Tati's Mama

Sunriver & Bend

2010-07-06T21:29:00.000-07:00

Such a wonderful week of relaxation and fun!

We had sun, rain, snow, wind, hail & lightening!!!

We spent a lot of time at the river watching Jason attempt to catch dinner for the night... didn't happen this trip... hopefully on our next one :) Tatianna loved spending so much time with her daddy as did I!

We had a lot of fun feeding the fish at the hatchery!

Tatianna & Cousin Andie

Enjoying lunch with my brother and his family on such a beautiful day :)

Celebrating Cousin Elijah's 4th Birthday!!!

Jason and I were sooo blessed to have a golf date together!! I didn't think we would, so I didn't bring my clubs, but enjoyed driving the cart and watching him play! It was a wonderful day :) My sister Ginny is the best and played with Tatianna during our date! YAY for sisters :)

Baseball games, birthdays, days on the river, playing cards with family and reading books by the fireplace sure made this a vacation to remember :) So thankful to live close to them all again!

Rain...Rain...

2010-06-03T20:34:00.000-07:00

GO AWAY, COME AGAIN ANOTHER DAY....

This is the song Tatianna and I have been singing for WAY too long :( It's June for crying out loud... Tatianna found the decorations for the snowman tonight, put them on and asked it was just about Christmas time again :( I know all this rain is "good" and "wonderful" to make Oregon the BEAUTIFUL state that it is, BUT this California girl needs some serious sunshine, my vitamin D is just NOT cutting it!

Family Time

2010-05-13T18:35:00.000-07:00

We are headed out of town tomorrow to Sunriver, Oregon for some much needed R & R!!! No t.v... no computer.... just lots & lots of family time! I am hoping to teach Tati how to ride her new bike, use her fishing pole and to read a few great books I just got :)

New Friends

2010-05-12T09:10:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how blessed we are to live on the street we live on! Not only are there about 5 firefighters and 3 police officers... There is also 3.5 yr. old Wyatt who lives next door :) On the other side of his house, lives 3.5 yr. old Gemma! They all have become fast friends! In the afternoons, they run wild through the neighborhood... I love it!

This is how Wyatt and Tati play in the backyard!!
They pass things through this tiny little hole in the fence or throw toys over the fence to eachother!!

Tati, Wyatt & Gemma relaxing after playing hard!

Learning how to play baseball!

Tatianna's playroom is really getting its use :)

No matter how many new friends we will make...
they'll never replace all the wonderful friends we still have in San Diego! I have made a photo album for Tatianna of all our friends who we miss so much! It's great to look through it with her and reminisce about all the amazing adventures we have had :)

Mother's Day 2010

2010-05-09T20:40:00.000-07:00

This is how this beautiful day started...
Couldn't have been more perfect!

Yes, I sure am one lucky, lucky mama :)

Nothing beats blowing bubbles in the backyard on a beautiful day!

10 years ago, I spent Mother's Day in the hospital with my mom . I'll never forget it and it feels as though it was just yesterday. She was in a coma and we had to choose if this was the day for her to go up to heaven. I remember thinking "NO, not on Mother's Day" how could I ever celebrate that day again when I became a mom. It just didn't seem fair or right. God has his own way of doing things and my sweet mama passed away 2 short months later. I am soooo blessed to be a mom to Tatianna and know my mom is our guardian angel. My sister shared this poem today & I thought it said exactly what I was feeling:

If roses grow in heaven, Lord pick a bunch for me~Place them in my Mother's arms and tell her there're from me~ Tell her that I love and miss her, and when she turns to smile~ place a kiss upon her cheek and hold her for a while~ Because remembering her is easy, I do it every day~ There's an ache inside my heart that will never go away.

Just what the doctor ordered....

2010-03-03T23:21:00.000-08:00

Well no, not really, but if I was a doctor I would have prescibed
this for Tatianna and I right about now!!!! We've (o.k. ME) have been feeling a little down lately and when my sister Ginny asked us to join her in Lincoln City for the weekend, I was soooo excited!!!!!

An amazing view of the Pacific... a delicious glass of wine and a James Patterson book... really??!!... relaxation couldn't get much better :)

There was a Tsunami warning the day after our arrival because of the earthquake in Chile. I wished I had never told Tati that we were going to go play in the sand... Nope... No sand for us, they closed the beaches because of the possible Tsunami... The waves were HUGE and beautiful. We sure miss the beaches in San Diego :(
They used to be 5 mins. away, now it's over 2 hours away!

Tatianna and her cousin Elijah (just about 2 months older than her) had such a GREAT time together!!!! They ran, ran, ran, ran, ran!!!!! Never a dull moment! It was super cute to see them play barbies together~ Their imaginations are just running rampant right now~ I love it :) Her cousin Isabelle, is just about the sweetest little girl you could ever meet! She read books, played games and just entertained Tatianna & Eli soooo much :)

We brought home a 2 lb. crab and a bunch of clams to share our weekend with Jason! He had to work and missed all the fun festivities :( Tatianna LOVED the crab dipped in butter!
I'm happy that she will try new things!

The Clam lingunie was amazing too :) I really am learing how to cook after all.....

Pulled Pork Tacos= YUMMY :)

2010-02-22T21:32:00.000-08:00

I found this recipe in Health magazine and it is AWESOME!!!! Jason asked if I could make these every week for him! I ♥ this easy, healthy recipe :) Oh and I reallllly ♥ that it's a crockpot meal!!!

Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 4 hrs 15 mins
Makes: 6 servings

2 cups bottled salsa, plus more for serving
2 TBSP chili powder
2 TBSP dried oregano
1 TBSP unsweetened cocoa
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 (2 1/2 lb) boneless pork butt or shoulder, trimmed
18 corn tortillas (give or take) we also tried them w/four tortillas, but really preferred the corn :)
1/2 cup fresh cilantro sprigs
3/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1/4 cup diced red onion
2 limes, cut into wedges

Combine the first 5 ingredients (through salt) in a 4-6 quart slow cooker. Add the pork and turn to coat.

Cook pork, covered, on high for 4-5 hours on on low for 7-8 hours, or until the meat is tender and pulls apart easily.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees 20 mins before serving. Stack the tortillas, and wrap in foil. Bake for 15 mins. or untul warm.

Shred pork with 2 forks, and str meat into the cooking liquid. Serve shredded pork with warm tortillas, cilanto, sour cream, red onion, lime and extra salsa.

I have failed many, many, many times at trying new recipes and was a bit nervous about this (pork and me... don't always get along) But this turned out to be forever in my "go to dinners"!! Next time I make these, I will double it for sure ♥

We had a celebration this week!!

2010-02-22T21:15:00.000-08:00

Such a wonderful, exciting, awesome week for Tatianna....

She stopped sucking her thumb!!!!!!!

We had a little party for her (cake, ice cream, going out for dinner) I can't even begin to describe how happy both Jason and I are about this! She has sucked her thumb constantly from inside my belly (i have pictures) until just last Sunday :) It was a little hard for her to fall asleep the first night, but I went and got her some glow in the dark stars for her ceiling to help get her mind off wanting to suck her thumb :)

She helped me make her beautiful, delicous strawberry cake... YUMMY :)

We let Tatianna know how proud we were of her after the 1st day of no thumb sucking, and said if she could do it for 5 more days, she could go to the Disney store and pick out any Barbie Princess she wanted!!!
A little incentive never hurt anyone :)

Here she is with Sleeping Beauty and her fairy godmothers!

Yay for not so many sicknesses, Yay for being able to play w/the other children in the play room in Ikea, Yay for her right thumb nail beginning to heal.....
Yay, Yay, Yay :)

Bird feeding time :)

2010-02-20T21:23:00.000-08:00

This picture makes me laugh :) this is Tati's pretend cry/laugh...
she's got it down to almost perfection with all the practice!!!

Tatianna and I have been trying to get our "craft on" lately :)
Here's some simple bird feeders that we made last week when the weather was BEAUTIFUL!!
We need to take advantage of those days up here!
Super simple: pine cone+ peanut butter+ birdseed+ a little yarn= happy birds

We had a great time doing these...
even if the birds have YET to eat off of them :( ha ha

A cook I will be, yes, a cook I will be!!!

2010-01-06T10:18:00.000-08:00

I had such HIGH hopes 9 1/2 years ago after I got married... I pictured myself this wonderful gourmet chef :) Or really, just a wonderful wife making some kick ass food for my husband!

Over the years, I have bought over 24 cookbooks!!! I mean WHO needs that many! And to find out I had TWO sushi books... what is wrong with me :)

I guess I'd be telling a different story had I actually opened them!! Oh, I take that back... I do like to open them! I love to see the beautiful pictures of all the fabulous food I would make if only I had the time.... But of course between working, being w/Tati, trying out all the most delicious restaurants San Diego had to offer and having a husband who like to cook us gourmet meals ... The whole cooking thing never took off for me! Excuses, excuses :)

Well, 4 months ago, I was just sooooo excited to take on the cooking world! Not having to work outside of the home and having no friends in this new town, gave me TONS of time on my hands!

Such high, high hopes I had... BUT, unfortunately it just hasn't worked out as I had envisioned :( I didn't know that you should NOT put chicken in the crock pot for 8 hours... or that 30 minutes in the oven for the smallest pork chops will dry them out into leather... and really, how do I ruin instant potatoes??? The list could really go on and on and on...

So my poor, poor husband has been living off the picture on the bottom instead of the one on the top...

BUT NO MORE! New Year, New Beginnings...
I'm dusting off the dust of those beautiful books today!

Start of a journey...

2010-01-05T01:28:00.000-08:00

Is the grass greener… hmmm… Had you asked me that question 4-6 months ago… YEP without a doubt!! I was one of the jealous mom’s that has always worked and would have given my left hand to be able to stay home and care every day for my little girl!!!!!

It’s funny how life works out and it’s funny about how you always think “if this happens or what about that or if only”…

Given, a lot has changed since I thought that way and now I realize, I really NEED MY LEFT HAND!!!!!

Let me take you back a bit if I may… I loved my job about 90% of the time~ I had been doing it for a little over 13 years… I mean, I should really love it, right????

I enjoyed seeing my patients, really getting to know them and was always super excited to see their beautiful smiles at the end of treatment!!!! What better job than to have someone cry and tell you that you “changed their life” I mean…WOW!!!!

I always dreamed about the day I could quit my job and stay home w/my baby! I thought about singing, dancing, cooking (all the things I really am no good at) but I thought that it would all change once I was a mom! Like a pill you take while leaving the hospital…

POOF… “You are now qualified to be the most amazing mom ever and be the envy of all that you encounter, with the most beautiful little daughter in the whole world”

Yep, felt like it for a minute or two, but reallllly, I’m not that crazy!

I remember moving to San Diego 6 years ago…

Jason had never been there but being such a wonderful husband that he was, I convinced him after I had spent an amazing weekend with my 3 sisters, celebrating by sister Ginny's Birthday that this is where we need to be and because it was going to be a new adventure for us! What an adventure it turned out to be!!!!!!

I HATED my 1^st job! Seriously, it was wretched! The horrible doctor threw dental instruments when he was mad (which was ALL the time) Jason, thank god worked at a golf course just within walking distance and we would meet for lunch and cry about how crappy our jobs were… The sweetest, most awesome husband that he is, would leave me cards on my car to find… Encouraging me to make it through another day at a place he knew I hated… I love him more than I can express for those cards…

Anyways, I/we NEVER, EVER, EVER thought we would EVER move to California! Jason spent his Freshman year at Whittier College in East L.A. and just HATED IT! So, never in a million, billion years would I ever think that we would end up in California and “LOVE” it for 6 years!

Grass greener?? Well.... I mean San Diego is mostly BROWN!!!!

But it just wasn’t the time for us to be in Oregon and I am sooooo happy we followed our hearts and jumped in completely blind to find such an amazing family of friends in San Diego and a truly wonderful adventure :)

Maybe it's the glasses...I'm just sayin...

2009-07-21T22:33:00.000-07:00

Well... Yes... I am a HUGE fan of the Twighlight series of books and secretly fell in lust wth the most beautiful vampire... I see a resemblance... Don't you? :) Ha Ha, Perhaps I was drawn to those cute sunglasses from the Gap on vacation for a reason...

They sure have GROWN!

2009-06-19T00:26:00.000-07:00

Tatianna, Anna & Elijah...

1 month old, 5 months old, 3 months old

2 years...ish...

3 years...ish...

Such beauties and awesome cousins! I pray that they will continue to have a close bond as they grown older! We may have to always keep this chair and have a picture for whenever they get together, even if it's when they are in their teens :) I can't believe how big they have gotten is such a short time...

Blog Drop Out?!? :(

2009-05-29T23:58:00.000-07:00

Yikes... I realize it's been over 2 months since my last post... I really am a "Blog Drop Out" I hope to catch up and get my "poop in a group" soon :) .. Too many things have happened in the past couple of months... It feels like forever... More to come soon!!!

Meeting some "special friends"

2009-03-15T22:33:00.000-07:00

Rock Stars to a 2 1/2 year old=.... DORA & DIEGO :)

There was a special screening for the "Latin Film Festival"
of Dora & Diego!!!!
Tatianna knew that we were going to see a special movie... BUT, she did NOT know that she was about the meet Dora & Diego!!! She screamed like they were rock stars and it was sooo cute!!!

Tatianna & Luke have missed each other soooo much and it was so cute to see them together again :)

The anticipation for the special movie to start was almost
too much for these little ones to handle :)

2009-02-14T09:13:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentines Day!

what to do.... oh what to do!!!

2009-02-09T00:08:00.000-08:00

Tonight I said goodbye to both of my loves for a whole week!!! They are off on an adventure to Grandma & Papa's house! Tatianna is sooooo excited to see them and Jason is sooooo excited to get a brake from work and relax a bit... and of course see his parents! They are staying at a hotel tonight and Tati kept saying "we're going to see Rick at the hotel"...because that's were he works of course! Kids really have the best memories :) I'm going to miss them sooo much! I had a few "projects" I wanted to work on while they were away. I am happy to say that I have finished my pregnancy scrapbook tonight! Yep, that's right, Tatianna is 2 1/2 and I just finished... such a procrastinator :)
I am sooo happy we will be able to talk on the computer and see each other! I love our web cam! I think anyone who has family far away should seriously invest in one! They are great :)

Legoland :)

2009-01-09T22:26:00.000-08:00

After a fun filled weekend w/Isabelle, we ventured out to Lego land to meet my sister Ginny! We were sooo lucky to get some free passes w/preferred parking :) It was a lot of fun and A LOT OF PEOPLE!!! Tatianna & Elijah had fun running around while J.J. and Isabelle chased them :) Ha ha... J.J. & Isabelle did go on a fun ride that they waited in line for over an hour (while we tried to entertain two 2 1/2 year olds... J.J. was a little disappointed that the ride lasted "like 2 seconds" :) There was a lot to see and do... I think Tati will enjoy it a bit more when she's a little older... or maybe mommy will enjoy it more when there are not 100,000 people there on Christmas vacation :0 One of the highlight was visiting Mini land, USA. It was amazing to see all the detailed cities and fun to see NYC!! Tati and I reminisced about our trip this summer for a minute, until she wanted to jump on the carousel in central park...

Fun Game?!?

2009-01-09T21:29:00.000-08:00

Tatianna came RUNNING into the living room tonight w/a trail of toilet paper behind her?!?! She thought what a fun, fun game until.........

Putter (our cat) saw it and wanted to play... Oops...
The smile/surprised look on her face was precious :)

Tatianna was loving on her baby... don't mind the food stains on baby from a dinner feeding... one day she'll realize that her baby can't really eat all of her leftovers :)

Santa Came Early This Year....

2008-12-21T23:32:00.000-08:00

Tatianna is sooooo lucky to get to celebrate Christmas TWO times this year :) Papa & Grandma came over for the weekend to celebrate Christmas with us and we had soooooooo much fun!! Tati sure loves her grandparents and they sure love their little "sweet pea"!

Santa came a little early this year for the Basney's and we put out cookies, carrots and eggnog for his arrival! Tati was so excited that she went to sleep without a peep!
I think I need to tell her Santa is coming every night :)

It was fun to see how excited she was to open every gift. She wanted to take her time and play with each one, instead of racing to the next one... which will most likely happen in the years to come!

Christmas craft time

2008-12-08T22:34:00.000-08:00

Tatianna & I were getting into the Christmas spirit with a little craft time this weekend!
I dyed some noodles green and red and had her sort them! She loved it. I had to keep reminding her that she couldn't taste them :)

Turkey Time

2008-11-26T17:53:00.000-08:00

Well, who the heck would have thought that little 'ole me would be doing the turkey this year!?!?! My cooking skills are what one would call amateur!!! I guess I have been a bit scared since the "turkey incident of '98"..... My sister Ginny and I hosted Thanksgiving and well, we forgot to remove 1 of the bags of inerds before baking!! Oops!

So you can see how one would NOT want to attempt this again. Well, 10 years have passed and I am going for it! I have to admit I dry-heaved removing the neck, THANK GOD I had some gloves to wear!!! I'm also being a little creative this year and i'm "brining" the turkey. Basically soaking it for several hours in a salty/yummy mixture. Then I am going to be puting it in the oven at 2:00 a.m. to bake all night :) I can't wait to wake up to the most delicious scent in the morning!! I just hope it tastes good!!!!!

The brine mixture: courtesy of Mr. Alton Brown :)

kosher salt, brown sugar, sage, rosemary, thyme, peppercorns, ice, water

Doesn't that look beautiful :)

Keeps getting better :)

2008-11-22T15:25:00.000-08:00

A little over 2 years ago I joined an amazing Mom's Group! I'll never forget how excited I was to get out of the house and meet new friends for Tatianna & Myself! She was just 6 weeks old at our 1st event. For the first few months of playdates, Tatianna was asleep :) It was a great opportunity to bond w/amazing women and get wonderful advice.

Now it is... 2 years later and I feel like these moms and children are family! How lucky & blessed Tatianna and I are! I can't wait for our children to grown up together... even if not in person, I know that the friends we have made, are lifelong friends and I pray we never loose touch through the miles that may one day seperate us...

2008-11-22T08:23:00.000-08:00

Silly girl!!! Have a great weekend everyone :)

Mmmmm Mmmmm Good

2008-11-16T21:17:00.000-08:00

Tatianna and I had a fun "date" yesterday at McDonalds :~) It was sooooooooo hot outside and I decided to treat ourselves to an ice cream sundae! I let Tati just have at it.... She wouldn't even share :( Glad I thought to get one for myself! The look of pure joy on her face was priceless. It was a moment I will never forget. She kept looking at me and giving me the look of "is this really o.k. mom"

SHHHHHHH

2008-11-10T22:25:00.000-08:00

Well I was tagged along with every one of you that reads my blog about "Secrets" At first I thought, hmmm if I tell you them, they WON'T be a secret anymore... HA HA!! But here are a few of my many (just kidding) :)

I remember shoplifting candy w/my sister Lisa when I was only 5 years old (she was 7) It was a little market by my Grandma's house.
I LOVE Country music and Rap music equally... soooo weird I know!
I've been planning my boob job since Tati took her 1st drink of milk from me :)
I'm obsessed w/celebrity gossip... I have to check TMZ.com and People.com every night before bed or I can't sleep right... Such a complete dork I know...
I slept with a special stuffed rabbit I got on a vacation in Mexico when I was 12 until I was 18....
The only fake purse I own, is a Kate Spade purse that I bought 6 years ago in Boston and I feel too guilty to use it and hate seeing it hanging in my closet...
I remember taking my 1st puff of a cigarette at the age of 5... Again thanks to my sister Lisa!

Well thanks for tagging me & the therapy girls... I feel much, much better!! xoxo

Battery's NOT included :(

2008-11-09T23:15:00.000-08:00

I have been planning my sister Ginny's 35th Birthday in Palm Springs for MONTHS!!! I have been sooo excited about getting away w/just the girls and you would have thought that I was soooooo prepared... Can you even believe that I somehow managed to leave my camera charger at home along with the camera card that allows me to take TONS of pictures...

I know it's not the end of the world... I was sad for a few minutes, laughed at all the "extra shit" I had brought instead of the essentials... and realized it was NOT going to ruin my awesome weekend with my sisters!!!

We had an amazing time and am so thankful for these moments when it's just the girls! Sleeping in until 10:00 this morning was the highlight of my year :)

"Strike a Pose"

2008-11-05T18:51:00.000-08:00

Last night I had such a fun night enjoying "The Material Girl" w/some girlfriends from work!! It was a little too political at times...but Madonna really knows how to put on a show!! Hard to believe she is as old as she is... :~) I would give anything for the amount of energy she has!!!

Happy Halloween

2008-11-01T09:00:00.000-07:00

Tatianna enjoying the petting zoo at her school's Halloween carnival!

They had a cookie decorating station... Tati definitely got her fill of frosting :)

"Not another picture Mom"

Tatianna waiting sooooo patiently for her turn in the bounce house!

This little Fairy Princess sure had a wonderful time trick-or-treating:)

Tatianna's Preschool Class

Pumpkin TIme

2008-10-30T22:03:00.000-07:00

I just can't believe how HUGE my little pumpkin is!!!

When I look back over all the millions of pictures I have of her...I get a little sad... Where has the time gone??? I remember carving our 1st pumpkin together last year like it was just last night!

This year Tati was a little more timid when it came time to help daddy clean out
the guts!! She still managed to sneak a few bites though:) I hope she'll enjoy the pumpkin seeds that daddy is making special just for her!

Fun October Day...

2008-10-24T20:31:00.000-07:00

Bates Nut Farm has been something I look forward to doing every year w/Tatianna. I went for the 1st time right before I found out I was pregnant w/her, and have continued to go back each year. You would NEVER, EVER believe it was the end of October with how incredibly hot it was today... :) We spent a really fun day w/some FABULOUS FRIENDS!

YAY... DATE NIGHT!!!!

2008-10-17T22:00:00.000-07:00

Doesn't this picture look sooooooo yummmmy?!?!??! I think I ate all that food tonight......

J and I had a wonderful opportunity to go out for date night tonight!! Tati's school was holding a "harvest festival" 5:30-10:00 (pizza dinner, fun games, movie, ice cream sundaes) It was too good to be true :) Yes, we are the parents that dropped our daughter off at 5:49 and picked her up at 9:00....

We headed out to Roppongi's in La Jolla... It was soooo amazing! I've been talking about going out for sushi EVERY SINGLE DAY since we have been home from NYC...

(we had a great sushi date while there)

Tati was so cute when we picked her up... She was having ice cream sundaes and didn't want to leave.. she kept saying "come on, let's play mommy and daddy"

I forget how much fun it is to go out all by ourselves... We of course talked about Tatianna the whole time... but it was just really nice to have a couple hours by ourselves too.....

Here's wishing date nights to all my wonderful friends :) I'll come watch the kiddos!!!

Are you kidding me....

2008-10-06T21:27:00.000-07:00

When did she get soooo big!?!?!

MNO

2008-09-28T15:17:00.000-07:00

Another wonderful/fun/crazy night out with my Fabulous Mom Friends :~) These pictures just say it all.....

\

Take Heart....

2008-09-19T23:09:00.000-07:00

There comes a point in your life when you realize…. who matters, who never did, who won't anymore... and who always will.

So, don't worry about people from your past, there's a reason why they didn't make it to your future.

Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

A sharp tongue can cut my own throat.

If I want my dreams to come true, I mustn't oversleep.

Of all the things I wear, my expression is the most important.

The best vitamin for making friends..... B1.

The happiness of my life depends on the quality of my thoughts.

The heaviest thing I can carry is a grudge.

One thing I can give and still keep...is my word.

I lie the loudest when I lie to myself.

If I lack the courage to start, I have already finished

One thing I can't recycle is wasted time.

Ideas won't work unless ' I ' do.

My mind is like a parachute...it functions only when open.

The 10 commandments are not a multiple choice.

The pursuit of happiness is the chase of a lifetime!

It is never too late to become what I might have been.

Life is too short to wake up with regrets.

So love the people who treat you right.. Forget about the ones who don't.

Believe everything happens for a reason.

If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands… If it changes your life, let it.

Nobody said life would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it.

Friends are like balloons; once you let them go, you might not get them back.

Sometimes we get so busy with our own lives and problems that we may not even notice that we've let them fly away.

Sometimes we are so caught up in who's right and who's wrong that we forget what's right and wrong.

Sometimes we just don't realize what real friendship means until it is too late.

Award time :)

2008-09-19T20:26:00.000-07:00

This was sent to me by my fabulous friend Felicitas, of rayraygirls.blogspot.com thanks, Felicitas!
There is a twist to receive this award .......There are rules in accepting this award. I have to answer the following questions with one word answers and one word only! Then I must pass it on to seven others!

1. Where is your cell phone? charging

2. Where is your significant other? bed
3. Your hair color? brown
4. Your mother? Missed

5. Your father? heaven
6. Your favorite thing? sleeping in
7. Your dream last night? real

8. Your dream/goal? Travel
9. The room you're in? Office

10. Your hobby? reading
11. Your fear? dying
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? San Diego

13. Where were you last night? Snuggling
14. What you're not? skinny

15. One of your wish-list items? House

16. Where you grew up? Oregon

17. The last thing you did? prayers
18. What are you wearing? jammies
19. Your TV? on
20. Your pet? crazy

21. Your computer? addicting
22. Your mood? overwhelmed
23. Missing someone? constantly

24. Your car? Dirty :)

25. Something you're not wearing? socks
26. Favorite store? Target
27. Your summer? Amazing
28. Love someone? Absolutely
29. Your favorite color? Pink

30. When is the last time you laughed? Today
31. Last time you cried? Yesterday

Boy, that wasn't as easy to do with only 1 word!
I would love to send this to : (But don't feel obligated :)

Stacia

Stephanie

Erin

Missing my Tati Bear :(

2008-09-15T23:25:00.000-07:00

Mommy is feeling sad and misses her little bear :(

Finger Painting Rocks :)

2008-09-13T23:45:00.000-07:00

We had a fun day finger painting, making a special card for Daddy's birthday........
THEN someone had an itch.... YIKES..... She sure had fun though :)

So Happy For My Friend!!!

2008-09-09T23:30:00.000-07:00

My Girlfriend Trisha is getting MARRIED this Saturday in Cancun, Mexico :)
WHOOP WHOOP!!!!!
We celebrated her bachelorette party at the Shout House in San Diego!!
(a really fun, fun dueling piano bar)
I am sooooooo excited for her!!!! I can't wait to hear all about her trip, she will be in Mexico for 2 weeks :) Such a lucky lady!!!!

Preschool :)

2008-09-08T18:31:00.000-07:00

Today was Tatianna's 1st day of Preschool!!!!! She did awesome! Some tears saying goodbye to Mommy & Daddy, but when I called to check on her a while later, they said she was having fun playing outside:) Note to self "NO WHITE SHIRTS AT SCHOOL" She had a ball playing outside and fingerpainting and it showed all over her new shirt!!!!

The New York Yankee backpack was a gift from Grandma & Papa! Such a big girl......

WHEW...

2008-09-07T23:07:00.000-07:00

Getting ready for Tatianna's 1st day of Preschool tomorrow has taken me all stinkin day!!!! I filled out 10 different forms, got together two emergency food/supply bags (just in case) 2 extra outfits, sunscreen, blankets, raincoat, extra shoes & I packed her the best/special lunch for tomorrow...... HOLY MOLY!!!!!!

We have been talking about her new Preschool with her for the last few weeks and she seems pretty excited about it..... Mommy and Daddy are the ones who will need the kleenex tomorrow :( She is such a big girl.......

Here's the website for her new school: www.littlesteps.org/index.cfm

Sea World

2008-09-06T15:48:00.000-07:00

Tatianna & I got a chance to meet Bert and Ernie this morning at Sea World!! She was soooo excited and didn't want to leave them :)

She was excited at first to see Cookie Monster, then got very nervous & a little scared when we got close!

As always, we had to go say hi to the "polars" They were resting today!

Tatianna got a close encounter w/a bird named Ruby! They were in the middle of training her & stopped to come say hi to Tati! She thought it was sooo neat! She kept talking about Ruby the rest of our visit :)

NEW YORK :)

2008-09-05T19:48:00.000-07:00

Our New York City adventure was AWESOME!!! I can't believe all the fun things we did: Central Park, 2 Yankee Games, front row David Letterman seats, a Harbor Cruise, lunch in Little Italy, 2 date nights (whoop whoop), The Museum of Natural History, FAO Schwartz, Toys R US... SOOOO much fun :) We WALKED.... WALKED......WALKED!!!!! Tatianna was sooo great, she really enjoyed all the excitement always around her!!!!

New York City..... Here We Come :)

2008-08-22T22:17:00.000-07:00

I am just sooooo excited about our New York adventure!!! LOTS more pictures to follow when we return in 8 days :) (we will be staying a few blocks away from where this picture was taken) Whoop Whoop :)

Loving my cousins.....

2008-08-10T20:37:00.000-07:00

Tatianna (4 wks. old) Anna (6 months old) Elijah (10 wks old) Tatianna is soooo lucky to have cousins so close to her age. It is fun to see how similar & different they all are...

The second picture was just taken this past week in the same chair as above.. It was a LOT easier to arange them for the 1st picture :)

More birthay party fun.....

2008-08-10T17:06:00.000-07:00

We helped our friend celebrate his 3rd birthday this weekend! It was such a fun party and yep... really yummy cupcakes :) It was so nice to have J's parents here to come play w/Tatianna and her friends too.

More Birthday pictures....

2008-08-10T16:52:00.000-07:00

Birthday Princess :) Such a wonderful day spent w/special friends! The past 2 years have just flown by....

Tatianna enjoying her 6th or 7th cupcake of the week.... Such a lucky little girl.....

Birthday Girl :)

2008-08-05T18:04:00.000-07:00

I just can't believe my little bear turned 2 today!!!!

more pictures later.... this mama is TIRED!!!!

Baseball Fun!

2008-07-30T16:39:00.000-07:00

GO PADRES :~)

Monday night, Jason, Tatianna and I enjoyed a night of baseball!! My boss, Dr. Styrt, invites all of our patients to a ball game every summer. Tatianna did soooo well. She loved the fireworks everytime someone hit a homefun!! She had fun visiting w/all the girls from work and
(even got to enjoy a sucker:) shhhhhhh :0

Tatianna had sooooo much fun dancing around whenever the mucic played. I also wanted to show a picture of her cute Padre tattoo!! It looks like she's giving thanks that they won :)

I was tagged......

2008-07-25T23:59:00.000-07:00

I was tagged by my girlfriend Dana about "6 random things about me"
sooooooo........ here I go......

1) I love...love....love....LOVE..... going to the movies by myself!!! No one to worry about, no one to share my special treats with, no one to be concerned if they are enjoying themselves...just ME TIME :)

2) I'm the biggest closet Neil Diamond fan (Dana, we need to hit a concert:) I thank my mom for my eclectic taste in music......

3) I enjoy eating out by myself at restaurants.... (something I did a lot of living on my own downtown Portland, Oregon) before I got married...

4) I'm a complete night owl..... I LOVE my evenings...... between working part- time and taking care of Tatianna, my "MY" time comes late in the evening.... this is the time I read...blog...email girlfriends...organize my Picasa pictures..... it's just MY time and I enjoy it..

5) I am the youngest of 5... the baby I guess...I love and adore my siblings!! Tatianna is the 11th grandchild.... I have an older brother, Jon.. then Amy, Ginny, Lisa and Myself... The funny thing about being the "baby" although I am 30 (yikes) I will ALWAYS be the baby or "little Karie"!!

6) I am deathly afraid of heights.... The drive up to Big Bear nearly gives me a heart attack every time!!

OK, those were pretty random and have no rhyme or reason.... happy to share... :)

Cute Cousins!

2008-07-20T10:39:00.000-07:00

Tutus....suckers....cousins....Life is GOOD! :) visit http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5299107 for fun shopping!!

Matching jammies make slumber parties soooo much more fun :)

San Francisco Visit

2008-07-20T10:29:00.001-07:00

We had such a wonderful time playing w/my sister, Amy and her wonderful children is San Francisco last week!! We played in the pool, had a few bbq's, some backyard fun and just RELAXED!!! It was such a great visit. Tatianna & Anna are only 5 months apart, so there were a few hard moments, but for the most part had a blast :)

CUPCAKES......MMMMMM :)

2008-07-03T22:01:00.000-07:00

Tatianna & I helped her girlfriend Caylin celebrateher 3rd Birthday last Saturday..... It was such a wonderful party at a great park!! We just LOVED the cupcakes!!! Seriously, I could have eaten the whole batch!! Tatianna gobbled hers up and was soooo excited about licking all the frosting off 1st :) Don't you just love Birthdays... :)

Slumber Party :)

2008-07-03T21:41:00.000-07:00

Tatianna & I had a slumber party with Stacia & Alexandra last Sunday night!! The girls had such a good time and just DIDN'T want to go to sleep.....so they stayed up 'till 11:30!!! Yes, that's correct....11:30!!!! Such party animals :) They must get it from their mommas!!!! I love the picture of Allie checking out her nails, while Tati is on her phone.....such DIVAS!!!!!! I can imagine having a similar picture in about 12 years......Can't wait until our next sleep over :)

Laundry Basket + plastic balls= FUN!!

2008-06-25T19:45:00.000-07:00

I was feeling a bit under the weather today, but wanted Tatianna to still have fun!! This was the most "creative new game" I could muster!! She loved it and had sooo much fun. She emptied/filled/emptied/filled for about an hour!! Hopefully the bug I have will pass soon!

Fabulous Mom's Night Out!!!

2008-06-06T15:46:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful group of Mommas!!! I am so proud to call these awesome ladies my friends! We had a fun time drinking sangria, eating tapas and laughing! We celebrated Dana's Birthday w/the most delicious cupcakes (thanks Felicitas and Karla) We also said goodbye to Amy, who is headed to Germany w/her family for the summer! She will be missed!

My Sand Eating Little Tati

2008-05-31T23:07:00.000-07:00

We spent a wonderful weekend w/Jason's parents a few weeks ago. We took them to Coronado for the day and had so much fun!! Tatianna loved finding all the shells and running away from the water because she's "sooo scared mamma" She is still loving the taste of sand though....when oh when will that end!?!?!?!

2008-05-23T15:16:00.001-07:00

Tatianna falling asleep at dinner!!

2008-05-19T18:59:00.000-07:00

We had such a wonderful morning playing w/our friends at Fanuel Park today! Tatianna ran non-stop for 2 1/2 hours :) After 3 tries for a nap, in 3 different locations (crib, my bed, couch) she still wouldn't take a nap! Sooooo during dinner tonight...Little Miss Tati FELL ASLEEP!!! It was priceless! I couldn't stop taking pictures and laughing! It brought be back to a video I saw of my niece Andy, when she was 3 or so, falling asleep eating her dinner too!! Oh, it was sooooo cute!!

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-05-10T15:38:00.001-07:00

Carlsbad Flower Fields

2008-05-10T12:25:00.000-07:00

Tatianna & I spent a fun morning w/our friends at the Carlsbad Flower Fields.
It was absolutely beautiful. We enjoyed a tractor ride around the fields and had fun playing in the children's playground.

Loving my Tati

2008-05-09T23:37:00.000-07:00

Today, I was thinking about Mother's Day. I was realizing how lucky I am to be a mommy and just how much I missed my own. Mother's Day has been such a hard day since my mom passed away in 2000. Only last year when I became a mom and got to celebrate it once again, did I fully realize what a special day it truly is!! Being a mom is quite challenging at times and boy did I put my mom through the ringer!!! I want it to be a day to not only remember what an awesome Mom I had, but to also remember what an amazing Mom I want to be!!!!

xoxoxo to all the Moms in my life :)