MEEEOOWWWW

I thought this was hilarious! Pigeons are EVERYWHERE in San Francisco, and they are very entertaining to watch. So while we were waiting to go to Alcatraz, we saw this....

Apparently this pigeon could care less not only about the picture of the cat, but also the guy working in the window. He was just hoping for someone to offer up part of their bagel or donut!

Sponsored by Angie and 5 Minutes for Mom

My 1st will never be the same

All of these posts I've been reading about 1st days of school....pics of kids going off to Kindergarten for the 1st time....kids standing in their kitchens, yards, front doors....

And I can remember my 1st day of school...and although I went to nursery school and preschool, (I was a classic over-achiever...or I just annoyed my mom and she wanted me out of the house) and I remember those times...there was never a time like the 1st time going to kindergarten!

But what I've discovered....the 1st time going to kindergarten will never be the same for my boys. Why?
Then: metal lunch boxes, we got a sandwich, a piece of fruit and a couple of cookies if we were lucky and of course a thermos full of milk. Which was usually warm by the time lunch came around.
Now: My oldest gets a sandwich, fruit, teddy grahams, fruit snacks, a granola bar, NO thermos....school provides him with milk, chips, a frozen yo on the go. Now grant it he doesn't get this all in one lunch. But you can see the differences. And all of this is packed into a nice little insulated lunch box with an ice pack.

Then: Even though our parents walked us to the bus stop, we could walk by ourselves. And our parents put us on a bus and sent us to school
Now: My boys will never get on a bus to go to school (do they even have them anymore?) Even if I didn't have a school within walking distance, I still wouldn't let them get on a bus. Are you crazy? That bus driver might be texting while he is driving and crash and my child who doesn't have a seat belt on might be injured!!!

Then: I could get off the bus and walk right into a classroom and start playing.
Now: You have to be signed in by your parent before you can start playing (at least at the school my son will be attending) So there is no dropping your kids off at the front of the school and knowing they would get to the proper classroom.

So although I can get pics of my boys walking out the door, waving to me like I did to my mom, where do I go from there? Them climbing into their booster seats in my car? Or maybe them walking through a gate going into a fully fenced school yard that most likely you can't see through?

Times have definitely changed!
What do you remember from your 1st day of school?

Bring us some Figgy Pudding....

These little suckers have been consuming my whole Sunday.
While suffering my 4th....yes 4th throat ailment this year, I was hoping maybe they had some magical healing powers?

FIGS....what in the heck do you make with a fig??? They are such an odd little fruit aren't they?

All I know is it's in the song as pudding...but umm that's not really my idea of good pudding.

But I have NO idea what to make or what is even good with Figs...

Any ideas? I have a million on my fig tree this year and how awful they are just rotting away.

Brought to you by Unknown Mami

Stay tuned this week for a giveaway, my peach pie recipe, and NO I won't be vlogging it for those of you that asked...I so suck at that. More about Bloggy Boot Camp! And Welcoming the month of September....MY and Christopher's BIRTHDAY MONTH!!!

Who am I, and What's in a name?

I discovered that when I was born, I was not born “Erin”

I was born “TJ’s little sister”

When we got older and my brother grew out of the TJ name and wanted to go by Tom, I then became “Tom’s little sister” with everyone new that he met.

We went to separate high schools and I was STILL TJ or Tom’s little sister. So when he came to finish his senior year at MY high school, I thought, here we go…..I will no longer be his little sister, he will be MY brother. Since I was widely known in High School. Teachers would hear the name and say “Oh you are Erin’s Brother” Yeah not so much!

Okay so I dealt with it, and it wasn’t until college that I lost that title….but then I gained a new one, “Psych major, with a minor in drug and alcohol rehab”. Ummm okay I HAVE A NAME PEOPLE!!!

Then I graduated to the next name “Ohhh that’s what’s his name’s wife, he abused her” and I lived with that title for a while, and the pity, which I didn’t want, I just wanted to forget it all.

And then I met the hubs and I was finally just Erin, but it didn't last long.

Now….I am no longer that, I am now and will forever be “Thomas and Christopher’s Mommy” And I know this because my son got his 1st official bday invite from one of his classmates, and I have not yet met his mother, and I have to RSVP so I will now call and say “Hi this is Erin, Thomas’ mommy, and we’ll be at the party”

Ahhh well….what’s in a name anyway? The only name I ever wanted was "Mommy"

There are no dues or fees...

To my 2 sons, Thomas and Christopher,

Thomas, when you didn't come home on time from the hospital, I hated it, but loved you even more, and it was okay.
Christopher when you came to the hospital too early, and I couldn't be with you those 1st 5 days, I was miserable but it was okay.
Thomas, when you would drive me nuts getting into every single cupboard in the kitchen while I was trying to cook dinner, I would trip and almost break my face, but you were so cute and it was okay.
Christopher, when you went to the hospital with your 1st breathing episode and camped there for 4 days with me by your side, I was so very tired and so very scared, but it was okay.
Thomas, when you slapped your baby brother awake when he was just a month old, and when I hollered at you and you cried, I felt so very guilty, but it was okay.
Christopher, when you would not walk to save your life until you were 18 months, and I was so frustrated with carrying your ever increasing weight, but it was okay.
Thomas, when you threw a tantrum for 57 minutes....YES, you read that right....FIFTY SEVEN minutes, I wanted to sit and cry I was so tired of hearing you, but it was okay.
Christopher, when you don't listen and fall and hurt yourself, and I blame myself for not saving you, it is all okay.
Point is....
No matter what you both do or do not do in your life, I am your mommy, and I will be your number 1 fan! I will love you no matter who or what you are. I will always be there for you, anytime of the day or night, no matter how tired, frustrated, angry, scared, stressed or miserable I may be, you are my whole life. I have waited so long for both of you, and I will do anything and everything I can for you....and best of all, there are no requirements and no fees....

And that is what my unconditional love for you is.
Should you ever need me....I'll be the one sitting in wonderment on the sidelines, that you both are MY sons....MY little Miracles, growing right before my eyes, and I will love you no matter what!
Love Mommy

Brought to you by MamaKat

It's just Peachy!

Remember these lovelies from yesterday? Wanna see what I did with them?

1st they went into a nice hot bath...and soaked for just a bit, it sure does make it easy to peal the skin right off them!

I diced them up, threw them in a pot with some pectin, some sugar a smidge of butter....let them boil.....threw MORE sugar in there and boiled them again for 1 minute!

Them them immediately in jars and TA-DA, Peach Jam! I made the LOW sugar kind....OMG it still takes 3 cups of sugar, my mom, on the other hand, made FULL sugar....5 1/2 cups of sugar!! Talk about a sugar high! We let them sit in their pretty little jars over night and ALL DONE! Ready to eat!

Oh yeah and I still had about 10 lbs of peaches left, so I made two pies.....I stuffed these suckers so full, they poured out the sides!

But tell me they don't look scrumptious?

Phew, I think all the peaches are off the tree! I have made like 4 pies, and 2 peach/bosenberry cobblers now and I think I'm finally done. My next challenge....an APPLE pie!

Thanks Angie for letting me share!

Are you prepared?

Okay so I Had this amazingly, beautiful, delicious post to do tonight about These....

PEACHES!!!

And I can't find the "thingie" (that's a highly technical term) to plug the photo card into to get the pics off the camera! So it will have to wait until tomorrow! So don't forget to come back to see the yummies I made!

So instead, since we just had a 4.0 earthquake off the coast of Malibu, it reminded me of this one thing that I have NOT done for my son for preschool. But I am having a hard time understanding WHY they are asking for specific things, and I am thinking about adding my own touch!

Now don't get me wrong, I understand being prepared for emergencies. But when my son's preschool asked me to make him a Earthquake kit, and this is what I need....

1. small backpack with my son's name

2. some type of NON perishable food....i.e. granola bars....well those eventually go bad...can't I use twinkies?

3. ONE bottle of water....okay my son will drink A bottle of water in a sitting, I think I'll put 3 in there....AT LEAST.

4. a zip lock bag with band aids, chewable tylenol, and a note with special instructions....those "special instructions" would be: he likes to use band aids like stickers and please leave note in return as to how you got him to chew the tylenol, (for further reference) Thanks, greatly appreciated!!

5. A reassuring note from Mommy and Daddy that you will get to them ASAP and not to worry if it takes a few days. Okay 1st....if you are going to tell them that anyway, and the fact that my 3 year old does NOT read yet...just make it up, and I can tell you right now...it will NOT take a "few days" I would move the heavens to get my child!

6. a 3x5 card with names and phone numbers of an out of state contact. Oh RIGHT! And what is it that they would do....fly in and get them? Trust me, if I can't get to my child, someone from out of state won't be able to either!!

7. A family picture.....ummm okay why? I can tell you right now, if my son is hurt or scared and you had him a picture of the family he will probably slap you with it and cry.

8. A change of clothes....okay if I put a change of clothes in the bag right now....I would have to retrieve that bag every WEEK to update those clothes or he will have long pants that by the time he needs them are then capris or even shorts!! Don't they realize how fast they grow?

And last but not least 9. a few small familiar toys...well if they are familiar I can tell you they will NOT be allowed to go in the bag...and by the time they might need it, they will not longer be familiar.

And if you can't make your child one of these, you can buy one for the cost of $14.50.

I laughed....and then I was puzzled, and then I questioned....

I guess I don't understand. These are not generic things like some caned beanie weenies and water, a blanket, flashlights, batteries, a radio....THOSE are the things I would put in a backpack for my son...you know things that would actually help the school and the children to survive. Trust me, if there is a catastrophic earthquake, he will not be searching for a PIC of me, he will be searching FOR ME!

Uggh, I can't even think about it, I am terrified of EQ's....

Do you have a emergency kit for your child at school?

I'm a Twit

As I said in my last post, I learned SO much by attending Bloggy Boot Camp.
And one of the things I learned was that I needed to be on Twitter. The ladies helped me out with that FIRST thing. And I am learning so much more by the minute when it comes to that.

So while I texted the hubs from BBC and said "I just started a twitter account" He laughed and said "So you are a twit now huh?" And I said yeah I guess so!

So it's been fun and I am meeting and chatting with all the ladies I met at BBC, and already have some plans to hook up with a lot of them in San Diego!

by Custom Icons

So now I have the adorable little birdie on my sidebar, and I guess I am officially a Twit....so come follow me!

Another Sunday in SF

I had so much fun in San Francisco for another weekend.
I was lucky enough to attend my very first Blogging conference, Bloggy Boot Camp!
It was amazing! I met so many fun and wonderful women, and the conference room was great, despite the fact that we all froze for half the time!! The view was spectacular from what I hear, I had a hard time looking I am terrified of heights! But one of the ladies offered to take this pic of Union Square from all the way up on the 32nd floor of the Westin!


Midway through we stopped for lunch, tell me that doesn't look scrumptous!!!

But what looks even better was DESSERT!!! All that yummy fruit! It was delish!It was such a beautiful Summer day in San Fran today, THESE are the days I remember! Gorgeous weather, no fog, slight breeze! Just an amazing day!

And while down at the Wharf I met this little guy....Rex....isn't he just the sweetest? And so funny, apparently he LOVES cable cars....he stopped chewing on this one so I could take his cute little pic!

And while heading out at the airport, I found these little gems! San Francisco Sourdough Snacks! OMG I so love these things and you can't get them anymore in So. Cal. I don't know why, but they are so crispy and so flavorful! I would have shipped home a whole box if I could have!!

I learned so much this past weekend in San Fran for Bloggy Boot Camp that I can't wait to go to the next one in San Diego!! I also learned that Tiffany from SITS girls and I go WAY back....we went to High School together!!

I'll be sharing what I have learned and what they got me into once I get home!!
Happy Sunday!!!

Brought to you by Unknown Mami

Pears Before Bed

So we have never had a single problem with either of the boys when it's time to go to bed....we are lucky like that. 8:30 every night we tell them, it's time for bed, they get up and march right off to bed.

And last night Thomas decided that he needed something...anything, to avoid going to bed. 1st it's a toy. Then it's a hug, "I didn't get to hug you mommy!" aww that's sweet buddy, now please go to bed, it's after bed time.

Then he comes out and he's mumbling something from across the room and he is saying it so quiet, now I have great hearing but I can't hear a single word. I'm starting to get a little annoyed because I am frustrated.

Me: Thomas? it's WAY past bedtime, I don't know what you mean by Pears. You mean pears that you eat? Are you hungry?

Thomas: No mommy, pears

Me: Okay I don't understand "pears", do you mean PAIRS? Like a Pair of socks? It's awful warm, are you sure you need socks on?

Thomas: whine...no mommy, PEARS!

Me: Okay Thomas, this is getting old, talk to me like I'm two okay?

Thomas: PEARS Mommy....like ummm "now I lay me down to sleep"

Me: OHHHHHHH P-R-A-Y-E-R-S!

So now we say our Pears every night before bed! =) I'm catching up on all the preschooler lingo, cuz that's how I roll!

And Thomas knows when you are getting frustrated, annoyed and angry, because he will say "Mommy"? *sigh* YES Thomas? "I Love You" Awwww MELT!

To potty, or not to potty, that is the question

Dear Mommy and Daddy,

I know that grandma had me completely potty trained before I went to school. I did really well, aside from a few accidents I was really proud of myself. And I saw how proud you and daddy and everyone else was of me.

I can't tell you how exciting it was to go to the store and pick out my very own underwear. I got Elmo, and some super hero's and McQueen and even Tow Mater and even some short like underwear, you called them boxers but I don't understand how you call them boxers because they don't look anything like the dog next door. But whatever. I loved putting them on every morning and taking a nap with them on.

I did pretty good. And when I went to school, I was among the big kids. All the big boys and girls, all going potty in the potty. And I really loved the little potties just my size. I even asked you if I could take out the one in mine and brother's bathroom and put a little one in like the ones at school.

And then I noticed something. At home, there is only one potty, and one door, and it closes and I am going potty all by myself, even though I rarely close the door. But at school, there are 4 potties, just my size all in a row, and no doors. So every time I go pee or try to sit and go poop, there is someone looking at me. The door is wide open and all the girls and boys can watch. Any parent that walks in can see me going potty, and that to me....is a little....weird! Any teacher can walk by and see me going potty. I know I am only 3, but STILL!

So I have decided that I don't like people watching me, Ms. Linda at school calls it "stage fright". And I have decided I am not going to go potty on the potty anymore at school. I have decided to give up all my cool underwear and go back to wearing the evils of pull ups and diapers. But when I am at home I will use the potty for the most part.

I know how disappointing this is for you, but please try to understand and put yourself in my position, do you want to pee or poop with a bunch of other people watching you?
Thanks for understanding and supporting me and loving me for who I am.

I love you,
Love, Thomas

So for all of those who left comments on yesterday's post about how lucky I am to have my two year old sit on the potty for the 1st time while all your 3 year olds are having difficulty. Trust me, our house is not without difficulty in the potty training department. I think Christopher will be fully potty trained before Thomas will again! *sigh* Potty Training...you gotta love it right?

Inspired by Mama Kat

Because Potty's and Pizza are IN

Christopher just 3 weeks shy of his 2nd birthday and he pooped on the potty for the 1st time today!!! Let's hope he can keep it up!! Sheesh won't that be nice?

And not to be outdone, in preschool Thomas became a chef for a day, they made their own chef's hat, as well as pizza and not pictured is a plate of spaghetti and meatballs!!!

Brought to you by Angie

The Beach is where it's at

Sunday in my City, is spent at Malibu beach! Finally we are seeing some nice summer weather...and it was a gorgeous 75 degrees at the beach.

Was so funny I caught this on film.....
"Daddy? Can you get me some water please"
Sure Buddy....

EXCELLENT, and I didn't even have to get my feet wet....

I have them under my spell....because that's how I roll!

Mommy isn't supposed to be in the sun, so I bring a hat....and who wore it? My fair haired babe, with skin just like mommy's! Let's hope he can avoid the skin cancer! So with pleasure I gave up my hat!

Wouldn't you if he looked that adorable? And it's a Tennessee Titans hat....Football season is coming!!! Alicia your Colts are GOIN' DOWN! haha

As you can see, they just love the beach.....

Wouldn't you when it looks this amazing?

Brought to you by Unknown Mami

Less than perfect...

Of course no one wants to see their child as anything less than perfect and it's often a hard thing to swallow when we are told they are less than perfect, but it doesn't make anyone any less happy to have that child in their lives.

And that is exactly what I told myself all throughout this whole process, no matter what they say it will not make me love Christopher any less. And he will not be any less perfect in my eyes. I asked for him, God chose ME to be his mommy, and if God chose him to be "special" than that is what I would take, and I would love him all the more!

Christopher went in for his autism evaluation the other day, and of course he was a little charmer, Mr. Personality! He is definitely a crack up, despite his lack of speech. He has his way, he's a total flirt, and he won them over immediately.

First came his motor skills evaluation, and he passed with flying colors. They put this wooden puzzle in front of him with cut out shapes of square, circle, and triangle. She put a piece down and he immediately grabbed it and put it in it's spot, correctly, time and time and time again! They gave him a peg board with square pegs and circle pegs, small ones and big ones and he knew exactly where they went. I think the hubs and I were beaming with pride that he's so smart!

So when the speech and language evaluator came in, he again charmed her and made her putty in his hands. She tested everything, she watched him eat and how he communicated with us and with her. And she immediately said "he doesn't have Autism". But that his speech and language is at the 12-14 month level. It has nothing to do with what we have done or not done, it has nothing to do with him being a preemie, it has nothing to do with the fact he's a younger sibling.

Remember my post about our issues with day care?

Basically because my dumb self trusted this hand picked individual to care for my children, and she fed my child in a little baby hammock lookin' like thing, with a bottle propped up when he wasn't holding his own bottle it contributed to chronic ear infections between about 4 months to 9 months....about when he sat up on his own. And due to those chronic ear infections he wasn't hearing properly, so he completely bypassed his babbling stage. So because he missed all that "exercise" so to speak for his mouth and tongue and all that goes into talking, he is delayed.

So what now you ask? He will go to some speech development sessions. We have to wait to get the reports and have them figure how many he will need and such and hopefully before long, he'll be age appropriate.

So in other news we had an absolute blast at the Dierks Bentley concert last night, the guy rocks! I didn't get a single pic because let's face it, a pic doesn't do the experience of being there any justice!

So thanks for all the prayers, and well wishes. Now we move on and hope both boys continue to thrive despite their day care mishap!!

Make my brown eyes Blue

Most babies are born with blue or slate blue eyes....except me, I had brown from the beginning.

The hubs has beautiful blue eyes....and I hoped and prayed that just ONE of my boys would carry his eyes.

It's been said in the past, Thomas looks just like daddy and has my brown eyes. And Christopher looks exactly like me, and has the most amazing blue eyes. Wish I could make my brown eyes blue.

Now my baby....my youngest....my little baby blue....

And I always thought his blue eyes would turn....but they were just too blue... they were mesmerizing, I could look into them forever.

And as he grew, they just got more blue, and more beautiful.....

I never want to think of a single cloud in those blue eyes....

I want him to always radiate happiness and love .....

No matter what challenges he may face in life.....

And tomorrow my baby blue, will undergo evaluations for Autism.

And I am sure his blue eyes will charm his evaluators, so no matter what the outcome, he will still have the most amazing blue eyes I have ever seen. And I am proud to be his mommy!

Brought to you by MamaKat

A toy is a toy?

Clockwise: yellow bottle cap, blue bottle cap, nasal aspirator, 2 rocks and finally my phone case.

These are toys in our house. My boys have a million dollars worth of toys. We have drawer after drawer, shelf after shelf, car after car, closet after closet FULL of TOYS!

We have yard toys, lawn mowers, shovels, rakes, tricycles, pots, pans, musical instruments galore.
We HAVE. IT. ALL.

But in our house....THESE are toys....THESE are the things they fight over. Actually Christopher just likes to take them and run from Thomas laughing, while Thomas gets ticked off. And Thomas is just barely taller than Christopher, so he holds them over his head and laughs while Christopher jumps for them!

So the last thing my boys need.....more toys!

Guess as long as it keeps them occupied right?
Anyone want some brand new, only played with maybe once or twice toys?

Brought to you by Angie at seven clown circus!

How Fair it is....

Sundays in my City brought the Ventura Co. Fair.

Look at this horse....doesn't he look so majestic? Christopher wanted to pet him but his owner wasn't around so I didn't think we ought to....he was HUGE!

But he did get to pet a ton of goats....

And Thomas was feeding this one.....

And Christopher loved this sheep....talked to him for a long time! I think it was because their hair was the same color!

And as hard as he could, he tried to put his little fingers through the gate to pet the piggies, but they were too busy eating!

Ohhhhh and see this? This is Christopher's Quilt. My mom, being the quilting and embroidery genius that taught me everything there is to know about embroidery, made that for him, and submitted it to the fair, and it took 3rd place!!!!!!!!!!! One of these years I'll submit one of the blankets I've made....

So there it will hang until fair is over, along with her 2 other quilts that placed as well.

Here is the full size quilt and what it looks like And that is what a Sunday at the Fair looks like....well along with the food, and a ton of money we spent. But it was fun! The hubs and I will be going back Thursday night for a concert minus a couple of little rugrats!

Brought to you by Unknown Mami, stop by and congratulate her, if you didn't already know, she's pregnant!!!! =)

Because Vampires Suck

Okay one of my besties told me about this movie and I had NO idea what it was, and when I saw the preview I was hysterically laughing.

I tried to load it, but apparently blogger can't handle the size.

So go here to check out Vampires Suck

For those of us who have seen Eclipse a million times and can't hardly wait for Breaking Dawn 1 to come out in November 2011 let alone Breaking Dawn 2 in November 2012, we'll have to settle for Vampires Suck!

And until then I will just crack up at the hilarity of it all!

Do you think it strange

Do you ever stop and think about your tips when you go to a restaurant?
Do you ever stop and wonder what that waitress does and where those tips might get spent?

I have had a lot of people tell me I'm a little nuts....and let me tell you why...

I'm a HUGE fan of Guy Fieri....if you don't know who he is, you haven't watched Diner's Drive In and Dives or even Minute to Win It. And when we planned our trip to SF we decided to go north of there to Santa Rosa to meet with my bestie Brooke and her fam to go to Guy's restaurant Johnny Garlics.

Now let me tell you our experience...they seat us, it's nice ambiance, but being there with friends we were more concerned with catching up. The waitress introduces herself, and brings us some bread. I eat a piece, and the second piece there is a very large onion that drips off it as I bite into it...well I'm allergic to Onions so of course I panic inside but remain calm. She apologizes and brings me some plain bread. Well that was so nice of her.

Next....as we are sitting there, a spider decides to walk right across our table....right in front of ME! FABULOUS! I am terrified of spiders and it gets worse by the day. So the hubs saves me, as usual.

With their kids meals they bring these sinful Oreo Brownies....and I joked with the waitress how we needed more...and she brought a whole bunch!

Now it comes time to pay and my bestie and her hubby take care of the bill....paid part on a card and part in cash. So we only saw half the amount of the bill...so my brain being on vacation said "We'll get the tip" and based it on only HALF the bill. So we basically shorted her like a bunch of money!

When I found that out, I called Johnny Garlic's to find out her name and I sent more money to her and explained to her who I was, although I am sure she remembers us as the people who suck because they didn't even tip me 10% of the bill. And I'll never see this waitress again.

So why should I care if I shorted her money?

Because I've been there, a waitress that is, and know what it's like to have someone short you on a tip.....that 20 bucks might buy diapers for a single mother....it might pay for part of a tuition of a college student. And sure, it might just buy the next 12 pack of beer. But she was good, she earned that tip!

Now tell me....am I nuts? Would you have done the same thing?

There is something about a pick up man

I think back to my 1st ever boyfriend. His name was Josh, and I met him through my brother.
He was my 1st REAL boyfriend, and my 1st ever love.

You know, that kind of love that you think will last FOR-EVER! He was so sweet, and we had so much in common and we had a total blast when we hung out, which wasn't all that often, considering we lived like 30 minutes from each other...and when I am 14 and he was 16 with no car...we relied on our parents A. LOT! And they were great, helped to blossom our young love.

We were together for close to 3 years and I can remember....he had no car, I had no license (not that I had a car, but still) And his best friend Alex....had a mini truck.

Remember those??? those little trucks that they lowered down to almost the ground? Well it was a Saturday night, and Alex offered to come and pick me up and take me to the drive in Movies with he and Josh. FABULOUS! I was so excited....now there isn't much room in a standard size pick up truck. And there is even LESS room in a mini truck. Especially when Alex is trying to make a statement with all his CB and bumpin' stereo system in there and all that.

Let's just say it's a good thing the truck had a bed to sit in at the movies, because I practically had to sit on Josh's lap the whole way, which was a long way, and when you are trying to look cool...that's hard.

We did a lot of dates this way...it's almost like Alex was our chauffeur! And I was SOOO glad when Josh got his truck....a raised Toyota pick up....that thing was spacious!!! At least it was compared to Alex's mini truck!! And when I got my first car and was allowed to travel the distance to Josh's house, I did it every chance I got!

There is something about a pick up man.....that's why I married one! Love the spaciousness of his Ford F150, but will always remember that mini truck!

Brought to you by Mama Kat

Flutter By

If you've been around awhile or you just know me, you know that my brother was killed 14 years ago.

And I believe in the super natural kinda things. And I believe that my brother was a soul set free to fly. And I believe that soul can take many forms. I also believe that the ultimate sign of freedom is the flutterby.....

This beautiful happy little guy fluttered by while were were in San Francisco seeing

The crookedest street, Lombard Street....

And Coit Tower....
Now I believe that my brother presents himself all the time in the form of a flutterby....almost as if he's checking up on me, looking in on my sons, and since he never did get a chance to come see me while I lived in San Francisco, he showed up that day.....checking in, and even gave us a photo op!

And because my Brother's birthday is August 4th, I thought what a perfect way to wish him a Happy 40th Birthday, posting the pic of the flutterby that shows up at every happy event!! So Happy Birthday T.J! I miss you, I love you, I think of you often and talk to the boys about you all the time!!

Brought to you by Angie

A borrowed city for a Sunday

Okay so it's not in my city, but it is in my state, and I lived there for many years, and we did visit, so I had to post.

I can't believe out of all the years I lived in San Francisco and all the people who came to visit me, we didn't once make it to Alcatraz.

So much history and so much beauty is there, Despite the dispair that was behind the walls!

I really was amazed to see what an excellent tour they have put together, and how much I enjoyed exploring the island.

The have some things closed off for safety reasons, but you really can go almost anywhere on the island....including solitary confinement!

This is what Sunday in my vacationing city looks like!

Brought to you by Unknown Mami