Our Family Pictures

So how lucky am I? My 2 BFFs are super fabulous. Carly is one of my BFF and she is also a super talented hair stylist! And Stacy has been my BFF since 6th grade, and she happens to be an amazing photographer! When my 2 BFFs collide, the results are amazing!

A better picture!

of my new hair!

 

Greetings from the Igloo

So I was pretty sure that my travels to Washington would take me AWAY from the snow, but I was wrong! I've been pretty much stuck inside the entire time! They definitely don't take care of the roads in Washington, like they do in Iowa! Milton is especially bad!!!

The plane ride was OK, not the most enjoyable 6+ hours of my life, but not the worst either. Gabriel was fabulous, Julian not so much. But everyone around us said they were pretty well behaved, so I'm sure I was just hyper-sensitive to any emotional outburst Julian had!

It has been an enjoyable time and I have had fun with my friends! I wish that I hadn't been stuck inside, and was able to play with my friends a little bit more!

Today my BFF Carly came over and did my hair! I'm in <3!!!!

Before:


After: (beware, tired cell phone picture to follow!!!)


It's so dark and shiny. I love it!

I will blog more, including my fabulous santa experience tomorrow! Tonight, I'm going to beD!

ZOMG HE IS SO CUTE!

We're about to leave for Julian's first preschool program. I had to share this video first! I'm dead from the cute!

Julian laughing....

 

 

Long time, no blog!

So I've been really busy, and slacking on blogging, on here and one my craft blog! I have been knitting a ton, and just generally trying to get my life in order! The boys are great! Gabriel had his 9 month appointment yesterday, and weighed 23 lbs 6 oz! And was 28 3/4 inches tall! His head was like 18 1/2 inches?! I can't remember exactly. He handled his shots well. I took advantage of Julian's preschool, and took Gabe when J was at school. It worked well.
Speaking of preschool! I got Julian's school picture proofs back. Oh man! CUTE!


Well off to take Julian the the ped for a 'poke' Shhhhhhhhhhhhh. Don't tell him!

It's a Christmastime Miracle!!!

Since it's not technically Christmas, this is a Christmastime Miracle!

As some of you know, when I was 19 I was driving home from Barry's house in Washington. It had just started snowing, and as some of you know, Washington (Western to be specific) doesn't prepare so much for snow. Anyway, I was driving down the hill from Edgewood into downtown Puyallup, in my sporty 1996 Nissan 200SX with 19s, and crashed my car! I broke my beloved 19 inch rim, and was stranded on the side of the road, without gloves (though my now Mother-in-law had offered me some!!). I immediately called my dad (Bob) and he packed up and headed up the hill to save me. Meanwhile, a nice boy (seriously maybe 17) stopped and changed my tire! Since when am I a damsal in distress?? That night, I totally was!

Since that fateful night, I've been terrified of driving in the snow. The thought literally could and would send me into a panic attack. When I worked in Sumner, and lived no more than 4 miles from work, my wonderful co-worker, Denise would come pick me up, to prevent hysterics! (Seriously EVERY DAY that it snowed!) Then one day in February 2008, I found out that we would most likely be moving to Des Moines, Iowa. I quickly realized that my fear of driving in snow, would have to be conquered.

Today, I can honestly say, mission accomplished! I drove in the snow. And we're not talking weanie snow like Washington gets, I'm talking like inches! YES! It doesn't hurt that every turn I took I literally saw at least one snow plow! :) Iowa definitely prepares for the snow in a way Washington wishes it could!

Uhm my brush with fame?!

So I went with my friend Kelly, to see Twilight again :) I must say thanks to my wonderful husband for watching the boys twice this week so I could partake! :) I had a lot of fun.

So we stayed for the credits, and I was thinking throughout the entire movie that "James" looked really familiar to me. I knew he was on The O.C. before, but I never watched that. So I just pushed the thought aside, assuming I'd seen him in something else.

The credits revealed "James" real name, Cam Gigandet....It came to me! He graduated a year before me, from Auburn High School! He's probably the closest thing to knowing a famous person I've ever been! ;)

Twilight...

So I went to Twilight with a bunch of fun girls tonight! It was so amazing to get away from the humdrum routine of being a Stay-at-home-mom. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely adore staying home with my wild and crazy little boys, but every once in a while, mama needs a break :) Generally speaking, I go to knitting on Thursdays. It's a nice break for me, 2ish hours of peace and quiet, (at least from my 2 1/2 year old and 8 month old screaming!!) and I get to sit there, knit and have fun! Knitting is always held on Thursdays, and since this week, Thursday falls on Thanksgiving, there is no knitting :) So, instead Natalie planned a movie night, and it was S.O. MUCH FUN!

All in all, I highly recommend Twilight. Yes the special effects were a bit on the cheese side, but the budget was small, so I'm forgiving. The important part, the love part, and the passion parts, they were still there! And I was pleasantly surprised by the majority of the cast. There were a few bad apples for me, and really it has nothing to do with their performances, which were great, but mostly because they totally don't FIT in my idea of what the character looked and acted like.

So here for your viewing pleasure is my Twilight cast! :)


My Bella


My Edward


My Charlie


My Esme


My Carlisle ;&hearts


Alice


And I couldn't find the right Jasper.


Rosalie


Emmett

I am a bad blogger!

So I haven't updated since my Birthday! That was a week ago! OY!

So let's see if I can try to remember what, if anything has happened since then.

Ok...thinking...I know Barry had a bunch of tests. Anatomy was on my birthday, Cell & Tissue Biology was Monday and a written OMM test was Tuesday.

Gabriel cut another tooth! He has 3 now! Seriously at Julian's first birthday he had 2 bottom teeth, that's it. And he got his first tooth at about 8 months. Gabriel is standing unassisted now, which to me, means that he'll be walking soon, and it freaks me out!

My dad's birthday was Sunday, but I was sick so I didn't get to call him! Happy birthday :) Love you!

Hmmmm, thinking. Oooh I'm going to Twilight tonight, and am SO excited about that! I ordered some yarn today from Annie Amelia, they're having a sale, so I seriously couldn't pass it up! I got some super soft Malabrigo Merino! Seriously SO SOFT! I'm going to make Gabriel some new longies!

I got sick. Very sick. I made green bean casserole, chicken, sweet potatoes, and rolls. I was too scared to attempt a turkey.

Let's see, really I don't think much of importance has happened since I blogged last, but I promise to be a better blogger from this point on!

So thankful :)

I had a fabulous birthday, thank you so much to those that called, emailed, text messaged, and facebooked. I want to especially thank my amazing husband! I seriously cried when I read his blog post! What a sweet guy.

My birthday went, as follows
Woke up, got dressed
Julian woke up and I got him dressed for preschool & Mom's Day!!!
Gabriel woke up, and I got him dressed for Kelly's house!
Dropped Gabe off @ Kelly's & drove to Julian's preschool
Had a fun time with Julian at preschool, it was SO cute!
Picked up Gabe and chatted a bit with Kelly
Drove home and put my monsters down for naps, and Julian fought it tooth & nail
Monster #1 woke up, and we watched Frosty the Snowman
Monster #2 woke up, and we waited for daddy to come home from school
After daddy got home, we went to Red Robin for a birthday feast and to use my free burger coupon. All 4 of us ate (Gabe had Cheerios and one fry!!) for $17 + tip! Seriously sign up for your free birthday burger!
We went to Michaels to get stuffing for my gingerbread men that should start to be completed tomorrow! I'm seriously thisclose to being finished knitting.

I had a fabulous birthday, and got to spend it with the boys that I love the most! If only those said boys would go to bed! They're both going through this thing where they don't want to fall asleep. Quite annoying and frustrating. If you have any sleep tips, send them my way. I can't handle this anymore!!

Anyway, thank you so much for your birthday wishes!

Happy Birthday Christia!

Today is Christia’s Birthday. She is unaware that I am posting this on her blog, I hacked into her blog. To commemorate her birthday I want to make it known to everyone why I love her. Because she is a quarter of a century old today, here are the top 25 reasons why I love my wife:

1. She is super smart and can remember everything…maybe she should be the one in med school
2. I love looking into her eyes
3. She is a great mother and would do ANYTHING for our boys
4. She gets excited when she makes a great dinner
5. She cries during a good show or movie
6. She always pays the bills on time
7. She is the most generous person that I know and genuinely cares about other people
8. She married me!
9. She supports me in my career to become a doctor…even if it is not the easiest career choice
10. She forgives me time after time
11. I love the fact that she loves to knit, and she is really great at it too.
12. She is my best friend
13. I can talk to her about anything
14. She thinks that I am the biggest nerd, but still loves me.
15. She likes to tickle me until I cry.
16. She is competitive and will never let me live down my losses (e.g. Air Hockey)
17. She likes to discuss future baby names when I am trying to fall asleep
18. I love her laugh when she gets really silly
19. She likes to spoon me to get warm
20. She is beautiful
21. She gave me 2 healthy and handsome sons
22. She can laugh at herself when she has done something stupid
23. She tolerates my forgetfulness
24. She pushes me to do better
25. She makes me feel like the greatest husband in the world

...And the list could go on. I love you Christia. I hope you enjoy your birthday.

Tuo Marito,
Barry

Follow my crafy-ness elsewhere :)

So this blog is supposed to be about my family and friends! Not about my crafts :) If you want to keep updated on my crafts, see what I'm working on, check out my "Crafty" blog!
The Wanna Be Crafty Mama

Julian is so sweet!

So we've been housebound all weekend due to puking incidents on Friday night-Saturday morning, and then super snotty nose and coughs Saturday-Sunday. Barry went up to the school this morning to study, since he has an anatomy test this Tuesday (my birthday)!

The point of this blog is to tell a cute story about Julian. Tonight, before bed, he was having his snack. It happened to be string cheese. He was sitting on the couch, and said, "Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for this cheese." Oh man he is the sweetest boy ever.

This afternoon we were going to bake my birthday cake, and he started singing Happy Birthday, it was adorable, especially when he said, "Dear Palizzis" because that's what we sang to our family on our wedding anniversary. C.U.T.E.

I have knit a lot today, but it seems like I didn't get anything done! I'm knitting gingerbread men! They will be adorable! Just wait!

Little Scotty's Hat!

 

 

I finished Scott's hat! I think it turned out reallllly well. It's the first one (Hudson Hat) that I've actually finished completely, tassel and all! Take a gooood look at that tassel! ;)

WOW WOW WOW!

So, as you know, I've been knitting like crazy, and a funny/crazy idea came upon me. So, I opened an Etsy shop! I'm selling my knitted goods, and might expand to my invites/announcements/Christmas cards eventually!! Right now I've just got two hats listed, as I'm focusing on knitting hats for the open house up in Washington. The address for my Etsy is www.lolacate.etsy.com . Check it out, see what I've got, and let me know what you think!

Also, I just found out that Tuesday, the 18th is Julian's Mother's Day at school, and I need to be there! Barry has an anatomy test that day, so he can't keep Gabriel, so if anyone could possibly watch Gabriel for 2 hours, I would REALLY appreciate it! I can sweeten the deal with a knit hat! (After I've knitted everything for the show, so like two weeks out)

SO SO SO Proud!

Ok, so I started knitting this hat, and use the Hudson hat pattern for the circumfrence/sizing, and came up with something pretty cute! I call it a "Harper Hat" and I'm seriously IN LOVE. I wish I had a newborn little girl to try this bad girl on!

I'm in the process of knitting another flower for the top!



PS Stacey, would this work for your sister? I have another ball of this delish purple/pink yarn that I could knit up for her! Let me know!

The Coolest Knitting Project!!!

So, as some of you know, Barry's cousin's wife, Cheryl, (I call her my cousin?!) opened up a fabulous yarn shop the other week. Annie Amelia Anyway, I was lucky enough to be a tester for her. I got to test, THE coolest product ever! It's called a SweetCase and it's WAY awesome!
When I first got the package, I was hesitant to attempt knitting up the gorgeous yarn. It's this bright, vibrant coraly-pink color, which as you know is one of my most favorite colors. But not only is it bright and vibrant, there are teeny tiny glass beads throughout the entire skein of yarn. Seriously, it looked so pretty all knotted up, that I was scared to break it, or ruin it!
I decided that gorgeous yarn wasn't meant to be left alone, so I started to knit it up with the pattern Cheryl created! It's called the "Nice Nice Headband" and it's SO cute! The pictures on the SweetCase don't show the detail that this headband has! There are adorable little X's all over it. Now, generally speaking, I'm not a huge headband girl, but because I made this one, I wear it ALL the time! I love it so much. I'm thinking about ordering some more of the flurry yarn to make Christmas presents!


Also in the SweetCase, is this amazing lip balm, and the cutest little birdhouse charm! I haven't decided what to do with it yet, but I'm sure it'll be fabulous! :) And the ribbon that comes with it has already proven useful, I wore it as a belt!
The pattern was super easy to follow, and even I, a novice knitter, could follow it, and execute it perfectly (I think ;))
I'm honestly not just trying to be a salesgirl, I really, honestly, truly LOVE this project, and the SweetCase! And wouldn't mind a subscription for Christmas (hint hint!)

Julian's preschool adventures!

So as you know, Julian started preschool on Tuesday! His first day was a little rough. He cried for a few minutes before he went into his classroom. I picked him up from school, and asked him what he did at school. His response, "Cried.....uhm,....alphabets!" He is so sweet, and cute and smart!
Here he is, getting ready to go to school! Notice the shorts/tshirt. It was 76 on Tuesday (Tuesssssssday STACY & BRAD) and today it's 36! Brrr. Yeah it snowed today.



After school, we met up with our friends Carter, Benton and Mandy! We went to the park, where the lady was mean to me, though after thinking about it, I think I may have taken her comment too personally, but oh well! I hope I never see her again!
Here is Gabriel crawling...notice his shirt says Des Moines University, HOLLER

My Hudson Hat!

So I bought yarn for a Hudson hat for me. Why should my kids reap all the benefits of my new knitting skills?! So I made on for me!
Warning, these pictures totally belong on myspace. They are of me, taken by me, and staring only me! Talk about dorky!
(please excuse my hair, I took them this morning)




Now I have to work on Barry's hat! He wanted a DARK blue, almost black, and white. I hope it turns out ok!

Sad! We have to get rid of our dog!

So we have a Chihuahua, named Napoleon. He is 3 years old. About a year ago, he bit Julian on the arm a few times. He seemed to be over the biting thing, until this week. He's bit Julian twice this week alone, once on the foot, and once on his face! Poor kid. Napoleon is a good dog, he just can't handle kids. He's never bit me or Barry, I think that kids just make him nervous. If you know anyone that would love a Chihuahua to spoil, someone that doesn't have kids, and doesn't plan on having kids, let me know, please! He's a really cute dog. He's about 15 lbs (we were told he's 100% chihuahua, but I feel like he's not. He's big (for a Chihuahua).

You know what's crazy?

How much power strangers have over us (by "us" I mean me.)

Today, after preschool, which I'll blog about later, Julian, Gabriel and I went to the zoo to meet Carter, Benton and their mommy, Mandy. We get to the zoo only to find out that during the winter, it's only open 10-4 Thursday-Sunday. Bummer disappointment #1. Mandy saved the day by pointing out that there was a park not too far from the zoo that we could play at. Our weather is about 73 today! So I literally, wrestled Julian into the car. He was absolutely grief stricken that the zoo was closed and that he couldn't see the animals. Once we drove the 30 seconds to the park, he was fine, and excited to play on the swings and slide, etc. When we got to the park there was one family there, with a little boy a little older than Julian. In the time we were there, that family had left, and another family with a little girl and boy came. The little girl was probably about 15-18 months, and the little boy appeared to be about 4.

So Julian and Carter, who are BFF, were running round, playing, sliding, swinging, you know, being 2 year old boys. Julian was screaming, yelling and being crazy. Well, Julian wanted to play with the 4 year old boy, and was screaming/yelling, and trying to engage this older boy to play. It didn't work. Julian was swinging his leg, and kicking the rocks, and accidentally kicked some onto the older boy. I immediately pulled him from the situation, and took him to the table for a time out. (Ok so I don't know if it was an accident, the rock kicking, but he's 2.) I told him that he can't scream at people, and that it absolutely wasn't ok to kick rocks on people. He sat there for a few minutes, calming down. He was so amped. After he was calm, I told him to find the boy and tell him that he was sorry.

So about the same time I told Julian to tell the boy he was sorry, the boy had to pee. The bathrooms were a good football field away, and up a hill, and locked. So, the boy and his mom ran up there, and Julian followed, because I told him to go tell him he was sorry. So I let J run for a bit, because seriously there was nothing to hurt him there, and I could still see him. When he was getting close to the building, I started running after him to catch him. So I ran to the building, caught him, and was playing 'hide and seek' around the building with him.

The mom of the 4 year old says to me (snottily it seemed) "Wow you have your hands full with him." I replied, "Uhm, not really. He's a sweet boy. And he hasn't had his nap yet." She says, "No, he's busy." I was shocked, and offended, and hurt, and embarrassed, and pretty much wanted to crawl up into a hole and hide, but I said, "No. He's not." And just walked away.

This lady does know me, or my son from anyone, yet she thinks that she has the right and authority to tell me about my kid? Yes, he's 2. Yes, he can definitely be a handful, but to generalize him like that, and to LABEL him, without knowing him, really made me mad.

I chased Julian down the hill, and then asked Mandy if Julian is a bad kid and I just didn't know, because I was his mom, and she said he wasn't.

I seriously felt like crying. I felt like this lady, who I don't know, and obviously don't want to know, called me out on every single parenting mistake I have ever made. Now I know I'm being dramatic, but seriously, who is she to judge my kid, thus judging me?!

Anyway, this has taught me a lesson. I need to let my skin thicken up a bit. I need to not take everything so personally. I need to realize that there are going to be people out there that do not like me or my kids. And I need to realize that those people,that don't like us, are missing out on something really great.

Oh My Gosh...

Julian is no longer my baby. In reality I've known this since he was about 1. He's always been super independent, but loving and cuddly.
Today, November 4th, my 2 1/2 year old heart-throb started preschool! Oh.My.Gosh. Some of you reading this probably think I'm crazy. In some ways I'm super excited that my little man is growing up, and can do preschool, make friends, learn. But on the other hand, he's growing up so fast! It's almost as though I can't catch up. He cried a little bit when I had to leave, but Miss Sarah took him and showed him some books and puzzles and all was well. He gets a cubby, and a hook! Awww!
One thing I am excited about is the extra 2-ish hours I will have without him to clean! He's like a little toynado. Anything I pick up, he pulls back down! So that will be nice.
On Monday, they have picture (retake) day. I'm excited! I hope that his picture turns out cute!

Celebrity Collage by MyHeritage

MyHeritage: Celebrity Collage - Blank family tree - Ancestors

He's so stinking cute!

Julian is crying and so sad because he wants to go to Church, and play with Play-Doh, of course! We've told him that he will get to play with Play-Doh, but that Daddy can't go to church in his jammies! He got even more upset when I took off my shoes! Poor kid!

In other news. We bought Julian's Christmas present. He is getting this:


We bought it Saturday, and it's still in my trunk! I think, since we'll be in Washington for actual Christmas day, Barry will build the kitchen while we're up in Washington, take a picture of the kitchen in our house, and then bring said picture up to Washington. On Christmas morning, we will have Julian open a card or something, from Santa, that shows the kitchen in our house?! What do you think, cute or stupid?

And I have another question for you! One of my BFFs, Carly, in Washington, is also my hair dresser. So with my visit to Washingotn, I'm also going to get a haircut and color! Yay me!
This is my hair currently (well a week ago)


What do you think I should do? Keep it long, and just get a trim and color redone? cut it shorter? Remember I'm in a wedding in March, so I don't know if I want to cut it too short. Bangs? Seriously folks, I'm up for pretty much anything! Just give me your opinions.

In knitting news, I love it. Seriously I think I've found my hobby. I have struggled so many times to try a new hobby, only to fail miserably at it. I LOVE knitting, and I'm decent at it! I started Julian's "Hudson" hat yesterday. I'm not very far, but the good news is, his earflaps are on correctly! HOLLER :) I am currently trying to pick out some yarn colorways for my Hudson hat, and Barry's as well.

I still can't believe it's November already! I also can't believe that I will be 25 in a few days! Yikes! 25 feels SO old to me!

It's done!!!

Well almost. I still have some finishing to do, and tassels!