more whales

well... we consistently keep seeing whales.
yesterday, you could actually see more than
just their 'whale spit' as the boys call it.

this is so exciting to us!!
can't wait to get my camera cord unpacked =)

i hope these whales hang around till the weekend
we are getting company!!!
i'd love to be able to show my family the amazing views we have here.

sooo stinkin excited
yet sooo much to do.

exciting story

i have an exciting story to tell
but it must wait until i can unpack my camera cord
so i can show you the pictures that go along with it.

i will tell you
that it is about whales
at our house!!!!!

ooooo... i'm still so excited!!!

target

we are headed to target today.

i used to have fun going to target
but now all i see is dollar signs.
unfortunately there are things we need.

my boys and possibly the girl too
have decided to use lots and lots of toilet paper.
and i mean lots!!
i'm talking about an entire roll was used in only one day.
i'm going to have to get those wet wipes for the toilet.
i'm thinking they are cheaper than an entire roll of paper a day.

we also need soap, baby and adult.
this is a must or we will stink =)
i'm going to try bar soap again.
hopefully our skin will not dry out so bad
with this water.

we also have a very special birthday gift
we are looking for.
she is super special to us
and we are finding it very hard to find
a special gift for her.

i also need a 5 gallon bucket
and a funnel for my homemade laundry soap.
once i have these two ingredients
i'm ready to start making!!

after target,
i will continue to unpack.
i'm actually getting sooo close
i can just taste it,
although, i'm still missing
several important kitchen things.
hopefully they turn up!

hope everyone has a great day!!

great idea

brayden had a great idea this morning...
we need a handy helper!

you know,
like mickey mouse clubhouse.

then we won't have to open the door,
make dinner
or even clean up. lol

i personally think he had a GREAT idea!!

chuck was home!!!

he was actually home all weekend
and we sooo enjoyed his company!!

saturday morning i took off and ran some
errands WITHOUT the kiddos!!!
oh... as much as i love my kids
i truly enjoyed shopping without them =)

i started at kohls and
bought two kitchen rugs.
ON SALE for 55% off!!
i am unable to find pictures on the internet to show you
nor am i willing to take the time to take pictures
and post them right now.
sorry =(
maybe you can just come and visit and see them yourselves!
but... i do really like them!!

then i headed to joann's.
this store is amazing!!!
sooo much bigger than the fresno one,
plus it is connected to the mall.
although i did resist temptation
and didn't enter the forbidden mall
i am looking forward to one day enjoying this luxury again.
i am going to attempt to sew.
yes... i am very excited and a little nervous.
past attempts have only been 1/2 successful.
i can construct a beautiful quilt top
and... well... that's about it, lol
the middle and backing stumped me.
i'm going to start on smaller, easier projects
before i attempt my quits again.
did i tell you... i'm excited!!!

after finding a great deal at joann's
i headed to ace hardware.
during this budget crunch we are experiencing
i'm determined to save as much money as possible.
i no longer buy boxed food
and i home make as much as i can.
i've found this has saved us tons of money,
takes out a bunch of sugar and preservatives,
and we actually prefer the taste
of my homemade food much more!
granola is a newer one we are all enjoying
along with my homemade biscuits,
salad dressings,
my cornbread recipe flopped but i'm excited
to try my husband's grandma's recipe i recently found.
the list goes on and on for new, cheap and yummy recipes
but when a cousin of mine started making her own laundry soap
i knew i had to jump on board.
yes... my husband is going to say
i've gone hippie but honestly
i don't care.

so... back to ace hardware.
believe it or not
ace hardware is the only place in town where you can buy
all the ingredients to make your own laundry soap.
i walked in,
spent 7 dollars and walked out.
my goal is to make it this week.
i'll let you know how i like it
and how much it costs with the good deals i found.

then the rest of the day was spent together.
we went to a locally owned surf shop
and learned tons of local tips.
sting rays are actually in the waters over here,
you must do the stingray shuffle so you are not stung.
and there is also a really fun tide pool
about a mile down the road.
i'm soo looking forward to going there!!

sunday was filled with a morning walk
then lots of unpacking.
hoping to be done unpacking
with the major stuff, this week.

blake's birthday is coming up
and we will be having company over!!
super excited about that!!!

well... that was our weekend.
what did you do?

cold

last night was cold,
well... i'd say more like chilly.

i woke up this morning with ab's,
who doesn't like covers,
cuddled right up next to me.
brayden snuck into our room
and was on the floor
completely under the covers.
blake snuck on our bed
and was at my feet,
under the covers,
using sally as a pillow.
yes, i said sally.
not his stuffed dog sally but the real sally.
our golden retrieve got cold
and joined us on the bed too, lol.
then taffy
our toy poodle,
squeezed in between chuck and i
under the covers.

i woke up with a smile on my face =)
i totally love all these fun family times!!

happy...

i must admit
i'm coping this blog from a dear friend of mine
with my own twist.

what makes me happy:

1. having a great marriage. we've been through a lot lately but our marriage is strong and secure. i just love that man of mine!!
2. cuddles in the mornings with my babies (big and little ones).
3. being a stay at home mommy.
4. cooking, baking, new recipes and the search for that perfect homemade dish!!!
5. taking pictures, looking at pictures, scrapbooking and crafts.
6. my new washer and dryer. can you believe the washer takes longer than the dryer??!!
7. my daily phone calls to my mom.
8. watching my kids play and build a deep relationship with their grandparents.
9. finding a good bargain - from homemade laundry soap to lots and lots of rebates.
10. my family - immediate and extended. i love you all!
11. our new beach house. what a great adventure are on.

so... what makes you happy today?

my poor husband

my poor husband is working so hard.
he has worked between 10 and 16 hrs everyday this week.
he is sooo exhausted and we miss him terribly.
i hope he gets a day off this weekend so he can just sleep.

the kids and i went to joann's today
to start looking for birthday/christmas crafts
and the joann's here is HUGE!!
it is actually apart of the mall.

the kiddos were not in the best of moods
so i was not able to look around
but i'll definitely be looking forward to when i can.

anyways... after joann's we went to lowes
to get the last part we need for our new
washer and dryer!!
i'm so excited to get a new washer and dryer.
it can wash 16 pairs of jeans and dry them in 30 minutes.
wow... i just cannot wait!!
the laundry in new jersey took 2 hrs to dry 1 pair of jeans with some cotton clothes.
pathetic huh?
plus we are getting $435.00 worth of rebates back - score!

so... after a brief trip to joann's,
then a not so brief trip to lowes,
(i think i knew more than the gentleman helping me)
we were going to head over to kohls to get some rugs.
my new house has white carpets (i really mean white),
but i knew it just wasn't going to work with the kids
so i looked across the street and i saw a costco.
there is always something i need at costco
so i bribed the kiddos with pizza and away we went.
the food court is outside and super busy but we managed and headed in.
wow... this costco put our costco's to sham,
not in size but in how busy it was.
i can honestly say i've never been in a store this busy.
i kept all three kids in the cart and plowed my way through.
i now know that mondays, tuesdays and wednesdays
will be the only costco shopping days for us.
somehow, even with 3 kiddos in the cart
i still managed to spend $100.00.

well... i'm wishing i was napping with blake.
ab's fell really hard yesterday and hit her head
so i didn't sleep well worrying about her.
i was supposed to wake her every two hours
but i think i was up every 45 minutes instead.

lots and lots to do

we have lots and lots to do today.
for some reason the house just isn't unpacking itself, lol.

i told the boys that this week is going to be filled with unpacking
and that school starts next week.
oh my goodness... you should have seen brayden.
he started to panic.
i don't want to go to school,
i don't want to go on a school bus,
i don't want another teacher.
he was sobbing and it made me realize how traumatic
this whole moving across the united states and back
and now down to south bay has been on the kids.
i'm so glad we've decided to home school =)
i quickly reminded him that we were doing school at home
and he immediately stopped crying,
looked at me in the eyes and said
"oh yeah... i sure love you mommy"
he is such a sensitive little boy
who doesn't handle change well AT ALL.

we had the most wonderful dinner last night.
well... the dinner wasn't good at all but it was super fun!
we started our fire pit and roasted hot dogs
and marshmallows in the backyard.
the wood wouldn't light so we had to keep the fire going with
lots and lots of paper but it was fun anyways!!

looking forward to many more fire pit fun times!!

i'm back!!!

well...
we have finally moved!!

we are no where near settled
but we have a bed to sleep on,
a couch to sit on,
and a tv to distract the little ones
while i unpack.

i'm going to get back to blogging every day again
but today's blog is not going to be about us.

i have a dear friend who is struggling with infertility.
they have one beautiful, happy little boy
and so desperately want to complete their family with another.

after a year of fertility treatments
they finally conceived and were
more than excited to find out that they were expecting twins.

unfortunately, they never developed and she lost the babies.

having never been through something like this
i cannot even imagine the pain she is experiencing right now.

i ask that everyone please pray for this family.
they are such a deserving and wonderful family
it breaks my heart to hear this news.
only God can provide the comfort they need.
so... please, please pray.

looking much better over here

things are going soo much better over here
prayer is working!!

we got a house.
we got a great house!!
chuck stayed the night last night there
and i cannot wait to join him.
we miss him sooo much!!

we also found what i think will be great renters!

things will be busy for a while longer
but hopefully soon
we'll be back into the swing of things.
i'll be back to blogging regularly,
back to schooling these kiddos,
and back to seeing my husband.

things are going good.

we are feeling under the weather today, though.
all 4 of us are a little sick.
fevers, cough, sneezes, sore throats and tiredness.
we'll be better soon.