of money even I forgot i hid! i don't normally pick the obvious places to hide things, so it was a complete wooooohooooo moment! it looks like a lot more than it actual was: 77  one dollar bills. but i'll take it no matter what the amount!

this also marks the first in my project 52 series for the 2011. one picture a week, to broaden my skills, think creatively, and have a little fun with photography. I tried to do 365 last year, and made it to the middle of march before i dreaded picking up my camera each day. fifty-two is a little more realistic in my eyes! i'm not guaranteeing that every picture will be inspirational or even good but i do promise to continue on until we welcome 2012! wish me luck!

and ps, i better not find any of y'all rummaging around in my things next time i invite you over!