{Little Bean Sprouts}

Mother nature delivered some pre-spring baby news.

Jen and Scott Truman had their baby!!

Katherine Elizabeth, to be called Katie.

Born on March 4, 2010; a small 6 pounds, 10 ounces and a perfect 18 1/2 inches long.

Here's a link with some information about Katie that Jen posted before she was born.

And Lindsay and Michael just announced they are pregnant with number three!

She's basically through her first trimester already, making her due in September.

Here's a link to her blog announcement.

Congratulations, ladies! I'm so happy for both of you. (Scott and Michael, too!)

It's amazing to see you loving life with motherhood so much and crazy to think

you're both already onto your second round of kiddos. Enjoy!

{It's Official: Today is Moving Day}

Lindsay is moving to Colorado today.

(Michael left yesterday with their stuff.)

I'm not sure how I feel about it. I feel sad that they're leaving

and she won't be 20 minutes down the road anymore. She's

my local bestie, and I can sense a void already knowing she's

gone. (It's been there since I first heard their plans to move

were official.)

But I'm also 100% excited for them. They've both been in

Arizona forever. So, this is going to a wonderful adventure for

them as a couple. Michael, who works for UOP, got a promotion

that's taking them there. It sounds like a great oppotunity for

him. Lindsay can keep her job (also with UOP) because she

works from home. The icing on the cake -- they'll be really close

to her good friend, Kelly -- who happens to be mom to twins

baby girls just like Lindsay. How perfect is that, huh?

Lindsay pulled together plans for all her lady friends to meet

for dinner last weekend. We had Teppanyacki at Sapporo.

Everyone was lit up with energy -- all excitement for Linds,

no doubt. It was a great time!

Bre, Lindsay, me

Here's everyone. (Good to see you, ladies!)

And then Lindsay and I got together for one last time on

Wednesday evening for dinner and chats at Kokopelli

Winery in dt Chandler.

After a tearful good bye that night and popping in to visit her

gorgeous girls one last time on Thursday, I was ready to let

her go! :)

Linds, I'll miss you! Enjoy your adventure!! See ya soon.

{Tea for Two + Two Cute Babies}

Add crazy tapioca beads, (those are the black balls at the 

bottom of the cups) and you've got yourself an outing.

Lindsay, the girls and I went out for our very first Boba Tea.

Also called Bubble Tea. It's good to try new things, and we 

were up for a bit of adventure. This was it!

We went to Lollicup (Warner and Alma School) and both got the 

Almond Snow. Nice and cold. Great flavor. Mmm! It was a little 

sweet for me after about half of it, but it was fun to drink. Totally 

different. Huge straws that pull up these little balls the size of 

blue berries that are a texture all their own. There's another place 

that sells it just down the way. I think I'll give that one a try this 

coming week to compare. 

(Me with Teagan. Her with Boston.)

Nice to get out with you, ladies!

Until next time...

p.s. Attempted my first actions with these photos. I don't really 

know what I'm doing. So, they look a little rough. The photos 

weren't great ones to start with, but I'm hoping to practice with 

more pictures and actions this weekend. I could potentially get 

very hooked to using them!

{Stitch and Bitch}

Carlene. Lindsay. And the girls.
That's my standing date every other Thursday afternoon.
We get together for a stitch and bitch, and I love it.


Here's Lindsay with Teagan (left) and Boston (right).
Since the girls were born (12.7), her schedule has changed
drastically. Having this as a set plan means I know I'll at
least see he every other week.


And this is Carlene with Teagan.
Our dates have given me a chance to get to know Carlene
a little better, every minute of which has been my pleasure.
She's one of the good ones.

Sometimes we stitch more than others. It's depends on how
much we chat and how much love the girls need. I just finished
up a project I'm really excited about -- some bird houses I
have special plans for. This is one of four...


Next up, I'll be embroidering a couple things for baby gifts.
That's the plan anyway. My first attempt was a flop, but I'm
ready for round two. :)

{My Holiday Helpers}

This has been a strange month. It's like Friday the 13th
everyday or something. :( Couple good things though...

* My last day of classes is Tuesday the 16th. Glad this
semester (if you can call it that) is almost over.

* I've spent a lot of time with the Morenos in the past week.
Linds and Michael had their baby girls, Teagan and Boston,
Sunday the 7th. Boston is still in the NICU but doing okay.
She just needs to eat on her own before she can come home.
Teagan is home and in the process of figuring out her new
schedule. Mom and dad are doing a lot of back and forth,
but they're hanging in there. Those girls are so itty bitty!


Grandma Diane with Lindsay and Boston


Michael and Teagan


Here's a better look at Teagan's face.
Boston looks exactly the same, just a little smaller.

***************************************

***************************************

Now onto those holiday helpers of mine. Killian was the
best gift wrapping partner a girl could ask for. We got
all the gifts for the kids wrapped and sent this week.
Killian loves wrapping paper rolls. :)
I was really excited to only spend $50 on gift shipping
this year -- a bargain after spending $200 on that last
year. I was also able to avoid buying one single plastic-
laden toy! Sorry "made in China". Instead, I focused on
books and clothes. (The first picture is a little blurry, but
it makes me smile.)




Remember how I discovered Oliver in my tree chewing on the
lights? Well, I took the lights off, and what do ya know...
They all still work. It's a mystery, but I'm glad they do.
They're the first lights I ever bought -- December 1996 --
and they're still delivering glimmering Christmas joy. :)


These floating shelves in the living room have become my
favorite seasonal decorating tool. They lend themselves
so nicely to holiday flair. Here's what they look like
this Christmas...




And one last thing...
Norah and Killian are the best. They make me smile every
single day, without fail. (And I've needed it lately.) They were
playing out in the back yard the other day with their trusty
tennis ball when it landed in the pool. I heard the sound of
sloshing water through the open window and thought they
had gotten in themselves. I went back to check on them and
found this. Such cute babies.


Never fear, guys. Mom is here. :)

{Today is the Day!}

My dear friends Michael and Lindsay are going to
become parents today at precisely 12:30 PM
Arizona time. Teagan and Boston have created
quite a stir in the past months while they've been
growing in their mama's belly. I'm so looking
forward to meeting those girls. I wanted to wish
all four of the Morenos a healthy, safe day!

***********************

UPDATE: The girls arrived and are doing great
in their tiny, preciousness! I just posted some
photos and info on Lindsay's blog if you wanna
check it out ... Click here.

I interrupt this blog...

to bring Sam some love today. (It's Lindsay...yes, I hacked into Sam's blog, no, she doesn't

know i was doing this, and yes, it took me 30 minutes to remember her password...don't

judge me).

Even though we're all far apart, Sam and her 3 besties were able to come together to create

a dance routine today. We did it out of sheer love for our girl, Sam!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Hope this makes you smile, Sam. We love you.

Lindsay, Jen and Jen

{Could They Be Any Cuter?}

I love puppies!

Diane and Joe (Lindsay's parents) have a dog, Lucy,
who had a litter of puppies less than two weeks ago.
I asked Linds to take me over to see them. They are
so small and precious. I don't think I've ever seen
puppies when they were this little. Their eyes had
just opened up that day.






If anyone is in the market for a boxer puppy, these will
be ready in time for Christmas. If you're local, Santa can
even make the delivery. Now, how fabulous would that
be?!

{Weekend Update}

Another good weekend here in Chandler, Arizona...

Friday:
Halloween! I went to Lindsay and Michael's house.
We sat in their driveway and chatted while the kids
passed by. I got to meet their neighbors across the
street. (Their little boy was so darling he made me
want to run home and immediately begin trying to make
a baby of my own. Alas!) We passed out candy and oooed
and ahhed over all the cute costumes. Michael made us
pasta and apple pie. It was lovely.


Me in my standard holiday attire -- $5 T-shirt from Target.
I accented it with this lovely scarf Linds brought back for
me from her Europe trip with Michael.


Miss Lindsay was much more festive. Here she
is as Juno. What else? I love it!



Saturday:
David, my marathoner-in-training, ran 14 miles!!
His longest run so far. That's a half marathon without
the race setting, and then some. I was so impressed.



He went to the chiropractor afterwards for a quick
adjustment. Then, he came home with these...

So thoughtful of him! I love surprises for no reason.
(And I love clearance holiday decorations.)

We ate, relaxed, watched some DVR...
I also started a new scrapbooking project with old photos
D gathered from him mom for me last time he was home. I
sorted through them, cleaned up the edges and did my first
page. And then went to the Suns Game! (Thank you PCI.)

Photo from espn.com

Sunday:
David golfed in his league. Two man best ball this time.
I took the dogs to the grass patch, went for a walk and
studied. We met up with the Hendricks at a new place for
lunch -- Pita Souvlaki. (Mediterranean is my favorite.)
Then, the rest of the afternoon and evening was dedicated
to rest and hanging out together. David had to work on a
bid. So, I moved my crafting out there and got several
more pages of the book for his mom finished up.



After a good nights sleep, we'll be ready for another week...

{Last Weekend...}

... was a good one. It made me smile repeatedly.

Friday, I did a videography shoot in the morning -- got
some great stuff for my next piece. It's on buying locally
produced foods. (Did you know the average food travels
1,200 miles before it lands on your dinner table?)

I did most of my shooting here, at Vertuccio Farms. This
photo is from their website. Totally worth a visit -- if
you're in the east valley. They have a small store filled with
all kinds of locally made and grown goodies. They even make
roasted peppers for Oregano's and all kind of really cool stuff.
Anyhoo...

Saturday, was Lindsay's baby shower! She did a post on it
already. We all had an awesome time. Kim Kwan did an
INCREDIBLE job with absolutely everything. It was a
wonderful morning!

How precious are these hand knitted hats from
her friend, Elizabeth? And they were so soft.

After a fabulous afternoon nap...
D and I went to see Jimmy Fallon at The Tempe Improv
Saturday night. We laughed our asses off for an hour and
a half. Awesome date.


Sunday was reserved for relaxation with a strong emphasis
on watching television! We were both up for a lazy afternoon.

I love couch days with this guy.


I also got to Skype with Aaron (my brother) and the kids.
Here he is with Aidan and Catherine. It was so good to
see them! Catherine taught me a new joke. What do you
get when a pig does karate? A pork chop. Fabulous.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get ready so we can
leave for Hawaii. (Three cheers for David's company
and all the hard work they do!!) Catch ya on the flip
side.

{There Were Two}

The process of a baby growing inside a woman is incredible.
It's just amazing! Your body does all these things to prepare
and adjust. Watching Lindsay's bump grow has been a lot of
fun, and since she's carrying twins, it's twice as special.

We made a date last weekend to document her belly.
She walked me through shooting in raw again, which was
fabulous practice for me. And she ended up with about 40
photos she was happy with. A success! This was a combined
effort. I shot and she edited. I think they turned out
beautifully! She looks amazing. Here are a few she was
comfortable sharing...















Thanks for stopping in today.

p.s. Happy 62nd birthday wishes to my father-in-law!

{GNO for Lindsay's 28th}

Our girl Lindsay had a lot to celebrate this year
on her birthday. Her pregnancy -- with twins!
So, we went out to have a fun night in her honor.


The birthday girl, Kim Kwan, our deliciously flirtatious
Italian waiter, and me at Tutti Santi for dinner.


He sang her happy birthday in ITALIAN --
It was lovely (and sexy)!


Make a wish!


Silly girls.


What? You don't take your camera into the bathroom
with you when you're out to dinner with friends?


In the tattoo parlor after my nose piercing.

Thanks for a fun night out, birthday girl.
What's on the docket for next year?!