artwork from church

we have been going to church. we started going in january. i was worried at first that mason would not like to go to the kid classes. i have never put him in pre-school so i didn't know how he would react. he loves it. i am so relieved, and shocked. he gets really excited to go. we go on saturday nights because it is casual and we don't have to wake up super early on sunday. this seems to work out nicely for us. the church we go to is in orange county so it is an hour drive to get there. christina and zena go with us. i was bringing dahlia with mason and me, but she screamed too much when i would put her in the nursery. they had to page me three times. i finally gave up, and either i leave her at my mom's house, or at home with miles.

mason is so cute about going to church. he tells me all about his class when we are driving there. he said he loves to see his friends and then it's story time and time to clean up. so funny. they usually do some sort of art work. i love his art, and proudly display it on our fridge.

we are green

we have been recycling our cans, glass, and plastic. not just putting them in the recycle bin, but actually separating them and taking them to the recycle center. i can't believe we are actually doing this. i am so impressed with us. i don't really like to go there. it is dirty and kind of a drag. mason likes to help. we get about $10.00 a month from all our recyclables, and then we donate the money. i feel like it is an easy way to earn a tiny bit of money to donate.

we have been so good about our green reform. we have replaced most of our light bulbs with cfl's. we also almost always use our canvas bags for groceries and such. i love not having a big collection of grocery bags to throw away. plus it is so much nicer to carry a canvas bag.

flat zena

my niece zena had this class assignment that we were asked to help her with. her class was reading "flat stanley" by jeff brown. a story about a little boy that gets flattened with a bulletin board, and then sent to california through the mail. in honor of this book the kids created flat paper dolls of themselves and mailed them to a friend for a visit. we were supposed to treat "flat zena" as a guest and take photos of her for zena's project. it was very fun and mason loved playing with flat zena. here are some photos of our adventures.

maya

my friend kimberly had her baby girl last week. maya eden was born on march 10. so cute. i went to visit her and her husband to see their new baby today. oh my gosh. what a cutie. she is only a week old and almost 9 pounds. wow. she has a full head of hair. i am so happy for them. they are fully immersed in the magic of bringing home a newborn. i just love to see them so happy. hmmm, maybe miles and i should have another baby. yikes. what am i thinking? i just can't resist a new baby. oohh look at those little feet.

bodhi's one

bodhi had his official birthday today. i took the kids to disneyland and met up with jen, ray and bodhi. we had so much fun. it was very crowded, but the lines seemed to go pretty fast. we decided against going to a restaurant because it usually doesn't turn out well with three kids along. i think this was a great choice, because we got on lots of rides. mason loved going on the rockets with ray. bodhi and dahlia seemed to like it's a small world best. we had such a fun day. i can't wait to go back. happy birthday bodhi.

bodhi's birthday party

jen and ray had a birthday party for bodhi at our house yesterday. it was so fun. jen and ray invited about 40 friends and family members over for a casual lunch. they served hot dogs and salads. it was kind of a safari theme. so cute. jen made these beautiful flower arrangements with gerbera daisies that we got from the flower market. they were perfect. she came over thursday morning and i helped her set up for the party. we made chocolate and vanilla cupcakes for dessert. bodhi loved his cupcake. he shoved the whole thing in his mouth. so funny. i can't believe he is already one year old.

the bluffs

i drove down to jen's house today to hang out. we took the kids on a fun walk to the santa monica bluffs. it was so beautiful. the kids had fun running in the grass and looking out over the ocean watching the sailboats. ohh sailboats, how i love thee. how i wish i could be sailing out on the ocean right now. it was a perfect day. we stopped for coffee. jen said this is her usual daily walk with bodhi and i am so jealous. i really do live too far from the ocean. i miss it. i miss the salty smell of the air and the cool breezes. how sad. maybe someday i will get to move back to the beach. in the meantime i will just have to be content with visits.

breakfast

the kids have been enjoying breakfast at their own little table every morning. it is like a little cafe. too cute.

obsessed

i have been spending waaay too much time reading lately. i am obsessed. it is so bad. i wake up in the middle of the night unable to sleep and pull out my mini mag light reading under the covers. i read until the batteries die, and then quietly wait for the sun to come up so i can read some more. each night i can't wait for the kids to go to sleep so i can do it all over again.

i don't remember the last time i was so obsessed like this. i love it. i am having so much fun. i keep picking out my next book thinking this one, then that one, then those two over there oooh and don't forget that one on the other shelf. i have at least ten more books lined up in my mind to read.

my current and embarrassing favorites are the twilight series. oh my gosh. these books are so fun to read. how could you not love a book about a teenage romance with a vampire. i mean really. what could be better. i have finished the first two books and am debating whether i should just keep going with the series or take a break with something that has a little more substance. i swear i am not just reading junk. the book that kicked off this read-a-thon was a wonderful book by ernest hemingway called a farewell to arms. now, back to the books...