A Happy Little Family

thank you, nixon! (not the former president)

2012-02-17T11:02:00.000-08:00

nixon inc. will always hold a very special place in my heart. nixon is the watch company where travis and i both worked and met. After I graduated from UC Davis in 2002, I needed a real job. I had just received my degree in Textiles and Clothing, so I started applying for a variety of positions in the fashion industry. After little success with some big clothing brands, I decided to expand my search. With my background in repairing watches (my parents have had a watch repair business at the Orange County Swap Meet since before I was born), I decided to apply at nixon as a service technician. At my interview, they decided I was a better fit as an Office Manager, so I accepted the position. On my first day of work, I made the rounds and met a lot of amazing people that I am still friends with to this day. Most importantly, I met the adorable and charming Travis Mitchell. We shook hands and introduced ourselves and became almost instant friends. The rest is history. Here is a recent nixon ad featuring nixon's latest and greatest: And this is the first watch that I ever purchased from nixon well before I ever thought of working there. The player. I fell in love with the simple and sleek design the first time I laid eyes on it. I am still drawn to this watch even after years of new styles and trends. Thanks to this watch, I met my husband (ok, so God was obviously the One that brought us together, but He used this watch to do it)

pastel dreams

2012-02-16T10:11:00.000-08:00

One of the best parts of having children is dressing them up. I am already looking forward to Easter because the kids always look so lovely in their pastel hues. I can hardly stand the wait! I'm already looking out for some cute outfits for Lyla and Cody. How about this adorable ruffle front corsage dress from j.crew in "sweet hyacinth"? Or this dress shirt paired with these suspendered trouser shorts (both janie and jack) for cody? Love.

my tasty valentine's day

2012-02-15T12:09:00.000-08:00

We started Valentine's day morning with presents! Lyla kepts asking, "Is it my birthday?". She wasn't sure why we were getting presents, but she wasn't complaining either. Here's Lyla with her Valentine's day goodies from daddy. Kandice blessed us by babysitting the kids for us so we could go on our date night. We had reservations at Lucille's BBQ grill in Temecula. Travis and I love a good BBQ, so this is one of our favorite restaurants in the area. We started off with fried dill pickles that were amazing! The only problem is that the breading falls off when you take a bite, so you kind of have to piece it back together with the dip...but totally worth the work! I love pickles and I love fried food, so this was just a match made in heaven for me!

I ordered the half rack of baby back ribs with sweet potato fries and Trav got the tri-tip sandwich with mac and cheese. This dinner was so delicious. I can't wait to go back to Lucille's for more.

Then we went to the movies and stood in a long line to watch "The Vow". It was a sweet movie. It pales in comparison to "The Notebook", which is probably my favorite love story movie of all time (also starring Rachel McAdams). "The Vow" was a good, sad, love story nonetheless. A romantic ending to a day filled with love. I hope you all felt the love yesterday!

"And now abide, faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love." - 1 Corinthians 13:13

love is in the air

2012-02-13T11:44:00.000-08:00

I love Valentine's day. It's a day that we can spread a little love to everyone around us, an excuse to show people that we care about them with little cards or chocolates. Travis got Lyla a few candies even though I frowned upon it (the girl does NOT need sugar)...but I realized it's not just about spoiling her with sweet treats. It's important for Lyla to know that her daddy is the first man in her life to love her. His love for her and how he shows it to her will set the bar for how she expects any other man to treat her. Not just on Valentine's day, but every day.

I adore this simple idea for a valentine's day treat for the kiddos. It's a peanut butter sandwich with rainbow sprinkles and a heart cut-out! I found it on this post about valentine's day lunchbox ideas on coolmompicks.com. It's sweet without giving the kids a sugar-high (and ultimate crash).

And of course there is the romantic side of Valentine's day that Travis and I will be celebrating. We are going to go out for dinner and a movie. It's your typical date night outing, but we haven't had a real date in a long time. We are so excited to share a few hours with eachother that are free from our little disctractions, as adorable as they may be. I hope everyone has a wonderful Valentine's day tomorrow! Spread the love!

new years resolution

2012-02-10T13:32:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I find myself blaming my kids for me not looking cute anymore. Bad mom! There are plenty of adorable/fashionable/trendy moms out there who have more kids or more going on than I do. So, I have resolved to not allow myself to fall into the bad habit of "letting myself go". Five weeks ago, I joined a "New Year's Challenge" to eat healthy and excercise regularly with some co-workers. Here is the pledge we signed:

"I pledge to begin a new lifestyle by being diligent to exercise and make healthy meal choices. I’m going to lose the weight I’ve committed to in this contract, by wise and healthy means. I understand that intentionally skipping meals, cleanses, purging supplements, etc. are not only against the rules, but are not healthy means of attaining my goal. I am part of this group to not only achieve better health, but to also encourage the others in healthy lifestyles as well."

I have a casual morning jogging routine now...which means that I go for a run every other day or so and it lasts about 15-20 minutes. I also quit drinking soda and have stuck to just drinking lots of water. Other than that, there are no drastic changes to my diet. I consciously make choices to eat healthier. For example, I now choose brown rice instead of white and I forego most sweet treats. I don't have much of a sweet tooth anyways. So far I have lost 3 pounds and I am just 7 pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight. I would love to get back to the "starting point" before I get pregnant again. I realize that my body has changed after having two kids, but I also don't think it's necessary to just accept a certain amount of weight gain after having babies either.

I also decided to spruce things up in the make-up department. I took a trip to Sephora (love that place!) with a gift card my mom got for my birthday (thank you, mom!!!). Here are a few of the wonderful goodies that I bought to help me beautify myself:

I have never used foundation before in my life, so I walked into Sephora having no clue what to look for. I asked for help and the nice girls led me to the Make Up For Ever aisle. I am forever grateful to them for introducing me to this wonderful foundation. I love how weightless it is.

I have been using Erase Paste from Benefit for years now. It is perfect for covering up under-eye circles. The pinkish tone really helps to counter-act the ugly blue circles that are the bane of my existence. Now you would never know that I was up 18 times the night before with a crying baby!

I love this Laura Mercier eye shadow. I use the color "coffee ground", but I am looking for something a little lighter - like an ashy taupe. The problem is that things always turn out more orange-y on my face, so I have a hard time picking colors. Suggestions are welcome!

My mom turned me on to Lancome mascara years ago. She says it is the best. I have to say that this Hypnose Drama mascara is pretty amazing!

And finally, I am really liking this lip pencil in the shade of "sex machine" by NARS. I know, the name of the color is funny, but it's a really soft pink (not the color pictured above). After years of wearing lip gloss, it's a refreshing change to wear something matte on my lips. I feel like a new woman!

ringing in the new year with friends

2012-01-27T11:13:00.000-08:00

Our good friends, the Armours, came to celebrate new year's eve with us. Since we knew it would be a late night, we decided to have a sleepover party! It was Lyla's first time ever having anyone spend the night in her room with her. Needless to say, she was beyond excited about the sleepover with Sophie. After Travis read them a story and they said their prayers, he walked out of the dark room. He heard Lyla chattering away as usual and Sophie whispering, "Shhhhhh. Lyla, shhhhhhhhhhh". After that, they did great all night long. They didn't get up and we didn't hear a peep from them for the rest of the night.

I am sure that Lyla would like to extend a sleepover invitation to any other little friends! It was so much fun.

feeling inspired

2012-01-26T13:46:00.001-08:00

I recently found these images on the restoration hardware baby & child website. I fell in love with so many of the rooms from their gallery...here's just a sample:

I am totally using the idea of framing multiple sheets of music for cody's room. I also love the neutral palette of all the rooms. It's so beautiful and soothing.

Dreaming of a room for twins! Although I would be incredibly overwhelmed, I think it would be so wonderful to have twins...one boy and one girl of course.

I love chandeliers in general, but they look even more dramatic in front of mirrors and I noticed that RH does this a lot in their gallery. Love!

The generous heart of my 3-year-old

2012-01-19T10:13:00.001-08:00

Last night was Awards Night at AWANA. AWANA is a church program for kids that meets once a week. They break into separate age groups and they have different activities based on their group. Lyla is a "Cubbie" which is for the preschoolers. She has a short bible verse to memorize each week and she usually does a great job with memorizing and reciting. I invited my parents along for the awards ceremony because Lyla was going to be rewarded for preparedness and knowing her bible verses. What they do is give kids tickets whenever they get special recognition throughout the quarter. The tickets go into a can and names are drawn out at awards night. So, Lyla had two tickets in the can.

The night started with fun worship music for the kids (the pic above shows Lyla clapping along to one of the songs in her cute little Cubbies vest). Then they taught a message about transformation and how we are changed when we accept Jesus into our hearts. They wrapped it up with the big drawing and handing out the prizes. Lyla's name was called and she got a princess wand with inter-changeable jewels. She was pretty excited about it and waved it around proudly. This was not the type of event where every kid in the room walked out with a prize. A handful of kids didn't get anything. It was so sad! One little girl was crying and pointing at Lyla's wand. She said, "I always wanted that!" with tears rolling down her red cheeks. I was holding Lyla in my arms outside and explained to her that sometimes it's better to give than to receive and that sometimes God will bless us even more when we choose to bless others. Now, Lyla is a typical 3 year old...what I mean is that she is supremely selfish. I expected her to clutch her new toy to her chest and guard it fiercely. But, to my surprise, she said, "I am going to give my prize to that poor little girl". So I put her down and she walked over to the girl and gave her the wand! That little girl could not have had a bigger smile on her face! She sprinted toward her mom, exclaiming, "MOM, that little girl BLESSED me with this gift!". I was so proud of Lyla for giving up her toy to make someone else happy. It is so sweet to see God working in the hearts of little ones.

cody's baker's dozen birthday party

2012-01-15T11:52:00.000-08:00

It was my dad's idea to celebrate cody's birthday at the 13 month mark to make up for the catastrophe that happened on his actual birthday. I loved the idea of doing a baker's dozen birthday and I am happy to report that it was a success! This is a picture of his golden butter cake. Those are blueberry yogurt pretzels from henry's next to the cake: I made this felt banner for his highchair:
Travis called this a "shrine" to cody. This picture is actually from his december party. I decided the shrine was a little over the top, so I decided not to do it this time.
This picture is also from last month. That's why you can see the Christmas decorations. I came up with this idea of tissue balls and balloons everywhere because Cody's favorite word is "ball". He loved the green, blue, and orange balls all over the place. Thanks to Trav for executing my vision!
During the party, cody cruised around the house doing his own thing. Of course, one-year-olds don't really get what all the fuss is about on their birthday. He loved all the food though! He is always eating or on the go or a combination of the two. It's hard to get a good picture of him. Here he is in his ADORABLE onesie made by my very talented friend, Kata. She has a shop called mukibaba on etsy. She and her sister sell cute magnets, bookmarks, mug cozies, earrings, and (soon to come) custom baby clothes!
A picture of the festivities. We were so blessed that many of our friends were able to come. It was a wonderful time.
Cody's first few bites of cake. (Notice no shrine). I think that the cake eating is definitely the highlight of the 1st birthday party. I try to make it even more special by not giving them cake before their birthday, so their 1st party is literally their first taste of this scrumptious dessert.
And this was the end of the sweet celebration of Cody. Happy Birthday to my sweet, cuddly, and headstrong son. You bring a lot of laughter and joy into our home. I can't wait to see what the next year has in store for you!

update on the stomach flu

2011-12-29T15:25:00.001-08:00

Since my last post, many more members of our family have fallen victim to this vicious stomach flu:

Trav's mom and dad got it shortly after us, my sister got it when she came into town, my sister-in-law's brother and sister got it just before Christmas, and Trav's niece Madi got it right after Christmas.

That makes a grand total of 16 people in our family who contracted this quick-striking and highly contageous flu bug. Not cool.

the birthday party that wasn't

2011-12-17T22:34:00.000-08:00

I had been looking forward to cody's 1st birthday all year. I wanted to start out my resolution to always make his december birthday special with his first year. Nothing too big or fancy, just a celebration at home with family and close friends. Birthday decorations would mingle with Christmas decorations to make it all the more festive. As usual, I stubbornly stuck to planning the party for the actual date of his birthday, which happened to be a wednesday. So, I planned an evening party in the hopes that everyone would be able to attend after work. I was delighted that so many rsvp'd with yes-es. With help from my mom and travis, I spent two days shopping for food and decorating for the big event. Everything was set for a perfect birthday party.

Then, two hours before guests were to arrive, I started feeling nauseous. Uh oh. Was it the cake batter I licked? Did I get that stomach flu that has been going around? I really wasn't feeling well at all. One hour before the party, things quickly turned south. Lyla and I started vomiting at the same time! My mom insisted that we go to the hospital in case it was salmonella or food poisoning. Whatever it was, I knew it was bad. I felt AWFUL. So, with less than an hour's notice, Travis called everyone on the guest list to tell them that the party was canceled. My parents took the kids, and Travis and I got in our car, and we all headed to the Inland Valley Hospital emergency room. Just as I saw the sign for "Emergency", my hands went tingly and numb. To my horror, I found that I could not move my hands or legs and they were seizing up completely. At this point I truly thought that I had food poisoning and I was going into some kind of toxic shock. So scary. I was wheeled into the ER and led to an exam area. I was told that people who hyperventilate often get cramping in their hands and legs. That was a relief to hear. I guess I was hyperventilating?

So we waited in the exam area...and waited...and waited. Not patiently, either. I was in agonizing pain from the nausea, vomiting, and (sorry) diarrhea. During that time, we heard that my mom was admitting Lyla because she had also vomited a few more times. I was vaguely aware that Lyla was in the room across from me. A physician finally came to see Lyla and she was given an anti-nausea pill that worked seemingly instantly. Travis later told me that as soon as they put the pill under her tongue, she smacked her lips, smiled, and said, "I feel better". That's my tough little girl.

Across the hallway, mommy was not doing quite so well. When the physician finally came in to see me, I was barely conscious. She asked me some questions (I think) and pushed around on my stomach and ordered the same pill that Lyla received. It did not work. I was then moved to a private room and put on an IV. It took the nurse 3 tries to insert the IV because I was so severely dehydrated. They tried another type of anti-nausea medication. It did not work. I was terribly thirsty and bitterly cold. That hospital bed was extremely uncomfortable and I was afraid that I might be spending the night there. However, I was given a third and stronger type of medication that finally did the trick. So, 5 1/2 hours later, I was discharged with no answer as to what had been wrong with me, but I did have a prescription for drugs that took the nausea away. Praise Jesus!

On our drive home, we heard that Lyla was fine ever since she received her dose of medication. Cody was having really bad diarrhea, but otherwise acting like his usual happy self. I couldn't help but feel so guilty that his party had been ruined by my sickness. I know that he will never remember what happened, but I was so depressed that his special day was spoiled. My sweet son deserves a wonderful birthday celebration, and he had to settle for Lyla and my parents singing "happy birthday" to him in the parking lot of the ER.

To add to the nightmare, Travis and my mom also contracted this vicious somach flu virus the next day. It pained me to see Travis and my mom going through it as well. At least I could sympathize.

It has been 3 days since Cody's birthday, and we are just starting to tentatively get back into our normal life routine again. I still haven't eaten anything besides crackers, jello, and plain pasta...or gone to work yet. Birthday decorations are still up and party trays are still out. We had to give away/throw away a ton of delicious party food. Such a shame. We have been debating whether or not to try the party again or just cancel altogether. I think we will try again in January...have it exactly one month later and celebrate his 13 months of life...his "baker's dozen" birthday. So I am not posting photos of the decorations because I will reuse them next month. My prayer is that it goes more smoothly next time and I will be posting about what a success his party turned out to be!

Have I mentioned that I love my husband?

2011-12-13T21:47:00.001-08:00

because who else is willing to look like this for the sake of having a good time and getting a few laughs at an ugly Christmas sweater party:

or go to that party with a chick who looks like this:

and be the only male working in a salon full of these ladies:

the answer? My amazing husband who was voted "Best Stylist of 2011" by his co-workers at Element Salon. I mean, I wasn't surprised because he has a such a passion for what he does and he is extremely talented. But what an honor! He was pretty stoked. The prize is a $1000 voucher towards cut and color education through UNITE hair academy. This can only step uphis game even more. I am so proud of my man!

Oh, and yes he DID win the ugliest sweater contest.

'tis the season

2011-12-05T11:01:00.000-08:00

Probably some of the raddest stockings I've ever seen. Trav's mom made all of these when the kids were just babies. The inside lining is actually made out of their cloth diapers. Cheryl's was made by grandma Helen when Cheryl was a little girl...so that one is vintage 1950's! Love it. After seeing these beauties, I couldn't wait to get home and put up my holiday decorations. So that's exactly what I did last night! All we need is our tree and then I will post pictures of our house with all the decorations done.

A peaceful night of sleep

2011-12-03T08:00:00.000-08:00

Cody finally slept through the night in his crib! He has been sleeping in his crib for about a week now, but last night was the first time that he didn't wake up. I even had time to sneak in his room this morning and take these pictures.

We have a pillow in his crib because he has been congested, so the doctor told us to prop him up to help him breathe better. This poor little guys always has a cold. We recently turned the heater in our house up to 72 degrees at night to see if that would help him sleep better, and it worked! I think he was used to the comfort of our body heat from co-sleeping for so long.

My sweet angel baby.

the name game

2011-12-01T10:14:00.000-08:00

I spent the entirety of my first pregnancy obsessed with picking a name for my daughter. We literally went through hundreds of names. I spent many sleepless nights on the computer doing research on the popularity, meaning, and origin of names. To add to the stress, I had to avoid names that would be difficult for my mom to say with her Japanese accent...we had to rule out Lulu and Rally right away which are two names that I love. The "r" and the "l" sounds are too tricky for the Japanese tongue. A week before I gave birth (and after hours of researching the name), we settled on "Lyla". It's a name from a movie called "August Rush" that Travis and I love. Since Lyla's birth, I have heard of several other babies with the same name. I can't help but get a tad bit peeved whenever I hear about it because growing up with my name in the 80's, I always had another "Jessica" in my class at school and I despised having to go by "Jessica H". I wanted to avoid that for my kids.

Next it was time to name my son. Our favorite name, "Wyatt", was out of the question because we have close friends who have already used the name. We knew we wanted a cowboy name, so we went through options like, "Ace", "Levi", "Cole", etc. Nothing sounded quite right. The first time Travis came to me with "Cody", I thought it sounded like a dog's name. But it grew on me. I started saying it over and over and really started to like it. Needless to say, I did my research on the name and it met all my criteria: 1) not on the top 10 list for popularity, 2) it's popularity on the chart has not been sharply increasing in recent years, 3) no one we know by the name, and 4) sounds like a cowboy character from an old western. Lyla gave her stamp of approval and Cody got his name.

Now baby names are a fun hobby for me and I love dreaming up names for our next baby. Babycenter just announced the most popular names for 2011 and I wanted to share in case anyone else out there is like me and finds it interesting!

Girls:

Sophia
Emma
Isabella
Olivia
Ava
Lily
Chloe
Madison
Emily
Abigail

Boys:

Aiden
Jackson
Mason
Liam
Jacob
Jayden
Ethan
Noah
Lucas
Logan

I was happy to see that "Lila" is only at #37 on the top 100 list and has actually been on the decline since 2010. Phew. Also, I was relieved to see that "Cody" is not on the list at all. I noticed that the name "Mason" has sky-rocketed since last year thanks to Kourtney Kardashian. Babycenter also has an article about trends for 2012 names sounding fierce and heroic. You can read it all here. Good luck with the baby name game to all my pregnant friends out there! I can't wait to hear what you come up with.

sausage and herb stuffing

2011-11-25T13:40:00.001-08:00

serves 8-10

ingredients:

16 cups 1-inch foccacia bread cubes (1 1/2 pound loaf)

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

2 cups medium-diced yellow onion (2 onions)

1 cup medium-diced celery (2 stalks)

2 granny smith apples, unpeeled, cored and large-diced

2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 pound sweet italian sausage, casings removed

1 cup chicken stock

1 cup dried cranberries

directions:

pre-heat oven to 300 degrees

place the bread cubes in a single layer on a sheet pan and bake for 7 minutes. Raise the oven temp to 350 degrees. Remove the bread cubes to a very large bowl.

meanwhile, in a large saute pan, melt the butter and add the onions, celery, apples, parsley, salt and pepper. Saute over medium heat for 10 minutes, until the vegetables are softened. Add the veggies into the bowl with the bread cubes.

In the same saute pan, cook the sausage over medium heat for about 10 minutes, until browned and cooked through, breaking up the sausage with a fork while cooking. Add to the bread cubes and veggies.

Add the chicken stock and cranberries to the mixture, mix well, and pour into a 9 x 12-inch baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes, until browned on top and hot in the middle. Serve warm. Enjoy!

Giving Thanks

2011-11-24T18:09:00.000-08:00

We celebrated this year at my mom's house in Murrieta. She always does such a fantastic job of decorating for the festivities. Not to mention that she is a gifted cook and everything she makes is delicious.

The table's all set!

I love this water pitcher.

Lyla is always up to something.

My stuffing turned out really yummy! I will post the recipe soon. It had apples, dried cranberries, and italian sausage.

The spread. This was just moments before we all dug in. Everything was delicious. I am looking forward to leftovers tomorrow.

I am thankful for so many things this year. I now have two gorgeous children that I love dearly. I never knew how much love my heart could hold. I have an amazing, sweet, and caring husband who is manly and romantic. He brings me flowers for no reason and he kills gigantic spiders for me. I am especially so thankful to have a God who hears our prayers (even the small ones!) and loves us so much that he sent His Son to die for our sins. I hope everyone had a blessed Thanksgiving!

our house - updated pictures

2011-11-19T12:18:00.000-08:00

I wanted to do a "before and after" post at the one year mark, but time has escaped me and the one year anniversary of living in our home has come and gone. I still have these pictures that I took and wanted to updated with more recent images of our house. For a comparison, check out my post from when we first moved in...or my post from when we just bought the place.

our living room. i am always on the look-out for large, comfy, couch pillows that are not too expensive. i am open to suggestions if anyone knows of any places to shop! the white ones pictured here are from pier 1 and they are sooooo soft! the red cabinet behind the couch is a vintage find from an antique store in old town temecula.
the kitchen. at some point we will get some new barstools...we found some great white ones at ikea. one of the changes we made in the kitchen was taking out the computer desk and moving that into our bedroom. we put in a butcher block table in the corner in it's place (also vintage). it looks much cleaner now without all the office junk that always accumulates where the computer is.
the backyard. not much change here since we moved in. although it does seem like we are constantly out here just doing maintenance. a few months ago our grape vines were totally attacked by caterpillars and they just about destroyed them.
another view of the backyard.
the entry and formal dining room. we hardly ever use this area. my dream is to someday close off the front portion and make it a den. we plan to use it as a sort of hair salon/office. we'll see what happens in the year to come!

baby fever

2011-11-07T11:42:00.000-08:00

It is official...I have been bitten by the "baby fever" bug. Several of my dear friends have recently had babies, and, though our family is not quite ready yet, I am definitely day-dreaming about the next pregnancy and baby. I recently discovered a maternity clothing line that I adore. It is pricey, but the garments are meant to be wearable before, during, and after pregnancy. They are so stylish, comfortable, and versatile...possibly worth the hefty price tag. Here are a few items that are on my wish list from Hatch Collection...

the soiree dress in stripe jersey $348

the hoodie in japanese sweatshirting $258

the dinner party dress in jersey $348

A girl can dream, right?

capturing precious moments

2011-11-04T10:11:00.000-07:00

I am sure you have all heard me rave about our family photographer (and friend) Ashley. We recently had our Christmas family photos done and I adore them! Ashley has a photography company called Lovelock and Co. She is so charming, adorable, talented, and fun. I love doing our photoshoots with her because I can completely trust her and know the photos will turn out amazing! Our two most recent photoshoots were done at the LAB in Costa Mesa and Riley's Log Farm in Oak Glen...amazing locations! She comes up with the best ideas for gorgeous settings and she doesn't force awkward poses or anything. And with little ones, you just have to go with the flow (is there really a choice in the matter?). Ashley has four kids of her own so she totally gets it! I can't say enough about how awesome she is. If you live anywhere in Orange County, San Diego, or the Inland Empire, you just have to book with her the next time you need professional photos done. You will not regret it!

cody the tiger

2011-11-01T15:02:00.001-07:00

and of course there was a little tiger in our midst last night. These two shots were the only ones we got before he freaked out about the headpiece. He was sooooo cute in it, but it still worked without the head on. He had so much fun watching his big sister and his cousins trick-or-treat. Next year, he will be right there with them!
Can you tell in the pic below that he was really starting to lose it? Yeah.

princess lyla

2011-11-01T11:04:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we made Lyla's dream come true by letting her dress as her favorite princess, Belle, for Halloween. Can you tell how excited she is? She looked so sweet in her costume. She even had the light-up Belle shoes to match (which were so awesome in the dark for trick-or-treating). She got tons of candy and lots of attention. Seriously, her night could not have been better.

the things that come out of this girl's mouth

2011-10-27T10:54:00.000-07:00

Lyla: "When I grow up, I'm going to marry daddy" -i know this is a typical one, but so cute!
***
me: (driving and reading directions under my breath): "left on valley parkway and right on washington..."
Lyla: (from the backseat) "George Washington was our first president."
***

Lyla: "Look mommy, an American flag. The American flag has 50 stars!"

***
me: "Look at the moon, Lyla."
Lyla: "Oh yeah, that's a crescent moon." -yes, it was a crescent moon.
***
Lyla: "I love the beast because he has a bad temper, but he is so lovely." -discussing Beauty and the Beast
***
me: "Why don't you say it in Japanese?"
Lyla: "No, I like Dora. Vamanos!"
***
Lyla: "That is an octagon." -driving up to a stop sign.
***
me: "Lyla, where does your money go?" -expecting her to say that it goes in her piggy bank.
Lyla: "To the man."
***
me: "Lyla, did you finish all your dinner?"
Lyla: "Yes"
me: "OK, let me go check."
Lyla: (standing in front of me and putting her hands up to block me) "no no no no, you don't need to go check."

fall fun in oak glen

2011-10-23T19:57:00.000-07:00

Today we took a family trip for some fall fun. We drove to a town that is about 1 hour due north from winchester. You have to drive through hemet (bleh) and then beaumont (really bleh) and then the road starts going up this hill and you arrive in the beautiful town of oak glen. They have apple orchards where you can pick your own apples, pumpkin patches, apple cider, apple pie, and about any other apple item you can think of. We went to Riley's Log Farm and the Los Rios apple farm. Both places were pretty busy. I guess everyone else had the same idea to enjoy the fall festivities. Here are a few pictures from today. Lyla had so much fun playing with other kids, petting lots of dogs, and picking up random sticks and apples off the ground.

One of Lyla's favorite things to do is climb...and she took advantage of the bales of hay that were just the right size for her to climb on. Apparently, to a three year old, bales of hay are much more fun than a bunch of pumpkins.

*Lyla looks like she is dressed as some kind of a french schoolboy, but we were prepared for cooler weather and had to shed some of her layers. She looked much better when her coat was on.*

getting crafty: initial frames

2011-10-21T17:20:00.000-07:00

While shopping for baby shower gifts, I was inspired by an item on etsy and decided to make my own initial frames to give to friends. It was so much fun putting these gifts together for friends that are expecting...and some who had their babies a while ago. "p is for piper" is for my friend devon whose piper turned 1 a few months back. "m is for miles" is for my friend leigh anne who is due today!

Here's the collection. They are all unique and made with love!

pumpkin picking with the bravos

2011-10-16T19:20:00.000-07:00

The Bravos invited us to join them at the Bate's Nut Farm in Escondido. It was a popular spot for pumpkin picking! The line to drive in was probably a mile long. Despite the crowds and the heat, this place was awesome. We checked out some huge pumpkins and got in some quality time with Tallulah. Here are the kids enjoying some wheelbarrow time. Tallulah, Cody, and Lyla admiring the pumpkin the Bravos took home. Isn't Tallulah adorable? Check out those curls.A sea of pumpkins!

This is Cody's first fall season. He loved the pumkins. These were just the perfect size to pull himself up to standing.

I just know these girls are going to be the best of friends. Thanks for an awesome day!

oldies but goodies

2011-10-15T21:38:00.000-07:00

Browsing through some old pictures tonight and found these gems.

10 monther

2011-10-14T22:08:00.001-07:00

Our little dude is 10 months old today. Cody has brought immeasurable joy into our lives. He is a typical mamma's boy...he cries when I walk away from him and he just about leaps into my arms when I walk back into the room. This scenario plays out over and over in our household. Travis finds it annoying while I adore it. Just look at this face!Cody is an expert crawler now. He is also quite the chatter-box. Cody can say "mama", "dada", "lyla", "baba", "elvis", and "bye-bye". He is such a boy in that he is fearless and goes for everything with gusto. He likes to bang objects together noisily and he makes a lot of growling/roaring noises when he sees his toy cars, tools, and dinosaurs.
Some of his coolest toys are his 1980s dinosaurs which actually belonged to Travis when he was a little boy. He loves his T-Rex! I love thinking of baby Travis playing with the same exact dinos that Cody plays with now.

daily deals for moms, babies, and kids

2011-10-12T10:56:00.000-07:00

If you are a mom and love a good bargain, you have to sign up for Zulily! They will send you e-mails daily with brands that are having sales. It's pretty awesome. I have purchased a few things for Lyla and Cody that were anywhere from 50% - 70% off. There's new stuff everyday. With the holidays coming up (yikes!), I am already starting on my Christmas shopping for the kids!

Sign up here!

beautiful baby boy booty

2011-10-06T21:38:00.001-07:00

I just couldn't resist.

Men's Retreat

2011-09-30T15:57:00.000-07:00

Travis is away at a men's church retreat this weekend! So excited for him to go spend time in fellowship with the guys and meet with Jesus. He hasn't been on a retreat for years, so this is a special time for him. The guys will be studying Romans 12:1-3 and focusing on the theme for the weekend:

He will be staying at Idyllwild Pines about an hour away from home.

And while he's away we will miss him dearly!

somebody loves me

2011-09-26T15:17:00.000-07:00

"Love you mommy big as the sky. Can't wait til you come home."

Makes me want to leave work right now and give my Lyla a squeeze!

the happiest girl on earth

2011-09-22T19:13:00.000-07:00

Lyla turned 3 yesterday! We dressed her up in her Snow White dress and took her to Disneyland. Here she is having cake for breakfast before our big day. She had no idea what was in store for her.The first character she met was the Queen of Hearts. They sat down and chatted for a bit.

She also met Pluto...though I don't think she knows who he is really. He's too old school.

She walked with Goofy for a bit. He was in his Halloween gear.

And of course she met the princesses on the Princess walk. Aurora was there...

and so was Jasmine.

Lyla made so many friends even while we were just waiting in line.

She found another Snow White.

She tried to open the little door.

Her grandma bought her first set of ears.

Lyla felt like a princess all day. It was the BEST DAY EVER!

Jessica's A to Z

2011-09-20T12:14:00.000-07:00

Inspired by ashley's blog

A. Age: 30

B. Bed Size: Queen. We never even thought we would want a King until we had a baby sleeping in our bed with us. All of a sudden a Queen feels a tad cramped.

C. Chore that you hate: Washing dishes. Unless I get on a roll, and then I sort of enjoy it. It takes me a few dishes to be ok with my hands being in dirty water.

D. Dogs: elvis was my practice for being a mother. I still consider him my fur-baby!

E. Essential start to your day: rolling over and giving Cody a kiss. Typically Travis is already out of bed by the time I am opening my eyes.

F. Favorite color: Pink. Thank God I had a girl. My baby shower theme was "Pretty in Pink".

G. Gold or silver: both...but not usually together.

H. Height: 5'1".

I. Instruments you play: I've picked up my banjo a time or two, but haven't seemed to find a whole lot of down time since having kids. I did have piano lessons for many years growing up, but never really enjoyed playing.

J. Job title: 1) Mommy 2) Accounts Payable and Administrative Assistant to the Director at the Calvary Chapel Conference Center

K. Kids: Lyla - 3 yrs old. Cody - 9 months old. Will we have more? If God will bless us with more!

L. Live: The good ol' Inland Empire. Winchester, California. We love our neighborhood!

M. Mother's name: Yaemi Nakamoto. Yes, she is 100% Japanese.

N. Nicknames: Jess and Little Banana (an old high school nickname)

O. Overnight hospital stays: I've had two late night trips to the ER for kidney infections, and one late night trip to the ER after our accident last Summer.

P. Pet Peeves: Someone talking to me while I am on the phone. I can't have two conversations at once.

Q. Quote from a movie: "Be deliriously happy or at least leave yourself open to be" - Meet Joe Black.

R. Right or left handed: baby in the left, do everything else with the right...and I mean everything. I can load/unload dishes, load/unload clothes in the laundry and cook entire meals with one hand.

S. Siblings: Older brother Michael lives in Tokyo. Younger sister Trisha lives in San Francisco. Love and miss them both all the time!

T. Time you woke up: 7:40am. Heard Lyla yelling "mommyyyyyyy" from her room.

U. Underwear: yes, I do wear underwear.

V. Vegetable you hate: Brussel sprouts are bitter, mushy, fibrous, and nasty. They look like martian brains. I will never like brussel sprouts. I don't care what you say.

W. What makes you run late: Convincing Lyla of what shoes to wear. A last minute surprise and necessary diaper change. A last minute surprise and necessary wardrobe change.

X. X-rays you've had: teeth, chest x-ray when I had pneumonia as a child

Y. Yummy food that you make: stuffed shells florentine, mac and cheese (mine is super cheesy), spaghetti, bacon and cheddar quiche, taco salad, birthday cake.

Z. Zoo animals: cheetahs are super cool. They are built for speed, so they will flee in the face of any threat of danger. I also get really excited to see the orangutans. I think zoos are a great place to take kids to raise them with a love and awareness of all of God's creatures.

cody's 1st beach day

2011-09-19T20:12:00.001-07:00

cody had so much fun at the beach! he sucked on some sandy sticks...
hung out with sarah...
watched as lyla and daddy played near the water...
felt the ocean water with his toes...
and, of course, got lots of kisses from his big sister.
After the beach we went back to Sarah and Ryan's place to have some delicious tacos. The salsa came fresh from their garden. It was a great beach day with the Hartegans!

new brixton hat

2011-09-19T17:36:00.000-07:00

trav took the kids down to oceanside today to visit the boys at brixton. She scored a new hat!

lyla and friends

2011-09-16T17:43:00.000-07:00

lyla, sophie, and cousin nia at miranda and mike's wedding.

lyla, sophie, nia, claire

date night

2011-09-14T18:20:00.001-07:00

Here we are all ready to head out for our anniversary date night out. We went to an Italian restaurant called Ravioli's and then to see the movie "Contagion". It was such a blissful night without the kids, thanks to our good friend Jamie who blessed us by babysitting.

9 months

2011-09-14T18:03:00.000-07:00

Cody is 9 months old today! The biggest development in his world is that he recently started crawling. It is the cutest thing. He tucks his left leg and only uses his right leg when he crawls, so it looks very awkward. He can pull himself up to a standing position too and he looks like such a big boy when he does it. Cody is also waving hello and saying "dada". He does not have any teeth yet...I'm just waiting for like 6 of them to all come in at the same time. That should be fun. We're also waiting to see some more hair growth. Cody just has a patch of hair in the front, so people always think he has a mohawk. He is such a happy little dude. He is always babbling, laughing at his sister, and smiling. Cody is pure sweetness! It's hard to believe that in 3 short months, we will be celebrating his first birthday. Not to mention that it will also be Chrismas time! Time flies.

Five years later

2011-09-13T09:28:00.001-07:00

Our wedding re-hash ceremony in October of '06

In five years we:

got married
adopted elvis the dog
moved to a one bedroom apartment in carlsbad
moved to a two bedroom house in oceanside
got pregnant
moved in with my parents in aliso viejo
had lyla!
moved to a two bedroom apartment in mission viejo
moved to a three bedroom apartment in encinitas
got pregnant
bought a house in winchester
had cody!

Phew, that was a lot of moving! We have had such a blessed life together. Seriously, I don't know how we deserve this much awesomeness. God has been so good to us in every way. "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are the called according to [his] purpose." Romans 8:28

Happy 5th Anniversay, Travis! I love you big as the sky.

more zara love

2011-09-12T10:32:00.000-07:00

How about these trousers for Cody??? So stinkin' cute!!!

A nice winter coat for Lyla.

I love this dress.

Lyla looks adorable in little shorts like this and knee high suede boots.

And you can never have too many pairs of boots, right?

wish list

2011-09-09T15:52:00.000-07:00

Zara is now online! I am dreaming of purchasing these adorable clothes to add to lyla's wardrobe...

You could say our design style is "eclectic"

2011-09-07T15:54:00.001-07:00

I don't know what our interior design style is. We just like very random things. Trav and I enjoy antique shopping, so we have some antiques throughout the house. We also love vibrant colors, but try not to mix too many colors in the same space. Here's a sample of some of the design elements we have going on right now: We got a wild idea into our heads to paint our white bench with a fun new color...and we decided on pink!

The finished product in our backyard. It's definitely a pop of color! It reminds me of the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo that we love so much. We vacationed there last year and the year before.

Our new bird bath that also now resides in the backyard.

An old wagon wheel in another corner of the backyard.

New addition to the playroom

2011-09-07T12:28:00.000-07:00

Travis built these shelves over labor day weekend. I was so proud of him for busting out this project so quickly. It used to be just an empty cubby, and now it is functional space. I can't wait to go antique shopping/garage sale-ing to pick up some storage jars or some other cool containers to put on the shelves.

kid rooms

2011-08-16T13:10:00.001-07:00

It's been a while since I have posted pictures of the interior of our house. We still have a TON of stuff to do. There are a lot of bare walls and mis-matched furniture. It's a work in progress. We've been in our home for almost one year now. I plan to do a blog post of before and after pictures to show our home improvements, but until then, enjoy the pictures of the kids' rooms and guest room: This is Lyla's pride and joy. This bed was a lifesaver when, at the worst time possible, Lyla decided she didn't want to sleep alone anymore. Absolutely refused. I was about 9 months pregnant at the time that she decided to go into terrible-two mode with gusto. Not awesome. My dear friend Diana gave us this bed and saved our sanity. Lyla now loves to hop into her cool bed! She also loves to play in "the cave" underneath.

This is the guest room/nursery. Still have tons of work to do in here.

This is an alcove off of the guest room. We turned it into Cody's nursery...which he has yet to sleep in. He is still sleeping in our bed and Travis is not stoked about it. I am having a hard time with moving him into the crib because, a) I will miss having him next to me, b) I know there will be at least a few rough nights of transition, and c) he is still not sleeping through the night, so nursing or soothing him back to sleep means a walk down the hall in the middle of the night.

The crib which Cody has yet to grace with his presence. The art on the wall was done by my uncle in Japan many years ago. Those paper-cut-out animals always hung on the walls through my childhood. I love seeing them in my kid's room now.

a quick break from work

2011-08-12T21:50:00.000-07:00

I needed to take a brief break from the computer, so I stepped out of the office for a walk around the bible college grounds. I was again reminded of how blessed I am to work at the conference center. It was so beautiful... One of the many hot springs that you can take a dip in to relax and refresh.

The hot springs and a partial view of the building where the large swimming pool is.

The lake, dock, and small beach.

The idea of the conference center is to "refresh the saints", which is a concept taken from Philemon 7. It is the ideal place to visit on a retreat and leave feeling renewed and refreshed. You can't see it in the picture, but there is steam coming off the waterfall at the top. The water gets hotter the higher the elevation.

I like to call this Snow White's wishing well. Lyla loves to peer over the edge and sing "I'm wiiiiiishing...."

Stuffed Shells Florentine

2011-08-04T22:15:00.001-07:00

Now that I have a new job close to home, I am getting home at a much more reasonable hour and have started to cook dinner on a regular basis. I am really enjoying trying new recipes and planning out our dinners. This one turned out particularly well and I just wanted to share it because it was super easy and yummy.

Ingredients:

1 box jumbo shell macaroni
1 lb italian sausage
32 oz pasta sauce
2 - 10 oz boxes chopped spinach, thawed
6 oz ricotta cheese
8oz shredded mozzarella
2 eggs, 1/4 t garlic powder, 1/4 t salt, parmesan
*This recipe feeds 4-6 adults.

1. Boil noodles as directed. Drain, rinse in cold water. 2. Peel sausage from casing, cut into small pieces, and cook in skillet on medium. Add sauce and simmer. 3. Press moisture from spinach. In bowl, combine eggs, ricotta, mozzarella, garlic powder, salt, then stir in spinach. Stuff shells with spinach mixture. In a 13 x 9, spread 2 cups of meat sauce on bottom (maybe more?). Arrange shells in layer on sauce. I did 4 rows of 5.

Pour remaining sauce over shells. Sprinkle with parmesan and bake at 350 for 35 minutes.

Serve with garlic bread & salad and enjoy! I would love to hear other variations on this recipe. I would also like to know if anyone tries this recipe and what your feedback is.

Calvary Chapel Conference Center

2011-07-25T16:25:00.000-07:00

Last week I said goodbye to Archstone after 6 years of employment and I started my new job at Calvary Chapel Conference Center of Murrieta! I am the Accounts Payable/Admin Assistant to the Director. The conference center is located at the Calvary Chapel Bible College Campus. I am so excited to work at such a beautiful place. I did a little bit of online research on the Hot Springs and found the following:

"The history of Murrieta Hot Springs is as colorful as any you'll find in this area. The therapeutic value of the hot springs were known by American Indians for centuries before Europeans came to the valley. Community namesake Juan Murrieta washed his sheep in the springs. In the 1880s, a San Diego laundry business sent its clothes by train to Murrieta to be cleaned in the spring's invigorating waters. Fritz Guenther bought the 200-acre property in 1902 and established the successful resort. Guenther added many of the buildings and other facilities that made Murrieta Hot Springs famous. The resort attracted people from all over, including some of Hollywood's biggest stars, among them Jack Benny and his wife, Mary. The Guenther family ran the resort until they sold the property in 1970. That's when things got a little weird. Subsequent owners are said to have laundered money for the Teamsters Union through the resort. Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa is reported to have been seen there shortly before disappearing in 1975. About that time, a self-proclaimed doctor of philosophy leased the hot springs and set up a clinic that promised to cure cancer using a diet of lemon juice and water. Desperate patients came from all over, as did the television show 60 Minutes which did an expose on the clinic that helped put it out of business. In the early 1980s, the 300-member group Alive Polarity bought the resort and turned it into a vegetarian commune. The commune lasted a few years. In 1995, Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa bought the property for use as a Bible college."

-Images of America: Murrieta Hot Springs

This is the lake that is just steps away from my new office. There are huge catfish in here! I look forward to being able to take a break from my work and take a walk around this beautiful lake.
Here is the main lobby for the conference center. My office is just down the stairs to the left of the entrance.
The Overflowing Cup coffee house is about 30 steps away from my office! I have to admit that I plan to frequent this establishment and spend many hard-earned dollars here. They have a delicious white mocha! I am trying to get the manager to bring back the lavender flavor that they used to offer but discontinued because not enough people liked it. I used to love having a lavender steamer. So yummy!
A view of the Bible College campus. It definitely feels like a resort. What a beautiful place to study the word of God!

Birthday cake day!

2011-07-10T11:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a day full of celebration! We drove out to Oceanside to our old neighborhood to celebrate the 3rd birthday of Ruby Nelson. It was a colorful fiesta themed party complete with a pinata hanging in the front yard. Here's Lyla coveting Ruby's birthday cake.

and here's Cody trying to put the moves on Ruby's little sister, Frankie. Watch it there, buddy!

Pinata time! The kids had so much fun trying to hit the pinata with the bat. The little ones were a little confused and didn't quite have the coordination, but the bigger kids were all over it! It only took about three rounds to get it open.

Meanwhile, Cody is still checking out Frankie. He even took off his shirt to flex for her.

...and the pinata breaks open! Lyla really cleaned house in the gathering candy department. She was very focused.

Then it was back home to prepare for Trav's 31st cowboy/moustache birthday party.

Emilia, Nia, Lyla, and the moustached man himself participate in the fun.

Loving the moustache...

...so much that she didn't even take it off to eat. She ate her entire dinner with the thing on! She kept looking at her reflection in the window and giggling.

pow wow

2011-07-01T18:34:00.000-07:00

We braved the 90 degree heat to check out the annual Pechanga pow wow. Pechanga is the Indian reservation that is located in Temecula. My parents thought it would be a fun and educational experience for the kids. There was a lot of drum beating and chanting.

We were surprised to see that some of the "traditional" indian wear looked very contemporary.

We asked Lyla to dance like the Indians, but she just wanted to watch. I think it was too hot.The highlight of the weekend will be on Saturday night when they have a fireworks show. There are a ton of vendors selling Indian goods...t-shirts and bumper stickers that say things like "Proud to be Navajo" and "I'm not Illegal, I'm a Native". We will probably return next year when the kids are bigger and the heat is not such an issue. We love to expose them to interesting events like this.

Father's Day at the San Diego County Fair

2011-06-19T20:28:00.000-07:00

We were brave and we decided to fight the crowds today at the SD County Fair. It was a quick trip, but it was fun. We go every year and make it a point to take our family photo in a black and white photo booth. It's a neat way to document the growth of our family every summer. We've been doing it since 2005.

The daddy and his babies. Check out the 'stache! Handlebars!

The highlight of the day was definitely when Lyla got to ride a pony. She was grinning from ear to ear the entire time. It was well worth the $11 entry ticket, the $10 parking fee, and the $7 cost of the pony ride. This was such a precious moment!

p.s. the father's day banner was a huge failure. I've been super busy and had a lot on my mind...I printed it out and left it at work! Oops.

A fun and free banner for father's day

2011-06-14T19:00:00.000-07:00

This father's day, I am going to hang this banner as a surprise for Travis when he comes down the stairs for breakfast (it's a good thing he doesn't read my blog, right?):

To get your copy of this fun banner, just e-mail "Father's Day Garland" to info@happythought.co.uk! It will be e-mailed to you in an easy to print pdf. Yay!

Hartegan wedding in Yosemite

2011-06-10T09:29:00.000-07:00

We drove up to Yosemite last weekend for a short vacation to attend a wedding. We left Lyla home with the grandparents and took Cody for the road trip! Here we are at tunnel view checking out the scenery after a long, 8 hour drive. We were so proud of Cody for hanging for that many hours in the car.

This was the view from our hotel room at Yosemite View Lodge. I totally recommend this place as it is right on the river and just outside of the west entrance to the park. The roaring river was so nice to look out to with a cup of coffee in the morning.

The rehearsal dinner was at Glacier Point which has breathtaking views of the valley. It was freezing! We had a great time catching up with the bride and groom before their big day. You can see Half Dome in the back.

On a morning walk outside our hotel.

So pretty.

The first kiss! Sarah and Ryan got married at Yosemite Lodge at the falls. The ceremony was at the base of two gorgeous waterfalls, so the guests faced the falls as we watched them say their vows. Perfection.

They had a small, very simple, and beautiful wedding. The backdrop was so amazing that they didn't need anything extravagant to take away from the grandeur of the location. I like this photo because you can see where the ceremony was right outside.

Here we are the next day at "Swinging Bridge" which, to our surprise, was not a swinging bridge at all. Just a bridge. Beautiful nonetheless.

We stopped by Maripose Grove, home of the giant sequioas on our way out of Yosemite. It was super misty, so we had to keep Cody in the carseat as we did not have sufficient rain gear for him. We hiked a mile each way to see the gigantic trees.

Giant sequoia tree roots. After this, we got back in the car and headed home. Cody was so well-behaved for our entire trip. He got a lot of attention at the wedding from all the ladies. I think that he had a good time overall...I know Trav and I did! Yosemite is such a magical place and it is our new favorite travel destination. I can't wait to take Lyla back someday and show her all the sights.

Epic easter

2011-04-24T21:17:00.000-07:00

One of the reasons I was so excited to have a boy is that I looked forward to being able to dress him like a mini-Travis. This easter sunday was this first time I put together an outfit for Cody that could mimic Trav's style...
Here are my boys on easter. I love these guys in their fedoras. Cody's fedora is from old navy. I was so excited to find it in 0-3 month size because Cody's head is so tiny. Trav's hat is from Brixton (of course). Doesn't Cody look like Frank Sinatra? The bowtie was a baby shower gift from our good friends, the Bravos. His shirt is from baby Gap. Oh, and Trav's moustache??? Um, yeah. He's growing a moustache. Hopefully it will grow out of the creepy/weirdo status soon.
All the baby cousins!!! They are sitting on our front lawn in front of the snapdragons Travis planted. From left to right: Cody (4 months), Nia (4 years), Lyla (2 years), Rose (10 months), and Emilia (2 years).
Lyla poses in her easter dress from Target.
and they're off! This was the first time Lyla and Emilia were able to really participate in the egg hunt. It was so fun seeing them all run around and search for the hidden eggs.

The family. We have almost everybody together. I thought it was pretty amazing that everyone assembled so well for this picture without anyone directing us where to go. We are so in synch! Who we're missing: Sara's mom Cheryl and dad Tom, my brother Michael, and my sister Trisha. We missed you guys!

Cody eating for the 1st time

2011-04-13T22:21:00.000-07:00

Cody is 4 months old! Here's Cody taking his first few bites of rice cereal. He did so good! He understood right away what he needed to do and even started going towards the spoon in anticipation of the next bite. This boy loves to eat! Hopefully he will sleep more soundly at night now because he still wakes up about 3 times to nurse (and I have to go back to work on monday. yikes!). He is such a mellow, happy, content little guy. I can't get over how easygoing he is.

San Diego Safari Park

2011-04-13T16:56:00.000-07:00

The safari park has a special event going on right now called "butterfly jungle". You wait in line and go through two sets of doors to this amazing greenhouse filled with beautiful butterflies. There were tons of them flying in the air. This gorgeous blue one graces my dad's back. Of course, Lyla was seriously more interested in the one dead butterfly that was laying on the ground than the hundreds flying in the air. She kept saying that it was "broken".
Three of the lovely butterflies.
The african tram ride through the safari. In the background you can almost see the two cheetahs laying on the grass.
This was the closest we got to any of the animals on the tram. This giraffe came up to the fence to say hello.
In this picture you can see some of the antelope in the shade of the tree.
Though he slept through most of the day, Cody enjoyed himself on the african tram ride too!

palm springs

2011-04-11T17:47:00.000-07:00

We went to visit our friend chad's clothing store in palm springs. He has been out there for the past 6 months setting up his newest "secret service" store and we were finally able to make it out. He already has a couple stores in LA that are doing really well. They carry mens jeans, shirts, accessories, and other things of interest. Chad has an amazing sense of style and great mind for business. He placed this store in an old gas station. Pretty rad.
Here's chad's girlfriend samantha picking out a t-shirt for trav. Trav always gets hooked up when we see chad! some day cody will fit into chad's stuff.
the inside of the old gas station which is now converted to a checkout counter.
chad and lyla hanging out while trav does some shopping.
Time to hop in the pool! lyla poses in her newest bathing suit and diego floaties straight from the dollar store. so cute!
chad and samantha's place is one of those cool old 50's houses. so palm springs. gorgeous view of the mountains in the background.
what a shot! lyla looking at the ball that is floating in mid-air while sam, chad, and I all watch lyla.
lounging with a bloody mary in hand. it really felt like we were on vacation. the weather was PERFECT and sam made an amazing bloody mary that was just the perfect amount of spicy. that's jackson the wiener dog by my chair. elvis and jackson really hit it off.
after a dip in the pool it was time for a ride on chad's scooter. lyla loved it! you could hear her squealing "weeeeee" as they drove (very slowly and of course trav was holding onto her tightly).
Help! we're getting eaten by a dinosaur!!!! we stopped at the dinosaur museum on the way home. There's actually a dinosaur store INside the great big dinosaur. I've always wanted to stop and check it out. Not too exciting, but at least I can say that I've been there.

That huge t-rex is after us!!!! ahhhhhhh!

trisha's spring break - day 4

2011-04-04T17:41:00.001-07:00

Trisha spent her 4th day here going wine tasting in Temecula. We could not accompany her, so there are no pictures of her day. However, I thought I should post something for day 4 since I have documented the rest of her trip so far. Here are some pictures from the website of one of the wineries she visited with some friends: Temcula valley vineyards

Monte De Oro wines

Monte De Oro wine barrel basement

trisha's spring break - day 3

2011-04-01T17:31:00.000-07:00

we started off at element salon for some pampering. my mom got a hip new hairstyle! wish i had before and after close-up pics of the transformation!

trisha sits while the first phase of her ombre color processes. travis was working double duty on trish and my mom simultaneously. what a hairstylist!

then we were off to pechanga indian resort/casino to hit up their buffet. so much food!

...and to the casino for a little gambling. no jackpots though.

trisha's spring break - day 2

2011-03-31T18:38:00.000-07:00

it was a gorgeous day to cruise around temecula and check out some wineries! cody came too and slept nearly the entire time.

here we are at wilson creek winery. we tried the almond "oh my gosh" champagne. and, omg, it was so yummy!

the rest of the day was spent shopping! it was a fun girls day out (thank you cody for hanging with the ladies!)

trisha's spring break - day 1

2011-03-31T18:13:00.000-07:00

lyla loves auntie trisha

march field air museum

2011-03-24T15:15:00.000-07:00

We live just a short drive from march air force base, home of march field air museum. We thought it was about time to show lyla some BIG airplanes.

we started with the little ones indoors. grandpa teaches her about propellers.

lyla poses by the wright brothers' airplane.

lyla likes this shiny one.

we go outside and she races towards the first plane she sees. she really wanted to touch one and was excited to see that these big planes did not have ropes around them.

in front of the B52, otherwise known as the big ugly fat fellow. this is a BIG one! lyla was exhausted after a day of looking at and learning about the airplanes and fell asleep in the car in about 5 seconds...a personal record.

a special visit from our gal pals

2011-03-22T14:57:00.000-07:00

My good friend Em and her beautiful daughters came to visit us today. It was so good to meet baby Frankie for the first time! Ruby and Lyla got some good playtime in with each other. It was another opportunistic day of learning to SHARE and TAKE TURNS for the two year olds. We had a wonderful time with our buddies from Oceanside...wish we still lived right around the corner from these guys!
Cody and Frankie getting cozy on the couch.
All the kiddos together. I love to see our families growing.

happy st. patricks day!

2011-03-17T15:02:00.001-07:00

Since I am 1/4 Irish from my dad's side and Lyla and Cody have Irish blood from both sides of the family, we decided to be festive today and wear green...all of us! My mom came over to my house to hang out and cook up some corned beef and cabbage. I hope you all have a wonderful st. patricks day!

my doppelganger

2011-03-16T18:55:00.000-07:00

I am so excited! I have never had a celebrity look-alike. Apparently, I look a little like liz lee, star of mtv show "my life as liz". Is it the red hair? Is she half asian? There's something there...some kind of similarity of features. I take it as a compliment, especially because I have been compared to shannen doherty or a young cher in the past. but, really? cher? she scares me.

these two keep me busy

2011-03-10T18:15:00.000-08:00

it is so difficult to get a 2 month old and 2 year old to cooperate for a picture. this is the best we could do. i was happy that both of them were a) not crying b) had their eyes open and c) looking in the general direction of the camera. i don't even care how i look in pictures anymore.

more often the pictures turn out like this. one crying and one trying to escape.

here's lyla enjoying one of my mom's famous cheesecake cupcakes. she throws all decorum to the wayside and digs right into the middle.

see! who cares if it's messy? that cherry topping is too delicious!

Happy Birthday, Uncle Mikey!

2011-03-08T21:34:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday, Michael! We all miss you and hope you are enjoying your special day today. At the end of the video, Lyla says "Happy Birthday, Uncle Mikey!"

Mom is laughing the whole time because the singing startles Cody in the beginning. Watch for his flailing arms.

like father, like son?

2011-03-01T13:01:00.000-08:00

what do you think? any resemblance?

ok, so maybe we are spoiled

2011-02-24T11:08:00.000-08:00

who else can lay out in the sunshine on a lazy february afternoon? we took advantage of a gorgeous day to get a good dose of vitamin d.

tummy time is not a favorite yet.

who says california doesn't have seasons?

2011-02-18T13:53:00.000-08:00

We recently got a surprise when we went outdoors to find our trees in bloom with a beautiful display of light pink flowers! In autumn, these trees are such a nuisance because they have sticky seed pods of some sort that fall on the sidewalk and stain the cement. The leaves are large and a dark mahogany color. The leaves all fell this winter, leaving the trees very bare and, well, wintry looking. I had no idea that we were in for this treat.

These little pink blossoms remind me of the cherry blossoms in Japan. We should have our own sakura celebration in honor of these surprise blossoms! They only last about a week in Japan, so I am trying to savor them as much as possible.

It looks like spring has sprung! I am going to miss these little beauties.

happy valentine's day

2011-02-14T19:26:00.001-08:00

sweets for the sweet

The ice cream truck comes by our neighborhood everyday. I think Trav and I get just as excited when we hear the music as the kids do! We run outside barefoot with change in our hands everytime.

enjoying the sunshine in our backyard.

um, time to pull the weeds?

something sweet from chicago

2011-02-09T14:43:00.000-08:00

I love getting mail unexpectedly. When I saw that we received a package from devon in chicago, I knew it would be something special. Look at this adorable customized onesie for Cody. I can't wait for him to wear it in just a few short months! Thank you, little d!

celebrate good times

2011-02-08T16:01:00.000-08:00

Cody at 8 weeks old. Such a sweet baby! He looks like he is yelling in this picture, but he was actually giving us one of his huge Cody smiles.

This is just one of the beautiful places at the Mission of Riverside. We came here to celebrate my mom and my dad's birthdays (they are just 6 days apart). They both love this restaurant, so we actually went here two weeks in a row to celebrate each of their birthdays!

Father and son. I love Cody's big eyes in this picture.

The whole group after a wonderful buffet lunch. The mission also does a wonderful Christmas light display that we missed this year. There's always next year!

Happy 62nd Birthday to both of my fabulous parents!!! I think they both look great to be in their 60s!

party of four

2011-01-21T20:20:00.001-08:00

Can you believe that these are our first family pictures that include Cody? Things have been busy around here. I thought it was about time to gather ourselves together in front of a camera. We are standing in our backyard, and as you can see, the grass has grown in quite nicely since we moved in. Now we just have to manage the weeds. We especially love the tree with the yellow leaves behind us. We never noticed it until recently the leaves changed to this beautiful golden color. We are loving our yard and hope to spend some more time out there come spring and summer! Perhaps I will feel ambitious enough to plant a garden.

japanese princess

2011-01-19T15:45:00.001-08:00

My uncle Shyuichi sent this kimono from Japan. Now Lyla is a little japanese princess.

maternity leave - the weeks are flying by!

2011-01-19T13:35:00.000-08:00

Cody is now 5 weeks old and has been spending more and more time awake each day. We love seeing his eyes open and looking about. He is such an angel baby.

Lyla gives her little bro love all day long. She often tries to soothe him if he's crying and asks him what's wrong. He loves her voice and searches for her face every time he hears it. Either that or he finds her high-pitched voice annoying and wants to know where the horrible sound is coming from. At least she keeps him busy!

I recently got a haircut from Trav and have been neglecting to post a picture of it. You can't tell, but it's a really deep red color too. I'm going to try straight-across bangs one more time even though they drive me crazy. I always have the urge to push them out of my eyes!

Christmas!

2011-01-05T21:33:00.000-08:00

Lyla was blessed with a lot of gifts this year! These are not all hers...but most of them are.

Still a fan of Hello Kitty

New slippers. Sweet!

Cody got some new headwear. Can't wait until it actually fits him!

the last 3 weeks

2011-01-05T21:12:00.000-08:00

Lyla has been such a little stinker the last few weeks! She has been acting up as a result of the new addition to the family. She still makes us laugh all the time, but she has definitely been testing our patience. She has many sleepovers at baaba and grandpa's house so that we can have a break from her antics. Lyla is so sweet to Cody, but his presence in our household is definitely rocking her world and she is taking it out on us!

Cody has been an absolute angel so far. He hardly ever cries. He just looks about and observes the world around him. He is such a little sweetheart.

my kids

2010-12-23T20:52:00.000-08:00

Why do my children look so somber?

Sibling love.

the new man in my life

2010-12-18T16:00:00.000-08:00

Here he is at 2 days old. He has been a very calm and mellow baby so far. I am so in love!

A Christmas story

2010-12-16T12:38:00.001-08:00

Cody Enkichi Mitchell

born December 14, 2010

7:10am

6 pounds 12 ounces

20.5 inches

Our favorite time of the year just got better. This Christmas we celebrate as a family of four! Though our son was due on December 18, he made an early appearance in our home on the morning of December 14. Here's the incredible story of Cody Enkichi Mitchell's home birth:

On the evening of December 13, we prepared Lyla to spend the night at Baaba and Grandpa Glen's house as I had lost my mucus plug at 5pm and knew that the onset of labor was a possibility. I had been having inconsistent contractions for the past week or so, but they always faded away. I said my goodbyes to my parents and Lyla with the thought in the back of my mind that I might have a baby the next time I see them.

Travis and I settled in early that night just in case we were going to need some precious rest. I had some trouble falling asleep because, as was the case for the past week or so, I started having contractions as soon as I got in bed. I did my best to ignore them, but shortly after 3am I felt a sharp pain like someone gave me a strong kick from the inside. I immediately felt a gush of fluid and knew that my water broke! I woke up Travis and he jumped out of bed to prepare for labor. Travis called our doula, Sherill, who lives about an hour away and notified her that labor may be starting. Just like last time, she recommended that we try to get some sleep. Travis texted the midwife, Karen, who lives about 30 minutes away, and let her know that we would inform her when contractions were consistent (3-5 minutes apart, lasting 1 minute or more, and had been that way for at least an hour).

We had been thoroughly prepared to labor in our bedroom with a birthing pool at the foot of our bed. It looks like a tall kiddie pool with a blow-up stool inside of it. Travis filled the pool with water as I started breathing through some pretty intense contractions. It wasn't long before we realized that I was certainly in active labor. Travis called Karen to let her know that my contractions were consistent and she said she was ready to head over and asked if we thought we were ready for her. We didn't know what to tell her because it was only 5am. Who knows how long before the baby's arrival??? Lyla took 15 hours after my water broke! So, Travis and I just kept busy trying to remember all the breathing techniques and positions we learned from the Bradley Method book and from my coaching from Sherill from two years prior. The contractions were exhausting! They felt so strong and very close together. Once the birthing pool was filled, I got in and tried to let the water comfort me. I labored in the pool for about 30 minutes and felt that I needed a change. I got out to get in the shower and the pressure from the shower water on my back was great. After about 20 minutes in the shower, I felt like getting into more of a sitting position, so I moved to the edge of our bed.

Shortly before 7am, I told Trav that I needed some extra help and asked when Karen was coming. He called her on the phone and let her know that we needed her as soon as possible. She was just leaving her home in Lake Elsinore and would be here in about 30 minutes. As Travis was talking with her on the phone, my next contraction brought with it the incredible urge to push. I said to Trav, "She's gotta get here SOON". He asked her if it was normal to feel the urge to push before it is necessary. She advised him to tell me to do what my body was telling me to do. I was relieved that the next couple of contractions did not give me that "pushy" feeling again, but only because I really concentrated on breathing through them. I got from the edge of the bed to the middle on my bed on my hands and knees to prepare to push in case the next contraction gave me the urge again...and it did. Travis got behind me and said he could see something. He said, "go ahead and push" and I said, "I AM!" and with the next push his head was out. Travis told me to push one more time and he would be out. He was right. I pushed one more time with a loud scream and Travis caught his very slippery and crying baby boy. Cody Enkichi Mitchell was born at 7:10am on his mommy and daddy's bed with no assistance from a midwife or a doula. It was just the three of us!

There was a lot of commotion at this point. The three of us were looking at eachother trying to figure out what to do next. Travis called his sister Kandice into the room to help us out. It's a good thing that she has been staying with us in the guest room because the extra set of hands really helped us! Kandice called Karen while Travis passed the baby to me. She gave us instructions over the phone. Cody was perfect. He came out crying and had no complications whatsoever. It is a miracle that it went as smoothly as it did. Looking back, we think of all the things that could have gone wrong and we count our blessings that nothing did. Karen arrived at about 7:30am to check the new baby and mommy. We are recovering well and amazed and overcome with joy at our new son. Lyla loves her little brother too. She is so gentle and sweet with him. We are a very happy family of four and we can't thank God enough for the incredible blessings we have received. Welcome to the world, Cody!

our favorite time of year

2010-12-07T22:53:00.001-08:00

this is going to be fun...

looking for the perfect tree.

this one's a keeper! it's just a little 5 footer, but we think it will be great.

here's what it looks like all dressed up next to the fireplace.

NOW it feels like christmas. our favorite time of the year.

so ready!

2010-12-06T21:07:00.000-08:00

birthing tub...check!
baby gown and hat...check!
plenty of towels and blankets...check!
celebratory orange juice...check!

now all we need is for this baby to decide he's ready to be born. we love you and can't wait to meet you, little boy!

the mountains

2010-11-29T22:21:00.001-08:00

we went up to see trav's parents for a quick visit and it was cooooooold! here's a picture of us strolling around the village at lake arrowhead. although it's sunny, it was below freezing temperatures and the wind made it extra chilly. good thing there was a coffee shop that served cherry flavored french hot chocolate! delicious.

my little snow bunny.

1st Thanksgiving at our place

2010-11-27T09:27:00.000-08:00

The table before guests arrived. We had to figure out how to seat 10 adults, so my dad made our table bigger with plywood and duct tape!

Dinner is served! Turkey, sweet potato pie, green bean casserole, broccoli souffle, cranberry salad, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, and my favorite: japanese pumpkin soup! I have to admit that the only thing I made was the mashed potatoes. All the ladies came with two or three dishes to help make this spectacular feast.

The kids table. There was a lot of chaos going on at this end of the room. It wasn't long ago that we didn't have a kids table at all...or maybe Trisha and I were the ones sitting at it. Our family has certainly grown!Taking a break from dinner to have some fun. Lyla is pushing her cousin Emilia in a baby doll bed.

The first big dinner hosted at our new house was a success! Happy Thanksgiving to all! This year I have so much to be thankful for: Jesus, my wonderful husband, beautiful daughter, baby boy on the way, and all in this fantastic house. Thank you, Lord! We are blessed.

more "winter" photos

2010-11-17T15:01:00.001-08:00

I love this photo because Lyla looks so happy!

Re: comment from last post...dev, it didn't even cross my mind at all that it was odd to have short sleeves for a winter photo! I guess that's what happens when you are used to so cal winters.

winter family photos

2010-11-14T14:13:00.000-08:00

*35 weeks pregnant*

Here's a sneak preview of our winter family photo session. These are the only photos we've seen so far and we are delighted with the results! The photographer, Ashley, does amazing work and I am really looking forward to seeing the rest of the pics from yesterday. Her blogpage is www.lovelockandco.blogspot.com.

shower for baby boy mitchell

2010-11-07T13:37:00.000-08:00

The baby shower theme was "vintage toys". We decorated the tables in blue and red with jacks and animal crackers (which were the party favors). The centerpieces were mini radio flyer wagons with blue flowers inside. It turned out so cute!

Of course we had to have a sock monkey to match our theme. We also had red licorice and blue salt water taffys.

Sarah Callan and "Aunt Trisha"

This cake was from a place called "Nothing Bundt Cakes" and it was DELICIOUS. The top layer was pumpkin and the bottom later was cinnamon swirl. Yum and yum.

Kandice was the winner of our onesie decorating contest. She went with a lil' cowpoke theme and wrote MITCHELL across the lower back. It was adorable. She got to go home with one of the centerpieces.

The Bravos with their new baby Tallulah. She is almost four months old...and what a cutie! It was so awesome celebrating with all of our wonderful friends.

Thanks to everyone who came out to shower baby boy mitchell with love. A huge thank you to Sarah and Mary Anne Torretto for hosting the fabulous event!!!

we decided! it's a home birth for baby boy mitchell

2010-11-03T14:28:00.000-07:00

After weighing out the pros and cons of doing a home birth vs. hospital birth, we have decided that baby boy mitchell will be born in the peace and comfort of our own home. At home, I will be free to labor how and where I choose. Travis and I have been studying "husband-coached childbirth-the bradley method", and we feel confident that a natural birth at home is the best decision for our family. We have chosen a wonderful midwife, Karen Pecora, and our fantastic doula who was present at Lyla's birth, Sherill Sedillo. Karen is a huge believer in water birthing (which was how I wanted to deliver Lyla) and she will be bringing a birthing tub to our home as part of her services. I am really looking forward to this! I feel so relieved that we have made our decision and can proceed with my prenatal care...at home! Yes, Karen does all of the prenatal appointment by house calls.

My plan is to work until Thanksgiving and then start my maternity leave. I strongly believe in getting some time to rest and relax before baby's big day. So, I only have 15 workdays left. The countdown begins!

For more information about home births and water births, feel free to check Karen's website at www.blessedbeginnings.net.

elvis aka: the miracle dog

2010-10-26T11:36:00.000-07:00

elvis, october 2006

elvis, october 2010

I was browsing through some old pictures and found the 2006 picture of elvis. It was love at first sight when I saw him as a little puppy on nextdaypets.com. He was just a little eski-chi from Oklahoma City and I knew I had to have him. After lots of e-mails back and forth with his owner (how do you purchase a puppy online???) he was flown out to San Diego. The poor little guy must have been scared out of his mind flying in cargo, especially because his flight was diverted to LAX due to fog and he had to take a bus down to SD. What a trip to take as a pup!

More recently elvis had another traumatizing experience when he took off on the 5 freeway after our car accident on June 25. He was lost from us for over 24 hours! It was a complete miracle that he was found miles away from the accident with only abrasions on his paws and a major case of dehydration. Our family just wouldn't have been the same without our little guy. We are so thankful that he is such a survivor and he made his way back to us! We love you, elvis!

lovelies

2010-10-25T17:03:00.000-07:00

Our lovely new flowers in the front yard planted by Travis. He surprised me with this picture while I was at work. He picked the flowers out all by himself!

and we can't forget lovely Lyla. Here she is enjoying a smoothie treat at Jamba Juice.

32 weeks

2010-10-24T10:54:00.000-07:00

Here we are at 32 weeks. My belly is huge, but I feel like this picture makes it look even bigger. Yikes! Only about 8 weeks left before our son's arrival. Little man, I wouldn't mind if you wanted to show up a little early!

pumpkin patch

2010-10-10T11:29:00.000-07:00

Fall has appeared here in riverside county. We are finally experiencing some cooler weather, pumpkin-inspired beverages are back at our favorite coffee shops/eateries...and pumpkin patches! Here we are at our local pumpkin patch on murrieta hot springs road. Lyla thoroughly enjoyed picking up and throwing the mini pumpkins. Lyla, Nia, and Emilia got to slide down the giant slide and they all loved it! Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures because the camera died after the picture above was taken. That just means we have an excuse to go again!

baby grass

2010-10-03T09:06:00.001-07:00

We are so proud of our baby grass that is currently growing in our front yard. Some guy came knocking on our door selling fertilizer and offered to a) fix our sprinklers that we couldn't figure out how to turn on, and b) fertilize the entire front yard for only $80. Though we were skeptical, we agreed. Now, we are happy to say that our front yard is GREEN and our sprinklers come on automatically twice a day (worth the $80 alone!).

our backyard visitor

2010-09-30T10:04:00.000-07:00

This little guy was found hopping away from elvis in our grass last night. He came in to our house to visit for a little while. I asked Lyla what he was, and she said "kua-kua! kerro-kerro!" (japanese for froggy). Lyla was fascinated and pet him a few times, while mommy kept her distance. I only got close enough to get some decent pictures. I had this image of mr froggy jumping out of trav's hand and onto my face.

You can see he his actually pretty big. I have never seen a frog in the wild this large. He made a chirping/crying noise that sounded like a little monkey.

After we felt that we had tortured him enough, Trav placed him back safely in the grass so that he could go about his froggy way and catch some bugs for dinner. Thanks for visiting!

28 week belly love

2010-09-26T09:56:00.000-07:00

Lyla loves her baby brother. 12 more weeks to go before we meet the little fella! No name yet, though.

Lyla's 2nd Birthday Party

2010-09-22T11:12:00.001-07:00

Lyla checking out all her gifts. She didn't really understand that all the commotion was for her, but she had a great time regardless.

The funfetti birthday cake I baked for Lyla. I had great ambitions of baking a cake in the shape of Hello Kitty, but settled on just drawing her face on.

The spread. My mom made macaroni casserole and ribs that are not in the picture. Delicious!

Lyla enjoying her cake. If you ask her how old she is, she will shout out "Two!"

Lyla loves babies, so she got a lot of baby doll-related gifts.

Lyla's birthday gift from Baaba and grandpa. She got a pink retro kitchen set and sweet table and chairs for her room. Now she's ready for playdates! Trav stayed up late last night to assemble everything.

Lyla's 1st Haircut

2010-09-19T10:34:00.000-07:00

Waiting in anticipation in daddy's chair. Let's cut off that mullet!

The master at work. Trav was tossing her locks on the ground like she was any other customer. I couldn't believe that he wasn't saving them! This is a momentous occasion. I need to save those baby hairs for her book! No worries, I picked them up off the ground.

Lyla got a cute little bob cut.

Happy 4 years to my excellent strong man

2010-09-13T12:43:00.000-07:00

I love you and I love our life! Thank you for making me laugh every day. Thank you for being my best friend and my favorite person to hang out with.

XOXO, your wife.

new MLS listing

2010-09-13T10:47:00.000-07:00

http://www.homefinder.com/CA/Aliso_Viejo/67593068d_16_Scrub_Oak

Look who recently put their home on the market! My parents are selling their home of 14 years in Aliso Viejo to move out to...

...drum roll please...

WINCHESTER!

They already put an offer on a 4 bdrm home that is only 10 minutes away from our place. We are so excited that they will be living close. We will have the same zip code! Traveling for the holidays will require only a 10 minute drive! This is a big move for my parents as they have been residing in Orange County for the past 30+ years. We are praying for a smooth transition for them as they begin their life in our new neighborhood.