from my home to yours

Ryan {3.5} & Taylor {5.5} 

the real deal

    

Happy Christmas Eve everyone! I wanted you all to enjoy my family Christmas card photo shoot, 2011. Aren't they hysterical! I don't know about your kids, but mine aren't really into smiling & sitting still for long periods of time.  So this was a little bit of a challenge.  Now that I think about it they didn't get along last year either... Look here!  I do cherish these memories very much. Oh by the way the kids decorated our Christmas tree all by themselves. No joke. Not bad little designers {wink}! Gotta go now... It's time to get the kids ready for bed. Santa's coming tomorrow! Yippee!!!

keeping you in the loop

I feel like I've been a little MIA for the last few weeks. Hey, when it rains it definitely pours. I think we all had colds for a few weeks...  Then work has been out of control busy & now I'm trying to get ready for Christmas. I know you all are in the same boat too... So here's a rundown of what I've been up to! 

Just finished up a 2 day photo shoot at a client's house {interior & exterior}... When I get the photos back from my photographer I will share. 

This little man insisted on going swimming the other day. Really!?!?! It was like 50 degrees out... My husband & I were tempted to throw him in to show him how cold it was because he wasn't believing us at the time. Don't worry, we didn't! I thought that was too cruel. His body would have gone into shock. 

At my house which is always changing & evolving... I had a banquette built in my kitchen. This picture below is with my little narrow desk that was on the other side of the kitchen. It looks pretty wimpy & sad.  

 

Don't worry this farm table is what I had in mind... I love the color, texture, the look... I want it all! I need a narrow table so that's why it has to be custom made. 

  I flew up to San Francisco to meet with a new client a few weeks back... As I waited for my flight I did a lot of thinking. I realized I was so blessed in life & career that I wanted to thank you all for the love & support you have given me through the years! I know I have had my ups & downs but we all have. Hey, no one's perfect. Thank you!

 

Arriving in Oakland & driving to my client's home I was in heaven. Look at these trees. They looked like they were straight out of a movie. The colors were unreal! I needed this to re-charge my body & soul and I definitely came back re-charged. Thanks Northern Cal!

Taylor took another art class with my dear friend and artist Susan Wickstrand. She had a blast!

I just completed a wonderful office install for a client... 

  

I've tried to do a little Christmas shopping as well... Look at this sweater Ryan is getting. It's adorable! Cross my fingers he loves it as much as mom & I do. Lands End you always make me smile... Thank you! 
 

We've been brushing our teeth... On a regular basis. The dentist came to Ryan's school so now he's obsessed with his teeth. Good Job Ryan!  

We finally got a Christmas tree. Yes, the kids were good. Thank God because I didn't want to not get them one. I can't even tell you how excited they were when we arrived at Home Depot. Of course they had to take a picture in the cut outs... Gotta love Ryan's new smile. ha ha ha  

 

I tried & tried to get a good shot of the kids for a possible Christmas card... I think I did get 1 or 2 out of the 50 I took. See this is what I got again. At least Taylor & Sean look pretty cute! 
 

Here's the Tree... Oh by the way we NO JOKE picked this tree out in 1 second flat & it's perfect! 
 

 

At 6:30 am the next day our little elves wanted Sean & I up so they could decorate the tree... I'm still hurting from waking up that early. But, it was definitely worth it!

Hope everyone is doing well...

Thanks for staying & reading!

lesson learned {i hope}

So yesterday we were was supposed to go & get our Christmas Tree... I was so excited to start decorating! Hang garland, Christmas lights, pull out the stockings & of course bake cookies to take our day over the top... Well, that didn't happen! As some of you know I have a very strong willed little boy. I swear his cuteness saves him. No joke he's absolutely adorable so I have to think twice when I crack down on him. Lucky boy {wink}! Let me give you the short version on why we didn't get our tree or pull out all the decorations. Ryan has lost his ears {listening skills}... He kept honking the horn repeatedly where the entire neighborhood walked outside to see what was going on {for about 2 minutes while I was inside the house grabbing sweaters}. Then when I walked to the car to grab him he thought it was hysterical & kept doing it in front of me. A three year old is very hard to grab. They're like slippery fish... & they're fast! He got away & the first thing that came out of my mouth was, "We're not getting a Christmas Tree today!"  I realized what I had said, but once you say something you can't go back. I had to be strong... In other words I had to show him who was in charge! Oh man I really did it this time. I was so sad, I know Sean & Taylor were too. Heads up Taylor wasn't so innocent in this little ordeal either. She instigated. Have you ever done anything like that before... ? I love hearing that I'm not alone!

On the bright side... We will be decorating next weekend {if the kids are good} & our tree will be so fresh by the time Christmas rolls around. 

ho ho ho,

Alexandra

2011 costume

I know how much you all have wanted to know what my kids were for Halloween this year. I'm sure because of this fabulous blog post I did here... I know the anticipations been killing you... Sleepless nights, constant blog checks... Well, here they are in all their glory! {chuckle}

{2011}

- Fairy princess {taylor} & Storm Trooper by day/Spider Man by night {ryan} -

 

By the way, Taylor won  the sweetest costume award at her school!  Nice way to get noticed & she's only just in Kindergarten... Go team Scully! The real thanks should go to  my mother... She is a master seamstress/perfectionist so of course Taylor would win! Thank you Grandma!!!!! xoxo 

 

Don't you just love Ryan's red cowboy boots... ? He borrowed them from his sister! How do you tell a 3 year old that a storm trooper doesn't wear red boots? You don't! They're a lot of things you have to give up & go with the flow... Ryan hasn't let grandma make his costumes yet... Target won this year, again!

 

Here's a picture I took really fast of all the kids {cousin Spencer} together ready to go out for trick-or-treating on the 101 in Encinitas. Its a blast!!! If you haven't done it yet... I highly recommend it.

1.) It's safe 

2.) Super easy

3.) Fun

4.) Adorable

5.) Extremely community oriented

That's music to my ears!!!

We've already started planning next years costumes... So many great ideas! See you next year with {2012} costume!

happy halloween

all you need is love

Ahhhh Elephant pancakes! This picture is so adorable! I would love to wake up to this on my breakfast table.  Seeing a picture like this makes me want to be a better mom. Trying to think outside the box & push myself to create more for them... I want them to have everything in life. I'm not talking about tangible ostentatious things I'm talking about lovable creative things... Like adventures. It's about the memories not the quantities of gifts. I'm realizing a lot of things right now. I was put on an insane/intensely strict budget challenge that has opened my eyes. Oh they're open right now. I'm not going to lie... I've wanted to buy like I've normally done, but now I'm re-prioritizing everything & getting very creative. So when I saw this picture it started to justify all the positive things I'm doing & changing in my life. I believe my kids should have anything & everything... But,  I can do all that in different ways. Through love & creativity.  They don't need the latest bling bling clothes... Because they don't even know what that bling bling label really is. My husband is making me think... he has reiterated this questions over & over again...  Do you need that or do you want that? Arghhhh He's so right! The truth hurts. lol This challenge is the best thing I've ever done. In the long run all I'll really need is my elephant pancakes & love! Try it... You'll like it too! {smile}

living the good life

Our long time friend & painter at the rustic rooster is on a European Vacation with his lovely wife Rose. They're in Italy living the good life! We're so excited & slightly jealous of him right now... Good for you John! You deserve this trip more than anyone! Have fun! Please take tons of pictures for us... See you soon!  We miss you!!! xoxo

a day to remember

Every time I remember where I was & what I was doing on 9/11 it sends chills down my spine. I close my eyes & think of all the pain & suffering  that people went through on that day. I can't even believe someone would do something so heartless & evil.  My heartaches for all that have lost! I will say a little prayer to lighten the pain & bring sunshine & joy to your life. I will never forget... Today is a day to remember how strong we are & we will survive! 

  

I feel the pressure releasing from my chest...  Ahhh I can breath again {for now at least}! I can't even tell you how good that makes me feel. I still have questions that need to be answered. I want a full report by dinner time tonight. I'm sure I'll get short answers, but that will do for now!  I'll take what I can get...

The moment I turned onto campus I could feel my heart leap out of my chest. I had to hold back the tears. I didn't have anyone to grab on to {Sean is out of town for business}. So I told myself I needed to get it together & show her how strong I am... Even though I was dying inside! As we walked in I saw a dear dear friend... Her radiant smile grabbed me & put me at ease {thanks Alicia}. She directed me to the kindergarten area. We started walking which felt like an eternity... Then we saw "the spot". I knew Taylor would be just fine the moment she got in line. She walked in like she owned the school. Her independence glowed from head to toe. I wanted to hold her & keep her in my arms... Forever!

Time has passed by so fast! I remember the day I found out I was pregnant, then the day I found out it was a girl... I beamed with excitement. I do remember everything Taylor {hint hint}! Now it's my time to let go & let her fly as high as she can...   Taylor started Kindergarten today!

she did it!

My sweet angel graduated from preschool yesterday... I can't even tell you how proud we are of her! Taylor was so poised... & Graceful all day. She was screaming with confidence.That's my girl!

Oh & that dress I bought  her just completed that day, look... everything! Kayce Hughes, I want to personally thank you for helping me & my family make a beautiful memory. I remember my dress... Now I will never forget Taylor's! Thank you!

Taylor Scully

The Preschool Graduate

June 10, 2011

Kids By The Sea

2nd annual

It's that time of year again... 

We're having a HUGE yard sale with friends!

{one man's trash is another man's treasure}

Saturday, May 28th

8am to 1pm

:: PLEASE NO EARLY BIRDS ::

don't forget

The Encinitas 5k is this Saturday, May 14th... Hope to see you all there! I can't even tell you how much fun this race is. Babies, kids, moms, dads & even grandparents are out running & walking it. The family spirit is amazing! Go check it out for yourself... Don't forget!

bunny love

 

Remember these little guys {peek here} that I wanted to make for Taylor & Ryan's Easter Basket this year? Well, I did it & they were a huge success! Who would have thought two little handmade bunnies would win a 3 & a 5 year olds heart. Who would have thought?!?!

Easter Morning I could barely see let alone hear when the kids wondered into our bedroom at 6 am whispering, "Mom... Dad the Easter bunny came... Hurry get out of bed!" They scrambled out of the bedroom when they realized that mom was a dead log & didn't jump out of bed right away. I could hear them discussing their baskets.  It was too cute. Oh look you got Sponge Bob! Oh wow you got princesses... & then I  heard it... Oh my gosh look at what the bunny made for us. Bunnies! Ahhhh too cute! I like yours! You like mine? That's when I jumped up & had to really see for myself. I had a smile from ear to ear from that moment on!

So now I find them curled up at night holding them in bed. Aren't they adorable! The fabric that I picked worked out perfectly. I love the color combination together. Thanks Martha for making my children's Easter baskets perfect this year! {smile}

Did any of you make anything for your little ones this year?

happy easter

Happy Easter!

when it rains it pours

Hi blogger friends! I've missed you all so much... Really! {Thanks Carole for the blogging talk yesterday}. I've realized a few things in the last few days. I need time to re-coop & re-rejuvenate my mind, body & soul. Without positive new energy I can't function. Sign number one for me... My voice went out yesterday {great}.  Sign number two... My back office computer crashed now. Sign number three... The Internet was down all day at our office. Sign number four... I read over at Simply Seleta that she needed to slow down &  back off to nurture herself.  Well, there you have it my friends... In  a nut shell I need to nurture myself, slow down &  relax. It's a sign! So if my posts are a little spotty for a little bit you know why. After the huge event  {click here} that the rustic rooster is hosting, my voice comes back, the Internet is turned on &  I get my new computer... I'll blog, blog, blog!  Please don't feel sorry for me. I'm busy as ever {kicking butt} & loving it, but I just need to get my priorities straight. Health & family come first! That's it... {huge smile}

weekend {recap}

It was absolutely beautiful this weekend in San Diego...  So Sean & I I jumped at the opportunity to get our little ones outside. The rain has kept us cooped up & crazy. We pumped the air up in our bike tires, shined our seats... Put  our helmets on & took off to Mission Bay. It's such a perfect place to take the kids for a simple & stress free bike ride. Plus, in the middle of our ride there's a wonderful park that the kids play at for hours. We biked back to the car got some lunch & every one was happy & super tired {Ryan}!

Then I decided to stop by one of my design clients homes because their floor was just completed... I was dying to see it! It turning out fabulous! They unrolled one of their newly purchased rugs... I can't believe how much everything is starting to come together. I'll show you more pictures later. So exciting!

Once the day was done... Right before bed I started reading Taylor Pippi Longstocking. I feel she's at that age where her mind is racing & she's creating little worlds in it. Isn't the imagination wonderful! Taylor's my little Pippi!

Hope everyone had a glorious weekend like we did! 

happy thanksgiving

gobble gobble...