10 Things about Carson Right NOW

That darn Cathy Zielske has got the best of me again. She posted a scrapbook page that I am going to copy right here and now. Why wait....

1. Every morning when Daddy leaves for work, you run to the front door and say, "Wait daddy, I have to give you a hug and kiss." Then you stand outside the front door and wave until he drives out of sight.

2. You would eat fruit snacks for breakfast, lunch and dinner if I would let you and last week you ate almost a whole pound of blueberries.

4. Melvin Might and Smash Crash are currently your favorite books.

5. We just visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium to see the sharks and are very excited to be a shark for Halloween

6. You are concerned with everyone taking their shoes off. If I do require you to put them on, you demand to wear the "black ones" that Suzanne picked out for you, even if they don't match.

7. You drag your "orange" blankie and pillow all over the house with you and sometimes even talk me into letting you take it in the car.

8. You haven't worn a diaper in weeks!!

9. Every Monday morning, you wave at all THREE garbage trucks as they pick up our garbage cans.

10. You love watching Fireman Sam and reenact scenes with your own fire truck and telephone to call Fireman Sam.

10. Mommy and Daddy love you more today than ever before!!!

Who's Crying Now

What makes up the soundtrack of your life?

If I had my choice, I'd like to hear Journey's greatest hits playing over and over in the background. However, the soundtrack of my life is currently made up of crying children that consists of a temper tantrum throwing 2 year old or a tired and cranky 4 month old. There is occasional melody of laughter that brightens my day or even better yet, the desired silence. I wish I could record the silence sound track and play it over the sound of the screaming 2 year old. Wouldn't that be nice!! I do have to add an honorable mention to my soundtrack. That would be the sound of boats zooming by as I sit on the porch of our Bass Lake cabin. We'll call it my summer soundtrack. It would come in as a close second to the sound of my children laughing.

V is for Victory

Today's question is:

You are going to a desert island for the rest of your days. Excluding people, what five things do you take and why?

Steve's answer is:

1. A bucket

2. Ice

3. Corona's

Spoken from a true man.

Here's what I would take:

1. Cribbage Board - Assuming there is someone there for me to play with, I could play cribbage for hours to keep me occupied.

2. Camera - I would enjoy taking pictures of the desert island to perfect my photography skills and to document my last days on the island!!

3. My pillows and down comforter - Gotta sleep in comfort right? (hope that doesn't count as 2 items)

4. My Computer - There's gotta be a wireless network somewhere. I would be lost without my computer and communication to the outside world. I don't need a phone as long as I have a computer.

5. Wine - Yep, to help the days go by nice and easy.

Speaking of Cribbage, here is the latest entry in by book: ME the abridged version:

VICTORY
I find the single most gratifying victory in winning a simple game of Cribbage. Cribbage is a game that I have been playing for as long as I can remember. It is a game of some skill and mostly luck as you play cards, hope for the cut and move little pegs around the colored track. My favorite is to challenge my dad or husband and ultimately skunk them. I am not the best loser so it’s a good thing that I don’t lose that often.

I just had to add this picture of the boys because I thought is was soooo stinkin' cute!

L is for LOVE

So, I have been taking this online scrapbook class and have been journaling like crazy. Every day Cathy Zielske e-mails a question to help us think about stuff that is important to us as a way to encourage our writing.

For the sake of simple blogging, I would like to share her questions with you. Answer as you will (as if anyone actually reads my blog).

Here is today's question:

What's the best thing you've ever done?

I'm going to go with... Dating Steve. Yep, because if I didn't date him, I never would have married him and I would have neglected this wonderful life I have before me. It amazes me how many challenged marriages there are, and trust me, Steve and I have been through our share of rocky roads, but only to make us stronger in the end. I value the committed and loving relationship we have. He is an amazing person and I am thankful to have his my life.

Which leads me to my scrapbook entry for L

L is for Love
I can say without any hesitation that I love my husband, Steve Schmidt. He is a wonderful human being inside and out. His darling smile makes his dimples sparkle and my heart warm and fuzzy. Might I add that he is incredibly sexy. In the beginning, I was hesitant to date him but gave in to temptation and ended up falling in love with my best friend. Not only do I love him but I actually like him as well. That just means that we enjoy each other’s company and have fun together on a regular basis. I miss him every day when he is at work and look forward to him coming home. We even have a rule that requires us to give each other a kiss in order to get in or out of bed. I truly think that we have a love that is unique and completely unlike any other. I believe in love and am sure that I have found it in my husband.

How could you not love Steve's Hair??

C is for Cathy Zielske

Shame on you Stacey for introducing me to the one and only, Cathy Zielske. OK, no shame should be given, only pure thanks. Following Cathy, actually more like stalking her, has opened my world to a whole new level of creativity.

I recently took her class, Everyone Can Write a Little. That class allowed me to tell my story in 140 characters or less. I posted every thought about pregnancy and the play by play of Brady's delivery onto my Facebook account. From there I was able to make a scrapbook of my status updates to have forever. Pretty cool!

I am so addicted to Cathy Zielske that I read her blog daily and decided to take yet another class of hers. Little did I know all that I was going to get from this class. It is call, ME the Abridged Version. It is an ABC book about me. I get to tell MY story and learn to use Photoshop in the process. Super exciting.

Here is an excerpt from my latest entry:

Zzzzzzz
Sleep is completely a thing of my past. I recall in my younger years being able to sleep in until noon with not a care in the world. I am NOT a morning person by any means. I wake up grumpy on a regular basis and always want to pull the covers over my head and beg for “just 5 more minutes.” However, with two young children, my days of sleeping in are only a vague memory. I rise but am not so shiny at all hours of the night and I am up during the wee hours of the morning. I am currently envious of those who get a full night sleep on a regular basis, or even those who have had one night with 8 hours of continuous sleep in the last 4 months. I love my children. They are worth every ounce of pure exhaustion that I experience. As the expression goes, “you can sleep when you are dead.”
Also see: Coffee

Pines Village Bakery

This weekend, Steve and I spent Friday night at Bass Lake, kid less!! We enjoyed an evening at the pines bar playing liars dice and mingling with the locals. Saturday we attended the annual Bass Lake Home Tour. This year's event pleased us beyond our expectations.

We walked to the Pine Village to pick up our tickets and get our map for the self guided tour. While in the Bass Lake Realty sales office, Steve joking asks if the Bakery is for sale. Steve and I have always talked about how we would love to buy the bakery/ice cream shop if it were to ever be for sale. Having a bakery has always been a long time dream of mine. I didn't realize that I would be faced with a truly life changing decision at such an early age.

For the rest of the afternoon we toured some pretty cool homes at Bass Lake and met many of our local neighbors. However, my mind wouldn't leave the idea of possibly purchasing the Pines Village Bakery.

As much as this is a task that I would love to take on, I not sure if the timing is right in my life. I have two little boys to think about. Running a seasonal bakery at Bass Lake would require me to work LONG hours every day of the entire summer. My boys are still little and need me more than ever. I plan to make some phone calls this week to explore a bit further the option of owning my dream business before making a such a life changing decision.

Photography

That's it... I am completely obsessed with photography. I want to become a photographer. I want to take classes and learn to become better with my camera. I am obsessed with looking at photographers online and criticizing their work. My current idol is:

http://michelletandyphotography.blogspot.com/

I was practically in tears yesterday over photographing my children. When Carson was born I signed up to do the "Panel Program" with a local studio called Village Studios. They have been around for a while and are quite well know. They do very "classic" studio work with simple white backdrops. You schedule 3, 6, 9, and 12 month portraits with them. I felt that because I had Carson's first year pictures from them that I should have Brady's done as well. When I walked into the studio yesterday, I wanted to cry. Village Studio does beautiful work but it is totally NOT my style. So why did I fork out the bones to have Brady's pictures taken anyway??? Not sure.

But now I am on the look out for a new photographer. I thought I found one here locally, but come to find out that she is ridiculously expensive! UGH!! That's when I decided that I just need to learn to do this myself.

Here are a few of my recent favorites:

Good Morning Bloggers!

This morning I am blessed with a beautiful family. I know that I am not any more blessed this morning than I am on any other morning, but I am just taking the time to acknowledge it today. I have a wonderful husband and two beautiful little boys. And for the time being, we have my cousin Jessica living with us.

But I do have a few little requests that need to be prayed for:

1. I really hope that Brady starts sleeping through the night soon. These multiple late night feedings are really starting to take a toll on me. He used to be such a good sleeper, going to bed at 8ish and sleeping until 3 or 4 am then again until 7. Last night, we kept him awake for as long as we could before bed, gave him a bath and put him to sleep with a full tummy at 9:00 pm. He only slept until 1:30 am then up again at 4:30 am. He is not even sleeping for his usual 5 hours increments. I am exhausted because Carson gets up at 6 am!! It has been longer than 3 months since I have had a good night sleep.

2. Steve really needs some good work karma. He has been working really hard with little sleep as well. However, his customers sales are down 50%. He is strictly commission which means his sales and paychecks are down 50%. With a new cabin to pay for at Bass Lake, we are trying our best to make ends meet. We are fortunate to have a savings to pull from and ultimately fortunate that he still has a job all together. He is working hard and with hopes that business will pick up.

3. Little Jessica.... Ok, I know she is not that little but she is living with us for the time being with unclear aspirations. To college or the air force is her question. Pray that the decision becomes clear for her. She is also looking for a job in the meantime. I hope that her persistence will pay off and that she will find an amazing job (hopefully with Red Robin and/or Starbucks!!)

But for now, we are truly blessed with the wonderful family that we have and the roof over our heads. Some days I complain and don't think I can make it through, but seriously, I love my life!!