compliments

One of the best compliments I've received:

Owen: Mommy, you make the goodest food I like!

a few seconds, and two bites later,

Owen: mmm-mm, Mommy, you make the best food in the world!

You guys didn't know I was so talented in the kitchen right?!
I'm sure you're wondering what kind of gourmet dish I serve my family. Well, wonder no more; this wondrous dish was ... rice mixed with corn.

the next eval knieval?

This is Owen on his scooter at the park. He saw a "big boy" doing this so he wanted to try. I laugh everytime I think of it.
apologies for the quality - it's from my cellphone

other people's blogs

I have been so into reading other blogs that I am not even writing my own. Often I'm reading one, say "manic mommies" and I'll click a link into another one and I start reading that one, for instance, dooce.com. I actually found myself reading some brazilian au pair's blog about her first Halloween in the U.S. Aren't we interested in other people's lives?!

I'd lose my head if it wasn't attached to my body

So last week I lost my ring (still heartbroken every time I think of it). Saturday I lost my digital camera. With tons of pix still not downloaded to iphoto. I went to a little cousin's bday party and left it on one of the tables. Unfortunately there were alot of people there, as well as rented tables and chairs so.... I am hoping that someone picked it up by accident and maybe still hasn't realized they have my camera. It's filled with pictures of the boys so it will be obvious as soon as they look at the pix. Here's hoping against hope.
Speaking of pictures, I think Liam needs to get some face time on the ol' blog so here goes:

It's Fall!!!!

I love Fall - the (imagined) cooler weather, the scent of chimney smoke in the evening air, the pumpkin spice lattes at Starbucks, just everything! September through December are my favorite months. So. Cal. doesn't really do Autumn, mainly in the sense that it's still 75 degrees outside. i bought the cutest jean jacket for Owen but he won't wear it for more than ten minutes in the morning. I can get him to wear it for about ten minutes in the morning but then off it comes. And I'm looking forward to wearing my new scarf (bday gift - thank you Loren).
However our home is definitely in Halloween mode, and that's fall-y. Owen is going to be Spiderman for Halloween and we already have his costume (yay Costco). He asks to wear it every day, but I want it to be somewhat of a treat (no pun intended) when he wears it on the 31st. So far he's worn it twice, and looks so cute. Liam is going to be a giraffe, if we can get ourselves over to storage to root out the Halloween box. Enjoy the pix of the cutest boy below.
In other news, I joined Goodreads.com which is a totally cool website that lets you see what your "friends" are reading. If anybody cares to join me, invite me to be your friend. So far I only have about three or four books on my shelf but as anyone who knows me knows, that is the tippiest tip of the iceberg. I mainly joined to get recommendations for my next read. If you want to know what I'm reading now, you'll have to check out my bookshelf. (note to Stewart: there are no cereal boxes on my bookshelf).

horrible....

I have horrible, terrible, awful news: I lost my engagement ring. I can't even go into details because it makes me too sad. It's like a weight on my chest when I think about it. Please pray that I find it...it's irreplaceable.

white noise

There are some things I say so often, I don't think they get heard anymore. For instance "no". Also "that's not ok", "keep your hands to yourself" and "be nice to your brother". Also sometimes I think Loren only hears me "selectively". If I had to pick the word I say the most during the day I would say, "don't", as in "don't lick the syrup off your plate", "don't push your brother over", "don't stand in the fridge", or the ever popular, "don't go outside naked".
The boy has some funny habits and ideas. I don't want to stunt his creativity, but I won't let him go out in his crazy getups. Today's choice was red shorts with a red football jersey (the kind that looks like mesh). I will however let him wear his shoes on the wrong foot when he puts them on by himself. I should try to come up with a way for him to remember which shoe goes on which foot, and I will, eventually. I try to make sure he looks good for school, decent for the park and playgroups, but at home anything goes. Sweats in the summer? Sure. Swimmers and a beanie? Go for it. Striped pirate socks and sandals? Go for it, matey.