a little help from costco

Today we took our weekly trip/lunch to Costco. I got a couple of items that are really going to help during this whole pregnancy thing. More often than not I end up fixing Chris and I different dinners. I rarely feel like the typical food I make. For instance, last night I ate a burrito with just black beans and brown rice (no cheese, melted cheese grosses me out). If you know Chris at all, you would know he wouldn't touch that meal with a 10 foot pole (hates beans and I guess it is rather dry). Anyway, I decided to get a ready bake pizza so that I will always have something easy on hand for Chris for when I want something odd. I cut it up and wrapped each slice individually. That way I can get one or two and pop them in the oven.




I mentioned before that I craved Grape Nuts. Now my craving has basically evolved into any kind of cereal. I have woken in the middle of the night the past two nights and felt so sick I had to come downstairs and make myself a bowl. I usually also have a bowl first thing in the morning and right before bed. I realized that I had gone through an entire box of Frosted Mini Wheats in 2.5 days. Yikes! So I bought myself a jumbo box at Costco so I'll feel a little better about all the money we are spending on cereal. :)



As a side note, I have a question that I truly am curious about. I've noticed that Costco, with there oodles of samples, NEVER has samples of baked goods like cookies, pies, muffins, etc. On occasion, they might have a sample of basic bread, but nothing dessert'ish. I know this is intentional and I'm so interested in the reason. Chris thought maybe it was b/c they are worried too many people would take them. But considering there are often lines for corn dogs or chicken fingers, I doubt that is the reason. Any theories??

firsts

My first:
Car: Nissan Sentra. I loved this car, except sometimes it would start to shake when I would go 65mph. :)
Boyfriend: Chris. He was my first and last, although I did have to come clean a while back and let him know that my first kiss was actually with Richard in kindergarten. I kissed him about 3 times on the cheek during a movie in class. I only did it b/c my best friend had done it too. I know, scandalous.
Trip out of the country: Besides Mexico, it was to Guatemela on a missions trip during my junior year of high school.
Bad Grade: It was in Geometry in high school. I still to this day think higher math is a complete waste of time unless you are pursuing some career which would require it (to which you could then learn it for that!)
Accident: This is quite minor, but I think it counts. When I just had my permit, I begged my parents to let me drive around the block. I accidentally put the car into drive (I was in the garage) and smashed into the ping pong table that was in front of me.
Job: Campus Crusade Christian Conference Center-gift shop
Sewing project: a purple and green gym bag in my home economics class in high school. For some odd reason I used to LOVE the color combo of purple and green.
Favorite meal: the furthest back I can remember was my mom's fried rice. I don't think it was anything that special. I just loved it and I remember requesting it on my birthday.

where was I?

15 Years Ago
I was a freshman at Arrowhead Christian Academy. I look back on this time and sometimes can't believe what I did. I tried out for cheerleading and made it. This was such a step out of my comfort zone but I wanted to cheer so badly, I sucked up my fear and did it. I had so much fun that first year and still get nostalgic when I see cheerleaders on TV. I know Chris will bop me in the head when he reads this, but I would love it if we had a daughter and she wanted to cheer. :)

10 Years Ago
I was starting my sophomore year of college at Biola. I was finally living with Jen, which I was so excited about. I roomed with someone I didn't know my freshman year because Jen and I had been told by most people that friends shouldn't room together because it usually doesn't work out. Well, we both proved that theory wrong because we ended up living together for the next 4 years and we still, to this day, have never had a fight. I also get nostalgic looking back on my Biola years. I had sooo much fun. A life without jobs, mortgages, or really any responsibility (except the occasional studying)...what could be better???

5 Years Ago
I had been married for about a year and a half and we were living in Buena Park. This was a great apartment, except for the fact that we lived right on a busy street (Chris liked to say our apartment was the 4th lane of Knott Ave.) and our carpet was black and white speckled! I was working at Mary's Shelter (home for teen moms) and Chris was working at our church doing graphic design. This was also such a fun, relaxed time in our lives. We didn't have many commitments or responsibilities yet so we were just enjoying being married and trying to make more couple friends (so hard when you first get married, right?)

Anyone else want to play?

gaggy

Cam has two favorite stuffed animals. Lamar, the sheep, and Bear...um, the bear. Why, you ask, does the sheep have a cool name and the bear not? We hadn't anticipated Cam to take so much to the bear (so we didn't start calling it something from the beginning, like we did with Lamar). Let's be honest, it is rather ugly. But for some reason, he became attached and also became attached to the boring name of Bear.



When I was young, my blanket was named Gaggy. I have no idea why it was named this. It was simply a yellow blanket that I took everywhere and I HAD to have when I went to bed. Sadly I don't know what happened to it but it sure brings back fond memories.

When Chris was young, he had three playmates, imaginary that is. Their names were Nibbits Kabit, Maydates, and Bennett Snurf. These three great pals would provide lots of fun play time for Chris, that is until he reached the point of being too old for imaginary playmates. So how does one get rid of imaginary pals? Flush them down the toilet of course! And they were never heard of again. :(

overstayed my welcome

This morning at Walmart, I plopped Cam down in an aisle to play with his favorite toys as I sat across from him on a low shelf. I had noticed a clerk doing some stocking and a few minutes later she came walking down the aisle:

Clerk: Can I help you with something? (irritated look on her face)
Kelly: No thanks. I'm just letting him play.
Clerk: Well, would you mind not sitting on my shelf? (very snippy like)
Kelly: Sure.

My thinking: She probably recognizes me as "the girl who brings her kid here all the time just to sit and play with toys". Yes, I have absolutely no intention of buying any of the toys Cam plays with (am I really going to spend $59 on a talking Elmo doll???). Maybe I should rethink my abuse of the free play time, but I highly doubt there is a "no loitering" rule for the Walmart toy aisle.

weekend

Last night Peyt and Liesl treated us to dinner at Cheesecake Factory. It was fun to see them again. We used to go a lot when we lived out in OC, so it now makes the times we get to go that much more fun. I LOVED my meal. It was just a plain hamburger, but it was delicious. Peyt and I split a heavenly chocolate cake for dessert. We usually split b/c we share a love for decadent chocolate while Liesl and Chris are a little more on the wimpy side and can't handle "rich" things.



Today we went to church and I discovered Cam loves to sit in with me during the opening worship. As long as the songs are upbeat (with lots of drums), he is quite content to sit in my lap and clap along. So cute! Later this afternoon we headed over to the mall play area to let Cam run around, then ended the day at Spaghetti Factory.



Tonight after Cam goes down we have sooo much tivo to catch up on, however it has been put on hold for some very important baseball games that have been on. Luckily I have a new magazine to browse while Chris watches.

what a gyp

Over the past several months, there has been a lot of construction going on in our town over by our most frequented store, Walmart. Chris and I have been so anxious to see what restaurants will be going in. We have been crossing our fingers for something like a Chipotle or a Taco Bell (more for Chris). The signs have been slow in coming, but finally three have popped up and I cannot tell you how annoyed we are at the new arrivals. My apologies beforehand if you like these restaurants...

1. Quiznos- $7 sandwiches that I could easily make at home. Ughh.
2. Panda Express- overpriced Chinese food + we rarely ever eat Chinese
3. Weinersnitchel- do I even need to comment on this one?? Yucky!

There are still many more spaces for lease, however with the economy the way it is, who knows when another restaurant will decide to fill one. Oh well...one can only hope.

happy birthday!!!

Today is Chris's 29th birthday. Last night we celebrated at my parents, tonight he has requested his favorite dinner (white chicken enchiladas), and Saturday night we'll celebrate at Cheesecake Factory with our good friends Peyt and Liesl (Liesl also has the same birthday). Basically it is a birthday week. :)

Sometimes Chris and I like to play the game of, "If you could do anything today, what would it be?". If I could plan the perfect birthday for Chris, it would probably include:

*Breakfast at some pancake house
*18 hole round of golf
*Lunch at Claim Jumpers
*Movie (probably Appaloosa--which I would have to bow out of)
*Dinner at Outback

So happy birthday Chris. I know today won't be as exciting as it would have been pre-kids, but I hope you still have fun. You truly deserve it for being the most amazing, selfless husband/dad I could ever ask for!!

relaxin

golf

Over the past several months, Chris's interest in golf has really taken off. He has known how to play his whole life as his grandparents would often take he and his brother out when they were kids. But it wasn't until recently that he started to really enjoy it and want to play it often. Fortunately his schedule allows him the opportunity to play at non-peek times, making it so it isn't as expensive. A few times, people that he has played with have asked him if his wife plays, to which he always responds "no". In thinking about golf, here are some thoughts:

Pro:
*It would be something fun for Chris and I to do together
*I would know more of what Chris is talking about when he shares with me about his game
*It does seem like it would be quite relaxing to be out on those beautiful courses

Con:
*It is expensive! Seems unwise to try and force an interest on my part when an interest would equal more money to shell out
*It is time consuming...meaning we would need babysitting for Cam...again more money (unless my mom did it every time)
*For some reason, I just don't have a desire to learn. Seems difficult, to the point of pointless to me to try and hit such a little ball such a long distance and into such a tiny hole

Who knows...maybe down the road when the kids are grown I might consider giving it a try. But for now, I'm content to let it be Chris's hobby.

Here is Cameron helping his dad clean the golf balls. He loves to see the balls plop into the bucket of water. :)

thanks grandpa!!

This past weekend we went to visit my in-laws up north. Chris's dad had been working on a train table for Cameron. It came out beautifully and we were so thrilled to bring it back with us. Cam's train set fits perfectly on it. Thanks grandpa!!

We came up with a new game this morning of toppling down the trees. Take a look...

baby mama update

I had my first doc's appointment today. Chris went with me because we knew we would be able to see the heartbeat, which we did. Seemed just as special as when we saw it with Cameron. Other than that, there was nothing to exciting about the appointment, unless you call the fact that I've gained 7 pounds in 8 weeks exciting. In my defense, the majority of it is legitimate as I'm sooo much more hungry this time than with Cam and need to eat so much just to make myself feel better. However I don't think I can claim that defense last night as I was quite full with dinner, but proceeded to polish off two pieces of chocolate cake.

Before the appointment, we dropped Cam off at my parents' house. After the appointment, we went to lunch at Red Robin and then to see Eagle Eye. It was a fun action movie, but a little too far fetched for my liking. I love sci-fi movies, but if the movie is trying to play itself off as plausible, when it totally couldn't be, I'm a bit annoyed.

All in all, it was a great Tuesday!

girl trips

A couple weeks back my dad drove down to Mexico with some friends to take part in a 50 mile bike ride. Not bad for a 65 year old, huh?



This has got me thinking about all the girl trips I have taken in my life. During college, I took countless road trips with my friends. We would take off for the weekend to Hume Lake, San Diego, Santa Barbara, etc. Except for a few times, we always had a free place to stay with a family member or friend. These are some of the best memories of my life. I can't tell you how fun those times were. Makes me nostalgic just thinking about them. Here are a few of my favorite trips...

San Francisco



Santa Barbara



Palm Springs- we would always go in the heat of the summer so the rates were super cheap. We would cram several girls in the rooms so it would be even cheaper.



Europe-ok so this was a little more pricey of a trip, but it was kind of a celebration of our college graduation...so it was worth it!

"Love grows best in little houses..."

The title of this blog is from a line in one of my favorite country songs by Doug Stone. I grew up in a very little house (I think around 900 square feet). Yesterday as my mom and I were coming back from the mall, I wanted to stop by and see it. It is sooo interesting to experience what I see now as an adult as compared to back then. The streets seem sooo much more narrow, the houses sooo much more close together, and our actual house seems tiny! But I think back to when I was a kid, and I never felt like we lived in a small house. I thought we had a HUGE block for me to ride my bike and skate on and that our neighbor's yards were enormous.

It really goes to show that kids (for the most part) could care less about the size of their homes. My backyard was plenty big for me to play in. I will say that I think it helped that the friends my family had were all in similar income brackets, so I wasn't exposed very much to huge homes. But the fact remains, it truly doesn't matter the size of your home growing up. All that matters are the memories created there...and I have hundreds of awesome memories here.

Here is a picture of our house. When we lived in it, it was green (then later painted grey). Gonna be honest and say that I might have been a little embarrassed as a kid to bring a friend home to this color. :)