Casa de Lopez

I started this blog as a sort of continuation of an on-going project.  With family all over the place, people always wanted to know how the pregnancy was going.  Once the kids were born, they always wanted to see more and more pictures, so I started using totsites when I was pregnant with Brett.  It had limitations... many limitations, which I became increasingly more frustrated with.  I didn't really know anyone that had a blog, but it sounded like a good idea, assuming I could figure out how to use it and make it work for me.  I wish that I had a screenshot of how this blog first looked in April 2008 compared to what it looks like now.  It's amazing what I have learned just by trial and error!

I love that I have a place to brag about my fantastic family and groan about life when it isn't going as planned.  I love that I have a creative outlet without spending a penny!  I love to do crafty things.  I tend to get stuck in the middle of projects, and not go back for a long time. I love that this site forces me to get to a good stopping point.  I love that this blog allows me to combine crafts with the internet, which I spend way too much time on!

So, after more than 5 years, here's a break down of who "we" are!

I am Jenn, the blogger.  I have a weakness for all things involving caffeine, chocolate, chick flicks, eating meals with friends, and anything crafty, especially frosted sugar cookies!  I'm a full-time pharmacist, seriously missing my part-time slacker days!  I answer to "J-Lo" faster than I answer to "Jennifer."  I am mom to Brett & Kate and wife to Todd.  Todd is a software engineer by day and super-dad soccer coach by night.  He makes me realize that I'm not as Type A as I once thought.  Our kids think that he can do no wrong.  We met at a retreat in Smithfield in February 2001, but didn't start dating for almost two years, in December 2002.  What can I say?  We are two hard-headed people!  Seven months later we were engaged and a year later we were married in July 2004.  We built a house during our first year of marriage... as if the first year of marriage isn't challenging enough!  Fast forward almost two years and life got a little bit crazy!



This is Brett.  He is seven years old and is truly a sweetheart.  I instantly smile when I think about the troubles that we had just to have him, but his sweet personality and contagious smile light up my day.  He runs up to me to say "I love you" and give hugs, just because.  He is energetic and all boy.  He is inquisitive and thoughtful.  I can see the gears work in his brain all the time - definitely the engineer mind at work!  He is all about Legos and Transformers and would be perfectly content playing quietly by himself with no little sister around.  He is so laid back and will eat almost anything I give him, except ice-cream.  I'm still not sure he's actually related to me because of this!

This is Kate.  She is six years old and knows how to push my buttons faster than anyone in the world, even my own sisters.  She challenges me as a mom every single day, and I love her for it.  She is every bit of feistiness bottled up into one tiny girl, and has been that way from the very very beginning.  Being only 13 months younger than her big brother has encouraged her to do her best to keep up, and she has lived up to the challenge.  She loves everything princess and pink and girly.  She loves to read and loves to play with her dolls and barbies.  She loves to fool everyone and pull out her tomboy side every now and then too - playing with rocks and mud and getting exceptionally dirty.  She has a crazy sweet tooth rivaled only by yours truly!  I thank God every single day that the doctors were all wrong when they said that our "surprise" wasn't going to stick... drama from the beginning!  I cannot imagine my life without this little bundle of energy running along side us!

This cute couple is my parents, also known on the blog as Memere & Poppy.  Memere is the one that used to watch the kids in the afternoons on the weekdays that I worked during my part-time days.  Our kids think that she is the absolute best and they love to convince her to spoil them rotten.  They've quickly learned that it doesn't take much convincing!  Much to their dismay, she's not afraid to be the enforcer either!  Poppy loves to get down and play and is having a blast with another boy around after years of having all of us girls!

These sweet people are Todd's parents, also known as Grandma & Grandpa.  They just bought a house down here in November 2010, so Grandma spends the cold mid-west winters in the south with us!  We are so spoiled to have both sets of grandparents close by!  Brett definitely relates to Grandpa the engineer and loves to talk about anything related to outer-space.  Kate loves getting Grandma to have birthday parties for all of the dolls! 

This crazy couple is my sister, Erin, and her husband, Jeff, also known as Aunt Erin and Uncle Jeff.  They are both teachers and are GREAT with our kids... mostly great at getting them really really really excited and then giving them back to us to calm them down to normal levels :)  I'm kidding - mostly!  In all seriousness, we love having them close by and enjoy getting go out with them sans-kids some too!  They are a lot of fun and remind us that we're not just  parents!  They also just had a baby boy in March.  Our kids, Kate especially, LOVES to spend time with Parker!









This is my baby sister, Meredith, also known as Aunt Dithy.  She just finished grad school at App State and is now the school counselor for an elementary school close by.  She is one of Kate's godmothers and Kate thinks she hung the moon just for her!  They definitely have a special bond that is fun to watch!

Last, but definitely not least, is Todd's sister, Renee, or Aunt Renee as she's affectionately called around here.  She is the head coach for a college women's soccer team in Colorado, so her schedule is Cah-razy!  She is the other of Kate's 2 godmothers.  We see her occasionally, usually on her way through town for a recruiting trip.  Our kids take advantage of her soccer skills and make her play soccer, every single time :)