Project Life update

Things have been pretty crazy the last few weeks. We moved, AGAIN! I spent the better part of the week 2 weeks ago packing and the better part of last week unpacking. That didn't leave much time for blogging. And truth be told, it didn't leave me a lot of time to take pictures of the happenings of the last 2 weeks.
That being said, here are some highlights of the last few weeks....


Our new neighbors welcomed Martel with a wonderful German beer. D and R (the neighbors) showed Martel the proper way to pour it into the glass. Something about the yeast and hops that settle in the bottom of the bottle. I'm not much of a Hefenweizen fan but this was some good stuff.

Our nice big backyard! The boys love playing in it and are wiped out at the end of the day. I love the peace it gives me. ha ha ha

We have commissary privileges while we're here on post. Martel came home for lunch and we walked down to do a little shopping. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed the sunshine and Daddy being home so much.

There is this little room, about 6'x6' off the living room in our house. It's primary use was as a tack room, for the soldiers to keep their gear in. At first I was going to give it to Martel to use as storage, then I saw the shelves and claimed it as my scraproom. (Things are a little more organized now and the table's up)

Our lovely "new" cinder block house circa 1950. It's small and old but has a garage and a yard. It's fan-freakin-tastic!

For the life of me, I can't get the picture to turn right. I guess it doesn't matter. I've decided that nachos are the perfect meal. You've got the salty, crunchy chips; the smooth and creamy cheese and beans; spicy jalapenos and salsa; cool sour cream and all the rest. In this case the rest included grilled chicken, lettuce and avocado. They were perfect!

A few weeks ago Leo wanted Pepsi for breakfast. Our conversation went something like this.

Leo: Mom, I want Pepsi for breakfast.

Me: Leo, we don't have Pepsi for breakfast. We occasionally have Pepsi with dinner.

Leo: Ok mom. (he proceeds to eat his proper breakfast)

Leo: Mom! I'm finished with my breakfast now. I'm ready for dinner!

Me: slaps my head and sighs. What do you say to that????

Then we proceeded to have a discussion that dinner isn't a state of mind, it's a time of day when you eat a meal. The joys of 4 year olds.

Leo came running to get me and told me there was a rainbow in his bathroom. There are some glass bricks in the apartment we lived in and in the afternoon when the sun hits them just right and makes colored prism. Sadly, they didn't show up well in the picture that Leo took.

Project Life week 7

Again, I'm a little late on the posting here. I've been good about taking pictures, just not so good on the downloading them. So here goes for week 7.

Leo and Aaron love Dora and Diego. Last night Leo decided that he needed to make a map. He drew a path and a lake and a rock but didn't know where the map led us.

Feb 8

Leo has now discovered Sesame Street computer games online. It kept him very occupied on a day where I didn't feel like doing much.

Feb 9

My lovely child has a patience issue. When he's hungry, he's HUNGRY and wants to eat now. And if I'm not fast enough, he'll climb on the counters and get something. We're working on this, but so far no punishments are working. (any suggestions????)

Feb 10

Again with the Diego thing. Leo's been wanting a "spotting scope" for ages. I had been meaning to help him make one for a long time and the other day, we went to the dreaded McDonalds. I hadn't planned on getting them Happy Meals but saw the spotting scope toy and let them. They're running around the apartment looking at things.

Feb 11

On Fridays, we meet a homeschool group for their play time. The park where we meet at has this pretty tall (it's quite a bit taller than Martel, so I'd guess it's about 8 feet high) rock wall and today Aaron climbed to the top all by himself. Not bad for a 2 1/2 year old.

Feb 12

Martel has a 3 day weekend and on Sat we ran a bunch of errands but managed to sneak in a quick trip to the batting cages.

Feb 13

Project Life week 6

A day late but better late than never, right? Here are my pictures for Project Life Week 6. Today I wanted to get out of the apartment and really had no specific destination in mind. We drove for a while and wound up at Fort Selden, about 15 miles north of Las Cruces. We wandered around for a bit and got to see all the artifacts. It was really nice.

Jan 31, 2010

One of the things that drives me nuts is that Martel plays ball in the house with the boys. I get that right now we live in an apartment, but he does it at home too, even though we have a huge backyard.

Feb 1, 2010

This was a sad day. They announced the Constellation Program will be cancelled in Fiscal Year 2011 (which actually begins Oct 1, 2010) The good news is that they're continuing on as planned here in Las Cruces, so we'll still be here for a few more months.

Feb 2, 2010

Aaron loves Food TV, especially Guy Fieri. Today he was in the other room and heard him talking and ran in saying "Guy, Guy." He snuggled down on the couch to watch.

Feb 3, 2010

I can't believe this happened! No only is the hamper empty, all the clothes have been folded and put away!

Feb 4, 2010

Leo decided he wanted to help me cook today. We decided to make turkey pot pies (and he made a pumpkin pie). The pot pie was delicious but the pumpkin didn't turn out so hot. I think the pumpkin (we made if from a real pumpkin) was bad.

Feb 5, 2010

Today was the first day of NASCAR, the Bud Shoot Out or something. In my preparation for the Super Bowl tomorrow, I had so many things that I wanted to cook. I wanted to do a total New Orleans theme with Po'Boys and Jambalaya and Martel wanted wings. So, I decided to do wings and potato skins for NASCAR. They were delicious! I made 2 different ones, Tequila Lime Wings (a la Guy Fieri) and traditional Buffalo Hot Wings.

Feb 6, 2010

GEAUX SAINTS! I love football and although I'm not normally a Saints fan (but my little brother has been for over 20 years) I am a Charger fan and I love Drew Brees. I was so sad to see him leave San Diego and was rooting 100% for him and the Saints. Whooee!!!!! Who DAT???

Feb 7, 2010

Project Life week 5

Week 5 already! I can't believe it's already here. Not only that, but I've actually kept up with the Tuesday posts. It probably has something to do with Jessica and her posts about it.
I tell my husband all the time that he's a lucky man to be married to a woman who not only likes football (and baseball) but LOVES it. I taught Aaron to throw his arms in the air and yell TOUCHDOWN!!!!! Pretty dang cute for a 2 year old. (little plug here..... Go Saints!!!!!! I love Drew Brees!)

Jan 24, 2010

I'm notorious for leaving my Christmas tree up until the end of January. This year was no exception.

Jan 25, 2010

The week that Martel was gone, the boys were so good. 4 days and no one in the Naughty Spot. That's over now and for the last 2 days, they both have spent way too much time there. It's getting quite frustrating!

Jan 26, 2010

I have no idea where Leo got this idea but he kept telling Aaron that they had to get ready for the "Talent Show." He arranged the chairs and they sat down like they were waiting for it to start. It was so funny and he was a bit perturbed at me for taking pictures of him. (of course Aaron kept saying Cheese, so I had to take more)

Jan 26, 2010

Aaron just disappeared this afternoon. I went to look for him and he had put himself down for a nap. I love it when he does that.

Jan 28, 2010

The clouds looked amazing over the mountains today. I've seen them cover the tips but had never seen them peeking out from the clouds.

Jan 29, 2010

The Rio Grande looks a bit empty right now. Today we went to yet another park, right on the river. It was a beautiful day and I'm sure that in the Spring when the grass is green and the trees are leafy (is that a word???) and the river is full, the area is amazing. The boys didn't care about how it looked, they just wanted to play.

Jan 30, 2010

Project Life week 4

I'm done!!! I just can not get Blogger to cooperate today. I mis-uploaded (is that a word??) my Friday picture so I tried to add it in the correct spot. That didn't work. Then I tried to move it. That didn't work. It's too early in the morning for this and the boys are up, bugging me for breakfast. Martel's in bed sick and I'm sure will wake up soon and want something. (We all know what babies men turn into when they're sick). Anyway, you're going to have to deal with an out of order picture. :)

My mom came to visit us the other day. She was at my sister's house in Denver and flew down here for a few days before she was going to fly home to San Diego. My dad decided that he was going to drive out here to Las Cruces and surprise her and drive her home. We spent the better part of 3 weeks planning and he called me from the front door of my apartment to say he was here. I conveniently went to the bathroom as he rang the bell so my mom had to answer the door. He had his camera ready. Sadly, the picture isn't so great because it took her a minute for it to register. She was totally surprised!

Friday 1/22/10

It turns out that we have family here in Las Cruces. I knew there was a bunch up north in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, but was totally surprised when we found out about Raymond and his wife Frances. Raymond is my father in laws first cousin. Today we met them for breakfast and then went over to their house for a while. They were delightful people and hopefully we'll see them again soon. Martel wasn't home so he didn't get to meet them.

Sunday 1/17/20

Martel got home yesterday afternoon and today is a holiday so we took the boys to a park. It's rare when he's able to go with us. We go so much during the week that on the weekends (when it's more crowded) we don't go. But they had fun and got to spend some time with Daddy, who had been gone all week again.

Monday 1/18/10

My mom got here today from visiting (babysitting) my sister and her family. My nephews are 10 and 6 and had sent their reader books down to Leo. He piled them around him and started "reading."

Tuesday 1/19/10

Wouldn't you know it, that big winter storm that passed over most of the entire west coast and moved east came when my mom was here. She lives in balmy San Diego so is a total weather woose. Since it was supposed to be 40 and rainy and windy, we took the boys to the PE class before Leo's preschool class.

Wednesday 1/20/10

Again, the weather was crummy and grandma didn't want to go to the park to play so we went to gymnastics. I can't wait to get a house with a yard so I don't have to constantly take the boys places to run around.

Thursday 1/21/10

(Again, the Friday picture of my mom is at the top of the post.) I had great plans for today. We were going to go to White Sands Monument and sled and then to Alamogordo to the Space History Museum. The weather was the absolute worst of the week so we stayed in. I felt bad that my dad drove 700 miles and we sat around my apartment all day. But he didn't mind. It gave him a chance to play with his grandkids. He hadn't seen them since August.

Saturday 1/23/10

Project Life week 3

So far so good on my Project Life. It's a fun journey and I'm really enjoying it. I've seen some people who have created dedicated blogs to this project and post their pictures on a daily basis. I'd love to do that, but totally think that's too much for me to handle right now. That being said, you all will just get a long post on Tuesdays. :)

Today was Leo's first day of preschool since we moved to Las Cruces. Aaron and I got to the park/Rec Center a little early and ran into friends. My friend said she'd watch Aaron while I went inside to get Leo. As we were coming out of the building, onto the playground, Aaron saw Leo, yelled and ran to him. They were so happy to see each other and gave each other a big hug. (Sadly, I just had my little point and shoot camera so I missed the hug)

Today Leo told me that he wanted to be 3 again so we could live in our other house with Bailey and Orien (our dogs, who had to stay home when we moved). Orien isn't in good health and we don't expect him to be around much longer, and daddy was gone again on another work trip. I decided to take them to the preschool gymnastics time at Gym Magic to get him mind off things.

While Leo was at school today, Aaron and I went to the Farmer's Market to get some produce. Or at least that was the plan. I get that it was a Wednesday in the middle of winter, but there wasn't a single produce vendor around.

For some reason Leo doesn't like me to sing in the car (it really has nothing to do with how bad I am either). He yells that I'm not a princess, so I can't sing. Where he got that I have no idea. Today, I was singing in the car and Aaron yelled "Quaddy!" I'm assuming that's Aaron speak for "Be quiet!"

Aaron has these crazy long eyelashes. Recently he got his top lashes stuck beneath his bottom lid. Yeah, he didn't get them from me.

I'll apologize up front if anyone has this car but seriously, this has to be the ugliest car I've ever seen. And normally I quite enjoy lime green, but this is just plain WRONG.

If any of you notice that you only got 6 pictures this week, it's because I go from Sunday to Saturday and last week I accidently gave you Sunday's picture and I figured you didn't want to see it again.

I've really enjoyed seeing other peoples pictures, keep them coming!

Project Life week 1 and 2

Last year I managed to complete Project 365 (except for one week and I know I took pictures, I just can't find them) where I took a picture every single day and wrote a little about it. It was sort of like a day in the life of the Martinez family. I gave it to Martel for Christmas and he totally loved it. This year Becky Higgins (the creator of Project 365) has another kit out called Project Life. It's pretty much the same concept and this year I actually purchased her kit instead of making my own.

To make things even more fun, and hopefully encourage us to continue through the year (and maybe others to start) Jessica Turner has Project Life Tuesdays on her blog. She's posting her pictures for the week and linking other peoples blogs. I thought it would be fun and maybe I could get some inspiration for some pictures.

I am starting my album at the end of the week as I like to actually start on Jan 1st. So I'm actually posting two pictures of the "1st week" and then week 2.


Jan 1: We went sledding at White Sands National Monument and on the first run, Martel lost his wedding ring. He then spent the next 3 hours on his hands and knees searching for it. We finally had to drag him away because we thought it was a lost cause, he was never going to find it in a 20 foot sand dune. But the effort he showed looking for it was so sweet. I knew I married him for a reason!

Jan 2: As soon as we got home from White Sands, Martel immediately started searching on the internet for metal detectors. He got up first thing Saturday morning and went to Big 5 and bought one. We packed the boys and my mother-in-law back in the car and made the 60 mile drive back to the monument. Martel then spent the next 2 hours with the metal detector searching for his ring. I kept telling him that I thought it probably had rolled down the dune (the sand was wet and very compact). I even made him some search grids so he could go about his quest in a logical manner. When he had 2 grids left, I told him to take a break and I'd look. I finished up the grids and turned around, as I was turning my arm (with the metal detector) swung a bit wide and it started beeping. Sure enough there was his ring not 5 feet from where I had been telling him it was. It had rolled to the bottom and gotten covered by sand. I have never seen him so happy! He knew he married ME for a reason!

Jan 3: My father-in-law was from Santa Fe, NM but moved to San Diego after college at NMSU. Never would we have expected to move to Las Cruces and my mother-in-law came out for the holidays. Martel took her over to NMSU to see where her husband had gone to college. Never in her wildest imagination did she ever expect to walk the same grounds as he had over 30 years ago.

Jan 4: Leo is a very creative little boy. He got these snap blocks for Christmas, the kit makes an airplane and helicopter. He decided that he was going to make a fishing pole instead.

Jan 5: When we moved into the apartment we had to leave our dogs with grandma and the boys miss them so much. We had the opportunity to dog sit for an hour today. The boys had so much fun with Bella.

Jan 6: Auntie Mary got the boys this big box of Arts and Crafts for Christmas. Leo had been bugging me to do some so we finally had an opportunity to make some crafts today. He made a sticker garden and was very proud of it.

Jan 7: We were the first people to live in our building and I decided to leave our assigned parking space for Martel. The covered one with my blue CRV is our assigned one and I "claimed" the one next to it. It's the only spot where we don't have to cross the driveway and with 2 little boys, it's the best spot for me. In the 3 months we've lived here no one has ever parked in "my spot." Today I came home and someone was in it AND as you see, they did a poor park job. All of you who know me know I was watching out the window and as soon as the person left, I moved my car. Yeah, I have issues.

Jan 8: Ahhh, a wonderful cafe au lait! What more needs to be said?

Jan 9: I love nickjr.com! Aaron wants to watch Blue's Clues at 2:00 pm. No problem!

Jan 10: Aaron and I play our own version of Memory. He's only 2 1/2 so we put all the cards face up and then I give him a card and he finds the matching one.

That's the first week in the life of the Martinez family. I'll try and keep the next post shorter. :) If you decide to participate in Project Life and I hope you do, it's a great idea, leave me a message with your blog link. I'd love to see what you come up with.