i want this so badly it hurts. won't you join me in basking in its glory?

MADSEN Cargo Bikes

i dare you to find a cuter baby. big bald head+chubby cheeks+silly grin+cuddly+sweet+funny+quirky and fun+happy+sleepy+piggy= my baby abey, and i thought he was coming to ruin my life... by the way i think my boys are definitely all boy... none of them would be very pretty little girls, don't you agree?

getting back into real life has me thrown for a loop, and why wouldn't it? we spent our days playing at the beach, eating, going to disneyland, swimming, eating and more eating. then reality hit us in the butt when we returned from our california trip at 1:00 in the morning on sunday due to what i like to refer to as

"the incident" which i will describe at a later time

{here's a quick rundown though- kid throwing up, car sickness, way to many stops, grumpy old lesbians,major car problems, pulling $900 extra dollars for stupid car problems out of nowhere, i HATE las vegas, late night driving, 3 boys crying, grumpy mom and tired dad..}

right now i will just talk about our beach excursion. we went to oceanside. the drive was awesome. they had all these roadside stands selling 25 avocados for$5! it was a little chilly and overcast at first but that didn't stop ezra and margo from jumping right in the ocean. james and kyle got to surf while jess and i watched the kids. in return jessica and i walked down the pier to ruby's diner, to get a vanilla coke and bananna split. if we hadn't just have eaten lunch we would have had a burger and fries too. the kids were troopers and played for 6 or 7 hours. we had plans to go back to the beach at the end of the week with our aunt and uncle and cousins and eat at ruby's but by the end we were to tired. next time i want to rent a beach house and just stay at the beach all day.

we love the beach!

think of all the 16 year old boys you know. now let me brag about a very sweet and special 16 year old i know. last week as we were driving home from my parents i got a phone call. little brother mike says " jackie open your glove box and look for a white envelope." i did and this is what i found. handwritten instructions for $30 to go to all the kids for a disneyland treat! seriously $30 is alot for a kid to give someone, and i am such a big baby that i actually almost cried about it. really i was just so glad that we have such great families. my boys are so lucky to be loved by so many people. mike is so great he is always planning and scheming and doing special things for everyone. thanks again baby brother ( who just happens to tower over me at 6 foot 4! hopefully he's done growing) and see you later alligators , we are off to disneyland!

look how long my hair was! and how fat eli was! i am growing my hair out again, it is so much easier to fix it when it is long. i really would love to cut it super short and cute but a) i am a chicken and b) i would actually have to fix it and wash it often. yep, long hair it is. i'm all for taking the easy/lazy/dirty hippie route.

my silly goose is 8 months old today. abe is so close to crawling he is likely to do it any minute. i love his bald little head and fuzzy hair. it makes me laugh when he wakes up and his few long hairs are sticking out all crazy old man like. he has the sweetest disposition and is most always happy. right now he is into making a cheesy little grin as seen in the first picture. abe loves to just sit and play next to eli and ezra and watch all they are doing. he also loves to eat eat eat all day long just like eli. we love you big fat head. ( abes current nickname)

some random things-
have you ever visited failblog? you should because it's great. they have links to their other sites too. look-alikes and engrish. james and i check them out every day and laugh our little butts off. this one describes me lately.

this is one of my all time favorite dishes from the rachel ray cooking magazine. we add avocado.

Southwestern Chili-Mac Salad
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
7 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
4 ears corn
2 cups elbow pasta
1 red onion, half finely chopped, half thinly sliced
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1 pound lean ground beef
One 15-ounce can kidney beans, rinsed
2 tomatoes, cut into wedges
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1. In a medium bowl, combine the lime juice and cilantro; whisk in 6 tablespoons olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
2. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the corn until just tender, about 3 minutes; transfer to a cutting board. Return the water to a boil, add the pasta and cook until al dente; drain and transfer to a large bowl. Cut the corn kernels from the cob and add to the pasta.
3. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onion and chili powder and cook until the onion begins to soften, about 2 minutes. Add the ground beef and cook, stirring frequently, until lightly browned, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a colander and drain well.
4. Add the beef mixture to the pasta; season with salt and pepper. Add the kidney beans, tomatoes, sliced onion and vinaigrette and toss to dress. Transfer to a serving bowl and top with the cheese.

i really want this rug. who knew that one of my favorite fabric designers makes rugs? just like everything else anna maria horner makes its gorgeous. she has such an eye for cool and colorful things. i am currently obsessed with her good folks fabric right now.

i really like this idea of using vintage maps for the boys room. keep your eyes peeled for cute ones for me ok? i think this is from flickr.