The Thomas Family

Monday Madness and Baby Making Blues

2012-01-09T11:48:00.000-08:00

It is Monday and I have a to-do list a mile long! It seems like it is never ending, we have Izzy's family birthday celebration on Thursday (her actual birthday), and her Ballerina Bash on Saturday with all of her GIRL cousins...she was very definite in her decision to have only girls, and snce it is ballet themed I allowed it :) I also have a mound of laundry that doesn't seem to ever disappear fully! Oh well, as long as there are things to do it means I have a healthy family that LOVES to make messes, haha! So, we haev lots of happy times to look forward to, and now onto th not so happy times.

I have a Dr. appointment tomorrow for my annual checkup and have made the decision to have my IUD taken out so we can start the baby making process...a very happy time for me, since I have been looking forward to this for a very long time! But, in the bad news we have a very close family member who just lost her baby, on which happened to be the same day we decided to start trying, sigh...ughh, I hate to get preggo if they are not able to again, it was a long hard road for them and it has recently gotten a lot worse. SO, ladies I need your opinion, should we wait a while just out of consideration for them or go ahead with our plans...I have been looking for an answer, but can't seem to find what I feel comfortable with. And with this baby talk I will leave you with a picture of my precious little one the day she was born almost exactly 4 years ago!

Hopes for the New year!

2012-01-02T15:27:00.000-08:00

I have made a list of things I really hope we will make happen in the new year. I know that this list may seem very demanding of the next year, but I have high hopes for it.

-Buy our first home

-Get Izzy into a good, but affordable preschool program

-Have monthly date nights

-Take more quality time for our families

-Help Izzy through her speech therapy and focus on at home therapy as well

-Conceive baby #2 (still gonna take a little convinving on this one!)

-Try not to let jealousy and envy take over my life

-Try to be happy for others, even when it seems like nothing can go right in my own life (one of my biggest struggles)

-Take more pictures and videos so we can document every moment of our family together!

-Try to blog at least once a week, even when I don't want to...I know I will regret not doing it later on :)

So, that is my crazy list and I will add to this a few pictures from Christmas. I think it was the most fun Christmas I have ever had. It was so amazing to see the sparkle in Izzy's eyes when she discovered the magic of Christmas :)

2011...Where did the time go?

2012-01-02T15:05:00.001-08:00

So, it has been so long since I have blogged. Why? Well, I never really felt like it. I sometimes get depressed reading everybody's happy blogs that make me feel like everybody has a perfect life, with perfect families...AND I just don't have that life. So, I know that I have plenty to be grateful for and I feel amazingly blessed for the family and friends I do have, I also have plenty of struggles and times I just don't feel like sharing the rough times that I have.

I came across a blog yesterday that made me realize although most everyone likes to share just the happy perfect times in their life, it is also ok to share the not so perfect moments, the moments that all I can think of is am I going to make it through this day without breaking down and make it feel like it's ok for me to need the occasional time out!

2011 brought many blessings, but many hard times as well. I will start out with the good :)

-John and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary!

-Izzy turned 3 years old and has for the most part grown out of the tantrums (thank you GOD)

-We started Izzy in Dance and she absolutely LOVES it!

-Izzy got into an amazing speech therapy program and it is helping her so much with her speech problems (might I add it is very hard to get approved for the program, but we were blessed to have no troubles with it!)

-John still has the same job, which is a blessing all its own just to be employed...we know that it is not a gaurantee, so we do feel very fortunate!

The NOT SO GOOD moments of 2011 :(

-Although Izzy has grown out of tantrums, she has become an extremely sassy, high maintenance young lady!

-John lost ALL insurance through work, so it now puts us paying for our whole families insurance...ahhhhhhhh!!

-We have expereinced many family issues with extended family and we all know that's no fun :(

-My Grandma is not doing well, she had a bad fall (which is the last thing I blogged about) and has struggled ever since then, this breaks my heart.

So, all in all what I can say about 2011 is I am glad you are over and we can look to a whole new year...may it bring more blessings than challenges and less heartache than happiness! I wish everyone a happy and blessed new year!

Prayers

2011-05-17T15:08:00.000-07:00

Please keep my Grandma in your prayers, she had a bad fall yesterday, broke her hip and is now having hip replacement surgery today. And bless her heart the first thing she worried about was that Izzy would see the ambulance at her house so they called me knowing we would be heading over for our weekly visit before they called the 911. And all Izzy could talk about was that Mama was sad and she wanted to give her kisses to make her happy :) It's nice to see my daughter so close to her great grandmother! We are praying that surgery and recovery go well, it's going to be a long road but she's a trooper so we know she will make it through. Love you Mama!!!!

Hubby Thursday!

2011-04-14T09:02:00.001-07:00

So I know there are supposed to be pictures from our Honeymoon and our most recent picture together...but I don't have any recent pictures of just me and the hubby, sad :(

Oh well, here are a few pictures of us on our honeymoon, we went to Disney World for 3 days and then we went to the Grand Bahama Island, Bahamas. It was an amazing trip that we will never forget and we can't wait to go back.

New Pictures

2011-03-29T08:29:00.001-07:00

Making pudding, she loves to help!

hahaha, she is tryng to pose :)

Stuffed animal day at gymnastics!

Family Filled Weekend!

2011-03-21T16:10:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we spent the day together as a family and it was great. We got up early and had a great breakfast and then got ready for my cousins sons 6th birthday party. On our way to the party we went to Costco, one of my favorite stores...and then we headed to the party. We had a great time and saw family that we don't get to see as often as we would like to. I love seeing Izzy playing with all the other kids, it's nice to see that since she has no siblings...yet :) Hopefully soon though! after the party we came home and snuggled on the couch and wastched movies for the rest of the night, which is my favorite way to spend a rainy night.

Sunday we got up somewhat early and had another nice family breakfast. Then we all got ready to head out of the house. I was going to run errands and John was taking Izzy out for her Daddy day, which she misses a lot now since he is working more and longer hours. They went to the Teddy Bear Factory and out to lunch at the mall. I don't think I have ever seen Izzy as excited as she was with her fluffy pink bunny that she came home with. As soon as she came in the house she took her new bunny showed her around the house, showed her all the bedrooms, toys, and even the bathroom...hahaha! She was so cute and after they took a tour of the house she wanted to have a tea party and some snacks with her bunny. We ended the day off with an amazing steak dinner and a movie :) I love my Hubby he really made this a special weekend to remember!

Cute Quote of the Day!

2011-03-17T18:04:00.000-07:00

Izzy: "Mommy, I'm princess.

Me: "Yes you are!"

Izzy: "Mommy you not a princess, you're my Mommy"

Little Gymnast

2011-03-14T14:54:00.000-07:00

Izzy started gymnastics at the Little Gym in Brentwood last month, and she LOVES it!! Here are a couple pictures of her before her class today! It is such a great experience for her since she isn't in preschool.

Proud Mommy!

2011-01-30T23:16:00.000-08:00

We went to have Izzy's pictures taken today, we wanted to have some cute pictures to send out with her thank you notes from her birthday and also thought it was time for some new pictures for Mommy and Daddy to have too. I have to say we were so proud of her, she did extremely well, especially since she HATES having her picture taken. We were also very flattered when they asked if we would mind signing a model waiver, since they thought her pictures turned out so well they would like to try and use them in either an ad or in the store as in frame photos. Proud Mommy moment, I thought that was so neat...I always think her pictures are beautiful, but it is nice to hear others say it too :) So here are a few of the pictures that we purchased, there were tons of others but were way too expensive to buy them all, although I would have loved to have them all!!!

Izzy's Sesame Street Birthday Party!!

2011-01-25T15:30:00.000-08:00

Cupcake table

Treat table

Coloring!

Birthday Girl!

Presents

Our Little Family!

My little nurse

2011-01-21T09:04:00.000-08:00

So, I have been extremely sick this week. We had Izzy's birthday party on Sunday and Monday morning I woke up to feeling horrible!!!!! High fever, cough, nausceous, and major body aches, the worst I have been sick since I can remember. My little now so grown up 3 year old has decided that she is the one that should take care of Mommy and now Daddy since he is not feeling well. It is so adorable she brings me drinks when she thinks I need water, and last night I caught her trying to make her own dinner...funniest and cutest thing I have ever seen. John has also come down with this horrible flu now so last night we were laying on the couch and hear Izzy ruffling around in the kitchen, I get up to see her making herself a quesadilla, she had the tortilla with cheese on it and was going to grab her stool to try to put it in the microwave. It made me sad that she thought she had to cook for herself but I also thought it was so funny that she knew exactly what to do and didn't want to bother us with making her dinner since we didn't feel well. After she was done she also asked to make Daddy dinner and brought us both a bottle of water so we would feel better.

I guess what they say is true, they really do grow up too fast...just turned 3 and is cooking the family dinner, hahahahahahaha!!!!

Just one of those days...

2011-01-05T15:40:00.000-08:00

Today is one of those days where I feel like nothing is going right, I'm not good enough and things will never be perfectly ok. Ok, so maybe it's not so bad, I'm trying to look at the good and all the positive people and positive things in my life. Sometimes working while taking care of an almost 3 year old, and having a husband who works crazy hours takes a toll on me. Hoping for a more positive day tomorrow...and thinking happy thoughts of the wonderful family that I have :)

Goals for 2011

2011-01-03T16:26:00.000-08:00

Goals for this year:

*Stay organized

*Stay on budget

*Create a monthly menu plan and stick to it

*Have date night at least every 2 weeks

*Have family night at least once a week

Hope I can stick to it!!

Shopping on a budget

2011-01-02T14:46:00.000-08:00

Today I went out shopping at 2 stores, Target and Safeway, coupons in hand. Got some great deals, so here it goes this is what I got!

Target:

2 Kraft salad dressing
4 campbells soup
1 cream cheese
2 kraft shredded cheese
2 face wash
2 packs wet ones
6 pack cottonelle toilet paper
4 pack scott toilet paper
2 boxes mac and cheese

Total: $43.56
- coupons: 17.86

My total: 25.70

Safeway:

6 boxes fruit snacks
3 boxes cereal
2 jars smuckers jam
4 jars salsa
1 pack corn tortillas
2 bags tortilla chips
5 boxes of capri sun
1 glad plastic wrap
2 boxes kleenex
1 dozen eggs
2 packs english muffins
2 loaves of wheat bread
1 package sasauge
2 family pack NY strip steak
1 whole chicken
Brocolli
bananas
tomatoes
lettuce
spinach
salad
1 pacage fresh pasta

Total: $227.72
- Coupons & in store savings: 141.02

My Total: $86.70

This was one of my most succesful trips so far. It makes me happy to spend less on food and putting more into savings and my family!

Holidays!!!

2011-01-01T21:39:00.001-08:00

Things have been so busy for the past couple months that I have found it hard to get on the computer. But I really want to get up to date on what is going on with our family.

The Holiday season is always a crazy, busy, fun filled time for us! We had an amazingly great Thanksgiving, we got to spend time with my family as well as John's family, this made for a long day, but it was worth every moment.

Family

Me and my Hubby

Christmas is my favorite time of year and we had a few weeks filled with christmas fun. We first had my family Christmas a couple weeks before, Izzy had a blast playing with her cousins. It is rare that we all get together so this is a very special time for us!

The week of Christmas we did many activities including Izzy's favorite...baking sugar cookies and decorating them. She had so much fun and kept saying, Mommy I make santa cookies!! She was so cute.

My little baker

We also went to see Santa which was an adventure...who would've thought we would wait almost 3 hours for Santa...but once again totally worth the wait to see the smile on her face when she first saw Santa. Christmas Eve was spent with John's family, we had a great dinner and Izzy had tons of presents to open, she got lots of practice for Christmas morning.

Christmas morning was the best, Izzy loved everything Santa brought her and she played like crazy all day long.

Digging into her stocking, she couldn't get everything out fast enough!

I feel so fortunate to have such a loving and wonderful family. I can't ask for anything more than the blessings I have in my life. We are looking forward to the challenges and adventures that the new year brings, I can't wait!!

And, now we have moved onto the planning of the big Elmo extravaganza for Izzy's birthday in a couple weeks. I still have tons of planning to do for that since it is the first BIG party we are thrwoing for her birthday...I'm sure it will be tons of fun!

Halloween Fun!!

2010-11-02T15:04:00.001-07:00

We had a great Halloween week, we started out with the pumpkin patch on Monday, then gingerbread building on Friday, carving pumpkins and trick or treating on Sunday! What a fun filled week we had. I think Izzy really enjoyed it this year for the first time!!!

Haunted Gingerbread house Izzy and daddy built together!

Pumpkins

Elmo...he's her favorite!!

Trick or Treating for the first time!

Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-26T17:09:00.000-07:00

We went to Del Osso Farms in Lathrop yesterday and visited the pumpkin patch. It was a lot of fun and they have tons of great activities for the kids. Izzy had a blast, but was a little tired and cranky by the end of the night.

Running around having fun!

My little pumpkin

Train ride

Spinning pumpkin ride with Daddy

Pumpkin Blaster with Daddy

Our Crazy Life updates!!

2010-10-26T16:42:00.000-07:00

It has been forever since I last posted anything and thought it was about time for an update. Things have been very busy and hectic lately but will hopefully slow down soon!

John:

So, John has been at his new job at Sawyer's for 4 months now and loves it. He is doing a lot of sales and since they have been changed to a task based company (meaning that he gets paid by the task completed, instead of hourly) he has increased on the pay scale dramatically, yay!! I'm so proud of him he is doing so well! He has also lost about 25-30 lbs after being diagnosed with diabetes. Another thing that I am very happy about, it is great to see him feeling better now that it is under control. He is currently working 6 day weeks, this makes for a long week for him with only having sunday off but we both know it will be worth it!

Isabella:

Izzy is a handful, she has a big personality and a big attitude!! Tantrums seem to happen on a daily basis but are getting better. We are still working on potty training, it isn't going as well as we had hoped but it is going slowly. She is very much into dress up, jewelery and everything pink and princess!! She also loves to play outside and read books, I think her favorite time of day is when we read books before bed. She is also scared of the dark, this seems to have developed over the past 2 weeks, but she is truly terrified and shakes in terror when the lights are out...so sad, and it has also made bed time a bit more difficult. Naps are a thing of the past, she is truly over the napping stage, but we do have quite time in her room every afternoon. Isabella sure makes life interesting, and it is worth every tantrum, every laugh, every smile, and every tiem she says I love you Mommy!!!!

Julie:

Where do I start, well I am still working 5 days a week and love it. I am able to take Izzy with me making for a long but great day!! I am still decorating Izzy's room slowly but have done a few projects that I am very proud of, I will post those later. I am staying busy with work, housekeeping and taking of the little rascal. I love every moment of it, but do get tired by the end of the week.

Our life is very crazy some days, but I try to stop and take in every moment so we never forget one the precious moments of our life as a family of 3!!

Life is precious...

2010-08-16T22:58:00.000-07:00

Treasure everyday of your life like it is your last.....love your friends and family like you will never see them again....treat yourself like you are special, because you are!

Please keep this in mind every day as we sometimes forget. A wonderful son, brother, husband and Daddy was taken way too soon. An expereince such as this reminds us that we need to love at every moment, and cherish every challenge life gives us.

A Day In The Life...

2010-08-11T21:42:00.001-07:00

Of A Two Year Old!!

Helping Mommy with the dishes!

Baking Cookies!!

Eating Cookies!!

Going for a nice swim!!

Planning Ahead!

2010-08-08T21:14:00.001-07:00

Ok, so I know that I am getting way ahead of myself, but I just can't help it! I've been looking at things to get Izzy for her birthday and Christmas, and we finally settled on our choice today. I ordered her this play kitchen that we will give her for Christmas. I love getting all of my shopping done ahead of time and plan to be completely done Christmas shopping within a few months...Crazy I know!!

Blueberry Picking!

2010-07-02T18:07:00.000-07:00

We went to pick blueberries today at Jessup Farms in Ripon. It was so much fun, my Mom, sisters neice and nephew all went with us and we had a blast. We brought home tons of yummy bluberries too!! Izzy didn't really get the hang of picking them, but she sure did enjoy eating them...I think she ate more than we came home with, hahahah!! She is too funny.

Picking Bluberries!!

Cousins!!

In Memory of Cohen

2010-07-01T09:06:00.000-07:00

Father's Day Fun!!

2010-06-30T18:13:00.001-07:00

On the Saturday before Father's Day we went over to my parent's house for lunch and had a great time hanging out with the family. I think my Dad had a great time being surrounded by his whole family!

Then on Sunday for Father's day I decided that we should head to Half Moon Bay and go to the beach since it is one of John's favorite places and he definitely deserved a nice day to be celebrated as one of the best Daddy's in the world!

We took some hamburgers to barbecue and they were absolutely delicious. We played at the beach for a little while, Izzy wasn't feeling well so we didn't stay as long as we had planned, but we still had a great time! After playing at the beach and having lunch we headed over to the harbor where we picked up some live crab and went home and cooked an amazing dinner! There is nothing better than fresh seafood!

I am so grateful for my daughter to have such an amazing Daddy, he is always there to encourage her and treat her like the little princess she thinks she is!! I have been so blessed to have such an amazing person come into my life. My heart melts every time I see John and Izzy together they are so cute and love each other more than anything else in the world!!

Such a fun day!

Adjusting

2010-06-29T20:06:00.000-07:00

It has been two weeks since John started his new job, and although he completely loves it, it is taking some adjusting to get used to the crazy schedule! And this adjustment is needed by him and me as well. With him heading out the door at 6:15 and not returning home until...well any time after about 7:30 it seems, we are having to make adjustments to our nightly schedule just to have enough time to discuss how our day went. Last night he didn't make it home until 9:30, Izzy really wanted to give Daddy kisses before bed so I let her wait up since I knew it wouldn't be too much later than her normal bed time! Now, tonight he will not be home until after 10:00 so it means a very hectic night for Mommy!! And yes hectic it was, I just got Izzy in bed after a long day at the Dr. where we found out she has a double ear infection after just getting over roseola which she had last week...so it's been a week of fever, rash, and crankiness, FUN, FUN, FUN!!!! Well, other than not seeing my hubby very much things couldn't be better. He is much happier with his new job, although the over time has become quite excessive, he still enjoys every minute of it. I miss having our family dinner every night, but hopefully once the summer rush is over we can get back to eating dinner together as a family every night.

While adjusting is hard, I know that all of the changes happening to us are for the best. Going through the day not seeing John makes me appreciate him even more, and appreciate how hard he is working to provide for our family. And he knows that working a 14-16 hour day will cause him not see his family as much as he would like but takes in every moment with us possible...I love him for all of the sacrifices he makes for us to have the life that we have!!!! I couldn't ask for a better Hubby!!

Ma-My

2010-06-18T18:19:00.000-07:00

So, today me and Izzy are sitting on the couch together watching Little Bear, her new favorite cartoon, and she put her head on my lap and said Ma-My nigh night please!! It was only 4:00 but she was so tired she could barely keep her eyes open and wanted to go to bed, hahah...and yes she does call me Ma-My she can't quite say Mommy yet, hahahah!!! So, cute, I love my little girl!

John's New Job

2010-06-17T08:02:00.000-07:00

I had earlier posted about two job interviews that John was going on, and then was sooooooo... bummed out when he didn't get either one. But, they do say everything happens for a reason, and now I totally believe that, if he had gotten one of the other jobs, he wouldn't have found the PERFECT job. He went in on Friday for an interview...which lasted 3 hours, and yes he was told that he DID get the job!!!! And not only is it another job, but it is the perfect job, he started yesterday and absolutely loved everything about it, he is making a lot more money which also helps with the loving of the job...we all know it does help! He will be working about 25 minutes from home instead of over an hour and he will also be working in the area that we would love to move to, so it has worked out just like we always wanted, but never thougt was possible!!! I knew he could do it and now that he has done it, his confidence is back and I know that he will do great, I am so proud of him and love him to death...oh and Izzy loves his new work vehicle...she really wanted to go climb around in it last night instead of going to bed!!

Our weekend!

2010-06-17T07:45:00.000-07:00

While most of my family was away in Maui my Mom decided to surprise me and Melissa and all the grandkids with a trip to Half Moon Bay. We had so much fun, on saturday we drove up there got to the hotel and then headed straght to the beach. Izzy and Maddy had a blast in the water, Nathan had much more fun in the sand! After that we walked back to our hotel and ordered room service for dinner since the kids were getting cranky and we didn't really want to go out.

My mom also surprised me and Melissa with a couples massage...hahaha...Melissa loved it, me on the other hand, well lets just say massages are not for me! But the thought was there and I really did appreciate that hse planned it for us and watched the kids while we went!

On Sunday we went to the San Francisco Zoo, that was a blast, Izzy has always enjoyed the zoo, I think since we have gone so many times she knows exactly what to expect and loves looking at the animals. After the zoo we stoppped for lunch on our way home and then got home watched a movie, and took a nice long nap...a whole weekend with 3 crazy kids sure did make me tired!

The month of May...Crazy but Wonderful!!

2010-05-20T16:48:00.000-07:00

So, this month has probably been the busiest month we have ever had, although it seems like we have been non stop busy we have had lots of fun and exciting things go on.

So, first off me and John went on a short 3 day trip to Tahoe for his 30th birthday and our 3 year wedding anniversary. It was an amazing weekend, we had plenty of relaxation time, went on a boat tour around the lake which was a lot fun, and also made it to the improv comedy show at hotel. We ate way too much and completely enjoyed every moment of it!!

On the boat trip, it was so much fun!

Next, we had John's actual birthday, May 8th, which we celebrated at home with Izzy, I made a cake, we had presents and a nice dinner. It was really nice! The next day was Mother's day so we went to my mother in-laws in the morning to celebrate with her...I made a collage of pictures from when John was a baby and Izzy as a baby to give to her, she loved it...and I must say it turned out to be a very cute idea! The we headed over to my parents and had an amazing lunch and some quality time with family. After lunch we headed out to the mall to do a little shopping and then went home for a nice quiet evening, it was the perfect day!

Izzy with Grammy on Mother's Day

The following weekend we had a family wedding to go to. John's cousin Stacie got married in Modesto, they had a beautiful outdoor ceremony and then a very fun reception afterwards. we all had a blast, izzy danced until 9:30 when we finally decided it was time to go. I literally had to pull her off the dnace floor but once she got in the car it didn't take more than 5 minutes and she was sound asleep. It was a great, but very long day...Congratulations Stacie and Kevin!

The ceremony

Family Pic!

All the little girls dancing together!

Other exciting events still to come include John's job interviews, one today and then one tomorrow morning...still keeping our fingers crossed that everything works out for him! We also have my baby brother's high school graduation on the 29th, it is so exciting and sad at the same time, he is so young...only 16...to be graduating, but we are very proud of him and can't wait for him to move on to college next fall.

Oh, the month of May...it has been very crazy, fun, eventful and just overall fantastic! Can't wait to see what the next week has in store for us!

Fingers Crossed!

2010-05-19T15:47:00.000-07:00

So, it has been a very long time since I have posted anything, May is an extremely busy month for us...and getting busier, I will be updating on everything that has happened very soon!

Please keep John in your thoughts this week as he goes on 2 job interviews, both of which would cut his commute in half. We are praying that he gets either one of these jobs, they would both be a welcomed change to his cuurent work situation. I am keeping my fingers crossed that at least one of them will work out for him.

John is such a hard worker and loving husband and father, he deserves to work with a company that will treat him with the same respect and dedication that he gives to them. I know that his hard work will pay off...and I have to remind him daily that good things come to those who wait...and it's just our time to wait! We have faith that everything will work out for the best and welcome all thoughts and prayers that these opportunities will work for him.

Washer & Dryer!!!!!!!

2010-04-14T16:42:00.000-07:00

So, yesterday our dryer went out...it wasn't a surprise since it had been making a very loud squeaking noise for months now, but they were going to charge more than it was worth just to fix it, so...I finally got a new one, not a stackable like the old one, but a real side by side washer and dryer and to make it even better we were able to find a great deal on a kenmore front loading steam washer and dryer set. I know this may seem silly to most, but you have no idea how long I have wanted to get rid of our stackable washer and dryer, which we bought since it was the only one that would fit in our apartment before. I could barely even reach the dryer...LOL...hahaha but it was true!! So here is a picture of our new washer, and we will get it on saturday, I'm SO EXCITED!!!!

French Camp Fire Pancake Breakfast...so much fun and for a good cause!

2010-04-11T11:17:00.000-07:00

So, my Sister Elizabeth's boyfriend Gabs is a reserve firefighter for French Camp Fire Dept. and they had a pancake breakfast fundraiser yesterday. Of course, we had to go and support Gabs, and it was so much fun!!! We had a lovely breakfast of pancakes, scrambled eggs and sasauge...it was definitely what you would expect when feeding hundreds of people, LOL!!!

After breakfast we went out to buy raffle tickets, also a great part of the fundraiser, John won golf balls and was very excited...hahaha!! After entering the raffle we went over to the firetrucks to let Izzy play, she had a blast and threw a complete tantrum when she had to get off...fire woman in the making...maybe? She did absolutely love it though!

Afterwards we were heading home, and I decided that I felt like we needed a good family day of SHOPPING!! So, instead of ending up at home we ended up in Pleasanton at the mall...so much more fun than going home to clean house and do laundry!!

We had such a nice day and it was just one more reminder of how much I love my family and spending time with them!

Easter!!

2010-04-11T10:25:00.000-07:00

Things have extremely busy lately, so I am running a little bit behind here. So, Easter was great, we spent the morning having a fun egg hunt with my family and had a wonderful breakfast that my Mom made, and then made a very nice dinner for John's Mom who came over to spend the afternoon and evening with us. It was the perfect day mixed with family and relaxation.

Izzy's Easter basket filled with precious moments stuff! Running to get her Easter basket in the morning, she was so excited!

Ready for the egg hunt!

She found so many eggs!

The girls!

Me and my goofy hubby!

Looking in her Easter basket from Grammy!

YUMMY strawberry cheesecake I made.

I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful family, that makes every holiday so special for us and definitely makes it one to remember!

Updates!

2010-03-17T16:02:00.000-07:00

Well, not a whole lot has been going on, but I guess we have been keeping ourselves busy! I have been working basically part time and fortunately have been able to continue working with my Mom, bringing Isabella with me. I really enjoy that and being able to spend so much time with with my family while working makes me feel very fortunate! I have become much more aware of our spending habits and have gotten much better at saving money, this is something that has taken time for me to figure out! I get so excited over a good deal and can't wait to share with John how much I spent and how much I saved, yesterday at target I spent $103.00 and saved $73.00 using coupons...it seems crazy to use that many coupons...and yes I do get kind of embarassed when it takes 20 minutes to check out, but I guess it is well worth it!

John is looking for a new job, mainly to have something closer to home, since he is commuting pretty far right now, all the way to Benicia. He is loving his new career choice and has been at his job for just over 6 months now!! I'm so happy for him and so glad that he has found something that he enjoys so much! We will be celebrating John's 30th birthday this May and we are going to take a trip to Lake Tahoe to celebrate his big birthday as well as our 3 year Anniversary!!!! I am so excited to get away, and mainly to have some alone time, it's been a while!

Now onto Isabella...she is silly, outgoing, adorable, loving, playful, beautiful, and most of all PERFECT (well, as perfect as a 2 year old with an attitude can be, LOL!!!) We are working on potty training and hoping to be successful within the next month. She loves playing at the park, riding her bike, and pretty much anything outside. She also loves looking at books, playdough, coloring, eating snacks, and spending time with her Moppy (Grandma) during the day and Daddy at night!! I can't believe how quickly she is growing up and can't wait to hear the next thing she is going to say...she is usually pretty entertaining. This month we have been to the snow twice...as once wasn't enough for her, she absolutely had a blast, we have spent lots of time with family, and unfortunately this month Izzy got the worst cold she has ever had...it lasted over a week and she still has a runny nose...my poor baby.

A lot has happened this year and we are looking forward to everything that life has in store for us! Can't wait to see how our lives will change, it seems like every day, month and year gets better!!

Fun at the PARK!!!!!!

2010-02-22T19:41:00.001-08:00

We have recently started going to the park a few times a week, weather permitting. It has been so nice for Izzy to have some outdoor time with all of the fun play equipment, there are a couple nice parks that we like to visit.

On the big kid swine for the 1st time

She loves all of the fun ride on equipment too

Me and my baby going down the slide...she was so scared!

Her favorite thing at the park...the train!

We have had some great play time at the park and I hope to continue going atleast 2 or 3 times a week through the summer!!

Valentines Day!!!

2010-02-16T19:01:00.000-08:00

Isabella and Daddy on Valentines day!!

Me and my hubby!!

Baby Girl, she is growing up so fast!!

So, on Sunday I woke up to a great breakfast cooked by my John, Pancakes, bacon and eggs...yum!! This is probably the second time I have had breakfast made for me, it's not one of John's strengths...hahhahah!! After breakfast we exchanged gifts with eachother, he got me a gift certificate for a mani and pedi, I loved it...it has been way to long!! We also got Izzy a my little pony and she loved it!! After breakfast was all cleaned up we headed to the mall and had a nice day of shopping. We then came home and John cooked the most amazing dinner, steak and lobster, it was so good. I think this Valentines Day was the best ever, I was surrounded by all my favorite people and eventhough we didn't have an extravagent weekend away we had a great weekend at home!! How could I ask for anything more....

Saving Money!!

2010-02-02T15:45:00.000-08:00

I have recently discovered my new found love of coupons!! I never realized before that there are so many online coupons that can be printed right from your computer at home or simply added onto store cards, such as your safeway club card. A couple of my favorite websites are http://www.coupons.com/ and http://hip2save.com/. I have found so many great deals on these websites, it's amazing how much money you can save!! Today I saved $30.59 by using the coupons off of these websites at Target, I was so excited, my favortie one was the buy one get one free My Little Pony, they are so cute and can make great gifts too!! I am trying to get more organized with it so I can start finding the coupons for most of the items I need to purchase prior to making a trip to the store...I have now seen that taking a little time to find the good deals really does make a difference!!!!

Busy...Busy!!!

2010-01-18T17:25:00.000-08:00

So, the past couple weeks have been totally crazy busy. We had Izzy's birthday party on the 9th and that was a hit, she loved all of her presents and most of all she just loved spending time with the other kids!! She is so social. John has been pretty busy at work, some over time, but most of all the commute brings him home late most nights. I have been extra busy this week and last since my Mom and Dad are away on their trip...which by the way they totally deserved a long trip away!!! We were able to get some quality family time in this weekend, we went shopping and to Cheesecake Factory for dinner...it was so nice to spend time with my hubby and little princess!! We have also been working on potty training...with little success, it's much harder than I thought it would be!! So other than the craziness, life is pretty much GREAT!!! I can't ask for anything better at the moment, I have a wonderful husband and beautiful daughter...what else could I possibly need :)

2010, The start to a GREAT new year!!!

2010-01-05T14:33:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that another year has passed by. I am looking forward to another year filled with family and fun, so many exciting events to look forward to, Izzy will turn 2 next week, and John will be turning 30 in May, alongn with us celebrating our 3 year wedding anniversary. Wow, how time flies, I can't wait to see what this year will bring for our little family!!!

Camping...Well Kind of!

2008-09-04T18:18:00.000-07:00

Family Picture at Memorial Park

Izzy and Daddy

Mommy and Izzy

Playing in the sand

So, a few weeks ago we went camping, well it started out as camping and ended up being a nice hotel stay!! Well, we had a lot of fun, Izzy loved the beach and also hanging out in the snugli while we hiked around at Memorial Park, which was so much fun and is so pretty!

Bored!!

2008-07-30T20:34:00.000-07:00

So, I was really bored tonight since John is at school and I am home alone with Izzy so I decided to take some pictures of her while she played and rolled around the livingroom floor! So here are some of the pictures I took tonight along with a few other recent pictures!

Our Weekend!!

2008-07-21T18:20:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we were lucky enough to spend the day with John's family. His Grandparents, Isabella's Great Grandparents, came for a visit and we were fortunate enough to spend the entire day with them!! We went swimming, Izzy loves the water!! We also spent the day playing, visiting and enjoying a great BBQ. Although it was very hot out we were able to spend a good portion of the in the pool!!! I forgot my camera, but I will share some of the most recent pictures I have instead!

Isabella's 6 Month Dr. Appointment

2008-07-14T21:33:00.000-07:00

Today we ventured to Kaiser for Isabella's 6 month appointment. It went well and she has grown so much since her last apointment at 4 months. She weighed 15 lbs. 8.5 ounces and was 26.5 inches long. I cannot believe how fast she is growing, it makes me sad to look at how tiny she was and how quickly time has gone by, it seems like just yesterday I was bringing home my 5 lb baby. She got her shots today so she was a bit cranky and had a little bit of a fever, but other than that we had a pretty good day. Since John is no longer working all day he is able to take over with her during the day and I have the nights all to myself since he has began school...nice, but a bit lonely, we know it will be well worth it in 9 months when he graduates!!