I want to get married again

So I can steal every one of these ideas!
check out these photos

I love the way the photos are taken, sorta like the cover of The Sopranos DVD set. I love the tea length dresses. I love the candle light ceremony, and the way the candles are on fabric on different levels. I love the picture in the middle of the street and sitting in the red chairs, so untraditional (I made that word up).

4/4

Carol had a fun idea for a blog, you post the 4th photo from the 4th folder in your computer. Here it is:

It's not nearly as pretty as hers but here it is, Zach at Flo's in Riverside celebrating my brother Jeff's birthday back in August.



What's yours?

come on!

I am so tired of cell phones. I waited for about 10 minutes at the doctors office while the girl behind the desk talked about make-up. She really likes MAC but it's so expensive, she likes Bare Minerals too. She's really excited that the Galleria is getting a Sephora.

Today I walked myself across the street (which isn't a big deal) while the crossing guard talked on his phone.

People have no work ethic anymore, could you possibly save your incredibly important conversation until after you are done with work?

sick papa

Please pray. My mom thinks it's congestive heart failure.

new hair!

I never get much done to my hair besides a basic trim. I have never had a cutting edge haircut, I have had highlights 2 or 3 times and colored it once. I decided that I wanted to go bold so I did!

Before:



After:



I LOVE it! If you are in Riverside, go see Carrie at Salon Siner.

Life's short

and I just wasted 3 minutes of mine on this.



I love this quote from a website:

I think the biggest downfall of our generation is that she headed the “anyone can be famous” movement, even if they have no talent or an uneducated but still smart enough to know how to brand and market herself as a fluffy piece of materialistic b.s. to morons can understand and little girls can mimic.

goal a week

So I'm up, it's 10:52 and I can't sleep. I decided in my late night laying in bed thinking session that I am going to make a goal a week and posting it here will keep me accountable.

This weeks goal is to vacuum/mop my floors every day. Back when Isabella was a baby I used to be able to do this but for some reason things are a tad bit busier these days!

So tomorrow I start, wish me luck!

Halloween party

Our neighbors throw the best Halloween parties ever! Angela makes the best food and SO much of it!

Isabella is a character called Sakura from the cartoon Naruto and Zachary is Naruto. They both loved the costumes.









This one makes me laugh:


Best costume went to Mrs. Doubtfire:


Funniest went to our neighbor Nick the nerd:


Cutest was Pippi! She wouldn't wear her little wig though. She had little patches all over her dress and carried a little monkey!


I discovered why Angela's food is so good...lard!


Last but not least here is my costume:




Do you want grilled onions with that?

I'm tired of wearing flip flops

My feet get SO dirty when I am in my flip flops all day long! My feet were literally black today. GROSS! I can't wait to wear jeans and hoodies and socks and converse and robes and sweatshirts, though not all at the same time. (could I BE wearing more clothes?!) Fall, hurry up and get here!

I just thought of the greatest Halloween costume!

Stay tuned for tomorrow's Halloween party photos. =)

I haven't laughed this hard in a long time!

Enjoy!

I'm actually looking forward to jury duty!

I got my first jury duty summons in years, probably since before Isabella was born. I was upset about it until I learned that they have free child care for jurors. A day off, yay!

Maybe even a little adult conversation on my down time? What exactly do adults talk about? I don't ave time to watch anything about politics, I don't keep up with much celebrity gossip. Oh oh, I know...the weather!

excited (but still sick)

I found a great friend at Isabella's school, her name is Gina and her son Samuel and Isabella are so close. Isabella says she wants to marry Samuel (already boy crazy at 5 years old, I'm in for it!). Gina is awesome, we have tons in common and they live a few blocks away from us. They also have a little boy, Luke who is Zach's age. Isa and Samuel are on the same soccer team also.

We were talking today about carpooling a few times a week so I may not have to leave MOPS early any more. I hope I hope I hope!

my quirks

My friend Sarah posted some of her quirks so I decided to sort through mine and post them:

1. I frequently dream about other people being in my bed, so I get out of bed and get fully dressed and then get back into bed!

2. I twirl my hair ALL day long, often until my arms hurt!

3. I quote movies and tv shows all day long.

4. Sometimes I call my husband's cell phone in the middle of the night to record his snoring on his voice mail so he can see how loud he snores. (Hi, mom!)

5. I often pretend we aren't home when the doorbell rings. Mostly because I am usually in my jammies!

6. I only wash my hair 2-3 times a week, otherwise it gets too dry.

7. I recently bought a pair of shoes from a drag queen website! lol!

Ok, I think that's enough embarrassment for now!

11 hours of sleep

and I'm still exhausted.

But on another note, don't you love it when you feel like you have slept for 8 hours and it should be time to wake up at any moment but then you look at the clock and it's 12:00am? That happened to me twice last night! Once at midnight and then again at 3:00am. Now if only I didn't have to get up at 6:30 to take Isabella to school!

a day off

I'm sick so that's my excuse for not making dinner. My awesome husband is picking up pizza, yay for awesome husbands!

I'm tired

And I've been tired for 7 years now! I can't wait for the day when the kids just go turn on a tv show and grab some cereal.

I am so excited about this

I'm a coupon clipper, but not a coupon user! I always always always forget them at home or let them expire. I was looking online at some coupon folders and they were $20ish. I made mine for about $8! I bought everything at Target, a binder, dividers and protective baseball card dividers. The only part that I am bummed out about is that the dividers are the same width as the protective dividers. Oh well, I'll deal. I sorta have them separated, but I need more dividers. I want to do: produce, canned, meat/dairy, beverages, snacks, health/beauty, household, pet/baby.

I bought these pencil holder and I am keeping a pen, post-it's and scissors in it. In the folders on the left I am keeping restaurant/fast food coupons.


Here is a close up of the coupons, I folded them so all I have to do is look at the pictures. I put the coupons that expire the soonest on top and then down from there.

garage sale finds

$3! They are brand new but about 5 sizes too big for Isa, but who cares?!


I got 6 baskets for $10! I signed up to bring baskets for my MOPS group Holiday Extravaganza to make into gift baskets to raffle off. I was just going to use my Michael's and JoAnn's coupons but I probably would have spent $40+ on the same number of baskets!


$2, I want to put rock salt in it and then photos on sticks (how I will do that I don't know!) and use it for a Christmas decoration.


$3, I need to find some Thanksgivingey things to fill it.


$2, I'm going to use it for Christmas candy! These people just closed their floral shop and were selling TONS of stuff.


And here is the best deal (if Donovan can get it to work!) $5!

What a day!

We had a garage sale this morning and made some extra cash, around $60. After that we went to Isabella's soccer game, now she usually stands there, and then stands there, and then sits and picks grass, plays with her shorts, puts her arms in her shirt...you know, she doesn't really play soccer. Well, I don't know if it was her grandparents being there or that the whole idea of soccer finally clicked but she did AMAZING!

Here she is scoring her first goal, now...just so you know I got really excited and tried to stand up to get a better shot and um...fell! That is so me! Also, you may want to mute it, my mouth is really close to the microphone and my voice is annoying!

Some random photos:

Donovan found some old photos, I love it when that happens!

This is Donovan in his college dorm room with his room mate Vail. Check out how skinny he was!


Here is another one he found, this is me (duh) in Donovan's old apartment:


And here I am in his old apartment in front of our first Christmas tree. This was 11 years ago!

Oh, and I don't think I was sticking out my chest, I think I was just trying to stand up straight. Whatever I was doing I look pretty funny!

Here are some more, these are from yesterday. We visited my friend Darlene, she has a bunch of land so the kids got to ride a little power wheels motorized car. I don't know what they are all looking at but they all think it's pretty funny!


Isabella thought she could ride this motorized little 4 wheeler, it um...wouldn't really move!

I think she was a little bit too big for it.


Here are the last ones, Zach fell asleep on the couch so I had to pick him up and snuggle with him:

flu shots

Donovan, Isabella and Zach all got flu shots yesterday, Donovan felt sick almost immediately and Isabella feels sick today. She didn't want to get out of bed, didn't want to stand up for me to do her hair, didn't want to eat, doesn't want to go to school. I know she's not faking because it's treasure box day and share day. Poor thing. I hate it when my kids are sick. =(

funny kid

We are in the car listening to Dr. Laura and this is the conversation we have:

Dr. Laura: blah blah blah crap blah blah blah
Zach: crap?
Zach: mommy, she said crap
Me: Zach, I don't want to hear that, it's a bad word.
Zach: crap is a bad word?
Me: Yes, now don't say it again.
Zach: don't say crap?
Me: Zaaaaach
Zach: Ok mommy, I won't say crap.

the men folk should skip this one too

I'm going on the pill! I have been having bi-weekly periods and it is soooooo annoying so I decided to go see my doctor. The only solution for this is to be on the pill. Now I'm wondering if the side effects of the pill will outweigh the whole permi-period thing.

Ortho Tri-Cyclen side effects
Get emergency medical help if you have any of these signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat. Stop using Ortho Tri-Cyclen and call your doctor at once if you have any of these serious side effects:


sudden numbness or weakness, especially on one side of the body;

sudden headache, confusion, problems with vision, speech, or balance;

chest pain or heavy feeling, pain spreading to the arm or shoulder, nausea sweating, general ill feeling;

a change in the pattern or severity of migraine headaches;

nausea, stomach pain, low fever, loss of appetite, dark urine, clay-colored stools, jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes);


swelling in your hands, ankles, or feet; or

symptoms of depression (sleep problems, weakness, mood changes).

Less serious side effects may include:



mild nausea, vomiting, bloating, stomach cramps;

breast pain, tenderness, or swelling;

freckles or darkening of facial skin;

increased hair growth, loss of scalp hair;

changes in weight or appetite;

problems with contact lenses;

vaginal itching or discharge;

changes in your menstrual periods; or

headache, nervousness, dizziness, tired feeling.


I'm going to give it a 3 month try to see what happens.

$33.00

To fill up the Honda. Thank God the gas prices have come down a bit, that I don't have to drive as much and that I don't have to drive the Expedition much anymore.

my plan

I have been spending too much money (I was going to say lately but that's not true) so I have set out a plan that I heard about on TV.

I have envelopes in my purse for different things:

My Target envelope is $40 a week.
My fast food/coffee envelope is $20 a week.

I'm not keeping my ATM card in my wallet (I have NO self control!) so I won't be tempted. I get groceries and gas on Sunday with my ATM card and then the rest of the week it stays home.

I am going to keep this up, I always buy stupid little junk but if I actually saved money we could do all the big projects that we have been trying to do for 5 years!

Keep your fingers crossed, no cross everything for me. Please. =)

copied from Alicia

A woman was asked by a coworker,

'What is it like to be a Christian?'

The coworker replied, 'It is like being a pumpkin.'
God picks you from the patch, brings you in,
And washes all the dirt off of you.
Then He cuts off the top and scoops out all the yucky stuff.
He removes the seeds of doubt, hate, and greed.
Then He carves you a new smiling face and
Puts His light inside of you to shine for all the world to see.

I love it!

rebuilding your eyesight?

So I haven't always had vision issues, not really until I started working with computers did my eyesight worsen. They used to be pretty bad, -5 or so in each eye. It has miraculously gotten better since I quit working with computers for 8 hours a day. It is now somewhere in the -2 range. I found this website and I am wondering if anyone has heard anything good or bad about it.

rebuild your vision

The site looks cheesy but it is a BBB program so I don't really know. It's $97 which is just barely more than an eye exam but then there is contacts and possibly new lenses so it would be cheaper in the long run. I'm just leery. Input?

dear smokers,

Could you please put your cigarette out ALL the way? Perhaps on your arm to be sure that it's really out?

Thanks,
Melissa

11:00?

I went to the Plaza today to get a friend's daughter a birthday gift and most of the stores don't open till 11:00am! How annoying.

Prop 8

I think I'm one of the few Christians voting no on Prop 8. Why should we say who may or may not be married? Why not let them be miserable like the rest of us? I kid, I kid!

If you are against it for religious beliefs what does it really matter? It's up to God to judge, not you. I saw this commercial on it too with a little girl who brought home a book about 2 kings being married, I don't know about you but I never learned about marriage in school. I learned about sex...not marriage!

27 degrees?!

We are going camping again this weekend, here is the weather forecast. I don't understand this 27° business!


FRIDAY
MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGHS 59 TO 69. WINDS WEST 15 MPH.

FRIDAY NIGHT
MOSTLY CLEAR IN THE EVENING...THEN PARTLY CLOUDY
WITH A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS AFTER MIDNIGHT. PATCHY FOG AFTER
MIDNIGHT. MUCH COLDER. VISIBILITY ONE QUARTER MILE OR LESS AT
TIMES AFTER MIDNIGHT. LOWS 30 TO 40. WINDS WEST 20 TO 30 MPH.
GUSTS TO 45 MPH IN THE EVENING. CHANCE OF MEASURABLE
PRECIPITATION 20 PERCENT.

SATURDAY
PARTLY CLOUDY. SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS IN THE
MORNING. PATCHY FOG IN THE MORNING. VISIBILITY ONE QUARTER MILE
OR LESS AT TIMES IN THE MORNING. HIGHS 45 TO 55. WINDS WEST 15 TO
25 MPH. GUSTS TO 35 MPH IN THE MORNING. CHANCE OF MEASURABLE
PRECIPITATION 20 PERCENT.

SATURDAY NIGHT
MOSTLY CLEAR. LOWS 27 TO 37. WINDS NORTHWEST
15 MPH IN THE EVENING BECOMING LIGHT.

SUNDAY
MOSTLY SUNNY. NOT AS COOL. HIGHS 54 TO 64.

awwww!

Donovan said a whole bunch of stuff, most of which I didn't understand. The moral of it all: our old photos are back on our old website! So many pictures! Some of Isabella from when she was less than a year old. Awwwww


dmhirsch.com

love this blog

Cake Wrecks

I'm blogging a lot...

But life is exciting!

When we woke up this morning and Zach hadn't peed in his pull up!

a game I like to play

It's called hooker or teenager??? I play it while driving down the road. It's usually a teenager, not a hooker though and it's not really fun, it's more sad than anything.

my husband is AWESOME!

He went to a transportation convention today and brought home some a toy bus and trains for Zach, a monkey, flashlight, paper and pens for Isabella and chapstick and hand sanitizer for me. He knows us all so well!

Nail polish

I am obsessed with nail polish, I have a rubbermaid container with about 30? different nail polish bottles. My favorites are OPI but here is a new and different nail polish by OPI:
Nic's Sticks so far I have Expression of love and carpool mama. The application is simple, just make sure you have a lot of polish on the brush so that you don't get brush marks. Fun Fun Fun!

wow wow wow

I went to am/pm for coffee this morning and they had some extreme caffeine coffee and boy, they weren't kidding! I have been crazy jittery and shaky. Never again!

Apple help?

I took some panoramic photos with my camera but now I have no clue how to put them together into 1 photo. Does anyone know how I can do that?

Camping

We had such an awesome time this weekend, we went to Silent Valley near Illdywild. It was cold though and I didn't think it would be so...we weren't dressed for it! we had lots of bike rides, lots of walks to the playground and we swam in the rain! We went to Illdywild for dinner when it was lightly raining and then all the sudden it was POURING!

Luckily everyone was driving slow and carefully.

Here is Zach in the restaurant, thoroughly soaked. That kid refuses to wear sweatshirts or jackets.



Here he is towing our trailer:



Here they are snuggling, I know it's blurry but it is too stinkin cute!



Here is a photo from today, such a beautiful day!



Here is Isabella on the way home, they are always so exhausted when we camp.



We got an awesome deal on a membership, so you will be seeing lots of photos of this place! Let us know if you want to go up there with us for the day or spend the weekend with us. You can stay there for $30 a day (what a deal!) it's an awesome place.

knock on wood

Zach is doing so good with potty training!

I think he finally has recognized the feeling and has mastered it. He now goes a few times a day because he knows he gets gum for it! I am so happy with him, such a big boy!

Last one for today...maybe

Isabella is writing, constantly. Most of the time it's just random letters but this time it's a real sentence...kind of.



Be pie! LOL!

my garden

We even have a watermelon! It's about the size of a tennis ball right now. I hope Silver leaves it alone, I want to eat it!

Is it backwards day??

Nope, Zach just dressed himself!





He even had his pull ups on backwards!