Life full of creative Sunshine.

5 for Friday.

2012-01-27T12:16:00.000-08:00

1. About an hour after I got up this morning, I looked out and saw this. SOOC. Magical.
2. Sometimes I have really good ideas. I was hungry and decided sourdough toast spread with garlic and herb cheese, topped with tomatoes and avocado. It was so good I had to have 2.
3. I don't understand the internets obsession with S'mores or Nutella. Don't get me wrong. I like both. But why does everything need to be turned into a S'more? Or Nutella added to everything? I saw a S'moretini the other day.
4. I was so happy I didn't have to get up at the b/c of dawn (that would be butt crack o' dawn) and take anyone anywhere. I always get up early, but that's me time. Jake takes an outdoor ed class and for the last 3-4 months it's been on Fridays. We switched back to Monday's this week and it has been SO much better. I'd much rather get up and go on Monday than on Friday.
5. Also, I'm happy our out of town plans got cancelled for this weekend. We've been gone every weekend this month. I'm so glad to be staying home. Though I do hope we reschedule our original plans soon!

Happy Friday!

Yes, I'm bragging a little.

2012-01-24T18:56:00.000-08:00

I can't help it.
This girl is reading like I can't even believe. We checked this book out from the library the other day and I figured it would be one that I read to her or that we read together. She's mostly been reading those "I Can Read" books at level one. Then she just picked it up and started reading this herself.
The video is kinda lame since it's with my phone. I should have turned it sideways.

I promise she's never read this before.

Week 3.

2012-01-24T11:28:00.000-08:00

I liked the way this weeks layout turned out so much more than last week. I think it was a combination of getting into a groove, working with a more familiar layout (design A for both pages), and using different products. I decided I really like certain things about the Clementine PL kit, but it is lacking color and I prefer more color. So there. Thanks to Nicole and Beth and Pinterest I've found a plethora of digital/printable products that I can use to spice things up a bit.
I just realized there's a typo on my Sunday journaling. I wish photoshop had spell check! Luckily I saved that and I just went and reprinted it correctly. :)

This one.

2012-01-20T15:07:00.000-08:00

This is one of those pictures that, I think, are going to be a real treasure when she gets older.

This is the one she'll look at and say Oh yeah, remember that heart blanket I used to have? There's my horse blanket! That was my favorite. And oooh Miss Kitty! Remember how she used to sleep in my room almost every night? What was all that stuff taped to the wall? Mom, you really let me have all that crap on the wall? Look at my hair! Look at all the clothes spilling out of the drawer under the bed!
This is her life, her room, right now at 5.
I don't have any pictures of my room when I was 5 or 8 or 15. Of course I remember it in my head, but...this is so much better.
Just a reminder to myself to step back and take a wider look at what's around us. Life is in the details.
I love pictures.

Week 2. Project Life.

2012-01-18T18:33:00.000-08:00

First let me just apologize right now for these horrible, horrible images. It's dark, so there's no good lighting but I knew that if I didn't just sit down and do this, it wouldn't get done.
I'm also not really happy with the way week 2 turned out. For some reason it seems to lack color or something. I really love the Clementine kit, but now that I've worked with it a little, some of the colors almost seem a little too muted. I can't quite put my finger on it. Anyway, it's done. I'm not going to harp on it. I've already stared week 3 and it's looking much, much better. I think I've finally found my groove.
Side 1:

This is the Design F page protector. I really like this format. It was a little intimidating at first, especially since I can get an entire week on just one side of these if I want. But they're also great for extra pics, extra journaling, or 'stuff'.
Side 2: (using the old version of Design A)

See what I mean? No color. Even with the 49er thingy. It's just not doing anything for me.
The top left is a collage I made with some of my 12 of 12 and other random pics. I plan to do a bigger one that actually includes all 12 and put it in a separate 5x7 page protector. I just need to get me some of those. The collage was made from a template I bought online. Lilly Pad designs I think? The pack came with a TON of collages for 4x6. You can find a link for it on my Project Life Pinterest board.
Anyway, there it is. I'm more excited to show week 3 cuz I already like it so much more. :)
By the way, I changed up my weeks this year to go from Monday to Sunday. I'm liking this format a lot. Last year I think for half of it was Saturday to Friday and that seemed weird. Then I changed it to Sunday to Saturday. I like Monday to Sunday best. How are your weeks organized?
Also, I'm not focusing on a photo a day as much as I did last year. What about you?

10 on Tuesday.

2012-01-17T14:27:00.000-08:00

Oh yes. It's back. 2012 style.

1. I was kinda getting down on myself for so far only using iPhone/instagram pics in my project life album. But you know what? I actually kinda like 'em. And It in-and-of-itself is part of life right now. You know what I mean? I know it's kinda lame...but my phone is attached to my hip. I don't go anywhere without it.

2. However, all that being said, I'm resolving to get out my really nice, beautiful, easy to use, fun BIG MAMMA JAMMA camera out and USE IT.
3. Last year with my project life album I pretty much didn't do anything fancy. I followed the day to day/week to week pattern and never really added anything special. Not too much anyway. This time around I thought it might be fun to get a little more creative with it and bring back some of my love for scrapbooking. Funny thing? It's like I'm having to re-teach myself to A) remember what I have in my stash and B) how to use it.
4. We have been on the road a lot already this month. Somehow we have/had ourselves committed to someone or something every single weekend this month. Something out of town every. single. weekend. It's so not like us and while it is kinda fun, it is very wearing. I just wanna stay home!

5. On Sunday we had our belated Christmas gathering with my Step-mother and family. I was SO STRESSED about this. We don't talk a whole lot other than email. I hadn't been to my dad's house since the memorial service in May. I wasn't sure how she was going to act. I wasn't sure how I was going to act. I was unsure of how it would feel to be there without my dad. I literally lost sleep over it and ended up with a ginormous worry zit on my chin because of it. (well that and probably hormones!) But it actually turned out to be just fine. More than fine.
6. There was a bit of drama this weekend though, and it came from a very unexpected place. I'm not going to go into details here. Lets just say I'm a fan of disciplining children. Not necessarily corporal punishment but I think one of the most important things any parent can do is: follow through. If you say your going to do something: DO IT. If you say your going to take away their TV privilege, then do it. If you say you'll take them out to pizza for getting an A, then DO IT. Be realistic about your threats and rewards and follow through with them. Children not only learn respect, but also trust.
7. I'm NOT a perfect parent. I don't know any perfect parents.
8. We made butter the other day. It was easy and fun and Megan and I liked it. Jake didn't. Of course.
9. Did you ever want a rock tumbler when you were a kid? You know those things that take a dirty old normal rock and make it into a pretty, shinny one? I totally did too! Well Jake got one from my stepsisters for Christmas. Did you know it takes almost an entire month to do ONE rock?! I didn't either! There's apparently all these different steps and processes to go through and thing has to be on 24/7 for 20 something days? We actually had to print out a little calendar for him with reminders on when to do what. Crazy. I had no idea.
10. We're expecting rain tomorrow. It hasn't rained here in over a month. I'm not one to complain about no rain, but it sure has felt weird. Makes me wonder if we'll be swimming in rain till July?

Looking back at 2011...

2012-01-02T16:25:00.000-08:00

Through photos.

Just some of my favorite things about last year.

I could have probably made at least 3 more of these collages, but I think 2 will do. I'm really looking forward to starting up Project Life again and taking many, many more pictures of our every day!

2012 To-Do list

2011-12-31T10:54:00.000-08:00

Happy New Years Eve!
I told the kids that if they were able, they could stay up until midnight tonight. Am I crazy? I haven't actually made it to midnight in years! HA! We got a Wii for Christmas, so I'm thinking some game play along with movies and snacks might help them last?? We will see.
New Years always kind of brings up funny feelings for me. Seems even more so this year. There's always sort of that holiday let-down afterwords and then the long boring winter days of January that seem to drag on endlessly. And yet there still is that excitement of starting new, fresh and wondering what's to come.
This year I sort of feel like hurry, hurry, get me out of 2011! And yet part of me wants to dwell here forever. Like if I hurry past it, I'll be leaving my dad here and I don't feel ready to do that.
I'm sure that sounds weird, doesn't it?? It's hard to explain without sounding crazy. I miss him so, so, so much. There's a place inside me that I didn't even know existed until this year....a place that holds a heartache I don't think will ever go away. My dad existed it 2011 and in 2012 he doesn't. Not here on Earth. I know he exists for eternity in heaven. I'll see him again. ♥
Ohhh....now that I've brought the mood down in the room. Jeez! Sorry.
Lets move on.
As you all know I don't make resolutions. Resolutions are made to be broken. Last year I made a 2011 to-do list...kind of a little poking fun at myself and the new year, but surprisingly, I actually accomplished all but two of the short list.
So without further adieu.... My 2012 To-Do List:

1. Take an out of state road trip. (Nevada doesn't count) This is a repeat from last year. One of the 2 that we never got around to doing. I really hope we do this year. We've been talking about going for a week to Jackson Hole, Wyoming and taking the kids to Yellowstone. I love that place.
2. Take better care of my skin. I've already been trying to do this, but I want to continue and I'm thinking of trying more natural ways of taking care of my skin--particularly my face. Maybe try the oil cleansing method.
3. Continue to learn more and practice photography.
4. Do another garden and this year include a bigger, more diversified herb garden.
5. Eat more real food. Continue to weed out the processed foods in our diet. Get a cow.
6. Make a quilt. (must get sewing machine fixed first)
7. Find an extra curricular activity for Megan to do. That's just for her.
8. Work harder to be in the present. Not live in the past. And not worry about the future.
...
....
.......

The new year is coming...

2011-12-27T12:38:00.000-08:00

I just realized I accomplished all but 2 of my 2011 to-do list. That ain't bad, if I do say so myself. Not that there was anything groundbreaking on the list, but it feels good to look back and say: HEY! I did that!
So I guess I need to come up with another to-do list since I did so well this year. I'll take a few days to think and reflect on the year past and see what I can come up with for the next one. Anyone picking a word for 2012? Haven't done that one in a couple years either....I'll have to see if one comes to me.
Please forgive me for the blog break. I just didn't feel like it, honestly. But I think things are about to get back to regularly scheduled programming around here....so more blog posts to come.

The First Thanksgiving.

2011-11-16T13:12:00.001-08:00

Megan and I were really sick over the weekend. In fact, we're both just now feeling better. It's amazing how much tissue+napkins+ TP two girls can blow through. Goodness.
Anyway, so what are we supposed to do when we feel cruddy? Well, I spent the entire weekend watching Food Network Thanksgiving specials on the internet. Yes I curled up with my laptop and Bobby Flay and Alton Brown all weekend long. That's comfort. HA! Seriously, I could watch Food Network and HGTV all day. Those are the only 2 reasons I ever miss having cable. The funny thing about internet TV is that usually they only post a few episodes of this or that. And being that Thanksgiving is nearly upon us, Comcast online or Xfinity as it's now called is only listing a bunch of Thanksgiving related Food Network shows right now. Fine by me.
So all weekend I was flooded with images of juicy turkey, all variations of stuffing/dressing, sweet potatoes made this way and that, and green bean casseroles aplenty, all while Giada and Bobby and Tyler and Alton explained just how delicious + easy each and every recipe was and how I MUST add this dish to my Thanksgiving menu.
I'm very easily influenced.
So Monday morning, when I was feeling just a bit better, I headed out to the store. I filled my cart with all things Thanksgiving. Sweet potatoes, fresh green beans, Trader Joe's corn bread stuffing and....even a turkey. As previously mentioned, I've never cooked a turkey before. Food Network told me I could do it, told me not to be afraid, so I believed them, so I bought one. Though, I decided to only go with the bone-in breast only though. I really didn't need a whole giant turkey a week before Thanksgiving. I also didn't want to wait for it to defrost. I have no patience. And I wanted Thanksgiving now. Food Network told me to do it. I'm very easily influenced.
Tuesday I spent all day preparing our feast.
"Is today Thanksgiving??", Megan asked.
"No", I said. "I just thought it would be fun to make our own Thanksgiving since we've never done it before and next week on real Thanksgiving we're going to Auntie Kim's".
"Ok, Momma".
"It is NOT Thanksgiving, Mommy. I do not want to eat all this stuff today," declared Jake.
"Too bad." I replied. "You will eat it and you will like it."
"I have the best wife ever." said Pete.
Our menu:
Mayo roasted Turkey (breast): said to make the turkey really moist without brinning. (again--no patience to wait for the brine)
Sweet potatoes: courtesy The Pioneer Woman. I am not a sweet potato fan. But these were really good.
Green bean casserole: also courtesy PW. This was really, really good! We didn't even miss the canned fried onions.
Stuffing: I used Trader Joe's cornbread stuffing mix. I just wanted to try it. It was pretty good. I added my own onions, carrots and celery to it. I think next time I'll go for straight up from scratch and see how it compares.
Gravy: from scratch made with butter, flour, turkey juices and broth. No Wondra.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie: Our Best Bites. I've blogged about this one before I think. Very, very good and super easy.
All in all, I'd call this first Thanksgiving very successful! Everything was really good. The only thing was I think the turkey could have cooked just a little longer. It tasted great and was definitely moist, but a little pink towards the bone. The Food Network told me to pull it out of the oven when it reached an internal temp of 160*. I do what the Food Network tells me to. I'm very easily influenced. But some episodes went all the way up to 180*. That's a pretty big difference in temp. I took mine out at 160*. Maybe next time 170* would be better.
I've got no pictures, but you can click on the links and look at other peoples food, if you want :)

Confessions

2011-11-07T15:27:00.000-08:00

* I know people tend to really like this whole time changy/fall back thingy. At least they all SAY that on Sunday. Yay! We get to sleep in! But you all know it sucks when it's dark at 5PM. Admit it. I much prefer springing forward.
* Because of said time change, I've been wide awake since 4AM. I am now in a punchy mood. Don't mess with me.
* I don't like to plan things more than a few weeks to a month out. Except you know, like a big vacation or something. But day to day things I don't plan meticulously. I do not plan my entire homeschool year out in July. Or August. Or ever. I look over our materials and I know what's coming up and what to expect. But nothing is planned more than a few weeks out.
* My friend and neighbor/fellow homeschool parent is already planning school for NEXT year. It's driving me nuts. I'm sure I'm driving her equally nuts with my non planning.
Story: a few months ago my friend and neighbor was asking me: how many days of school are you planning this year? And I was all: HUH? what do you mean? School is over May 18th?? And she goes: so you're planning a full 180 days? And I'm like: I guess?? I don't know, people! I know school started on August 15, I know it ends on May 18th. I know there are 'scheduled' breaks somewhere in between, but honestly...what does it matter? As long as the work gets done, learning is happening and progression is being made..who cares if we only have school 2 days a week or if we don't take time off at Christmas? I mean, that's NOT how we do it, but there's not really any rules to this gig.
* I've never cooked a turkey. For some reason I'm completely intimidated by this task. I guess maybe because I've never had to do it. Either my Grandma, or mom or Mike or Pete's mom has always just done it. I'm not afraid of baking bread or a pot roast or grilling or really anything else in the kitchen. But I'm totally afraid of making a turkey.
* I have visions of the perfect Martha Stewart-esque Thanksgiving/Christmas dinner table complete with a white linen table cloth, home made gorgeous center piece,fresh herbs surrounding the perfectly golden crisp turkey, cloth napkins and stylish place cards at each setting. It's just a vision. It would never happen! I think the closest we've ever gotten is paper napkins with a cartoon turkey printed on them.
* I love how my landlord sends us our garbage bill a week AFTER it's due. {insert eye roll here}
* I started using "anti-aging" make-up. Oh how that makes me feel old. But guess what? Fat fills in wrinkles. YEP. And I don't have all that much fat any more. Well, at least not on my face, apparently.
*That last one was a tough one to type. Maybe that's all I can really confess to today.

Halloween Camping, round 3!

2011-11-01T15:52:00.000-07:00

We went camping for Halloween again! It is still just as much fun as it was the first time we went. Pete was actually gone hunting in Idaho the week before we were supposed to go. I begged and begged him the entire time he was gone to come home in time so we could take our own trailer this time. He actually got home around 3:30 AM on Friday and we pulled out with the trailer hitched to the truck around 11:30 AM the same day. He must really love me, or I'm really good at nagging. Let's go with both. ;-)
Oh, but it was so nice to have our own trailer this time. Honestly, I can not wait to take it out more. I'm bummed the weather is changing and we won't be going camping for a few months, I'm sure.
Anyway, here are some pics of our weekend. I tried to take a few more of how people decorated their sites and a few of the crowds as we tricked and treated.
First, here are the kids. They both decided to be pirates. This is Jake's 3rd time being a pirate! I made Megan's tu-tu all by myself! Seriously this is the easiest costume ever, and CHEAP. I think I'll make her some kind of tu-tu every year if she'll let me. :)

Megan, of course, was sick. Because you know, we can not take her anywhere without her blowing chunks. I'm not kidding, I'm sure you could look back in my archives and find that 9 times out of 10, the girl gets sick when we go out of town. In all seriousness, she was really sick. Fever, chills, barf, the works. :( Her costume and trick or treating only lasted about 15 minutes.

Campsite displays:

We saw this one right before the Texas Chainsaw Massacre Guy scared the sh*t out of me with his chainsaw. I screamed and spilled my adult beverage (that another campsite was kindly handing out) all over myself. And if you've ever been around me when I get scared, you know that no matter what, I start crying. I can not help it. That's what I get for saying, "I'm not scared of you, or your chainsaw!". I know, easy target. I've decided next year I will get my own scary mask and walk around with it scaring people in order to combat the people trying to scare me.

This one below looked better in person, the fog machine kinda ruined what it really looked like. Very cool graveyard scene.

The crowds: the picture really doesn't do it justice.

This was cool....skeletons made out of PVC pipe. They were sittin' on lawn chairs having drinks. Too cute!

That's about it. There were so many more, but that covers the good ones. There was also a 'fun house' haunted house. They did the same thing last year, but this time it was much bigger. Not as scary, I thought though.
We can't wait till next year! Already made our reservations.

Where does time go?

2011-10-19T19:56:00.000-07:00

I was just browsing through my blog archives tonight and I came upon this post. Oh my gosh, the video. It slays me. Still. I'm in tears. I watched the last one over and over. Thank God for video. Seriously. I don't use it enough. Note to self: get out the video camera tomorrow.

The punkin patch

2011-10-18T09:53:00.000-07:00

Come on...you know you say puNkin and not puMPkin, right? Or is is that just me?
Well here's some pictures of our trip out to the punkin patch last week. Really, it ended up being a picnic in a field of pumpkins because most of the "fun" stuff (according to Jake) was not open. Like the corn maze and the panning gold and gems. That last thing is Jake favorite thing ever. He's obsessed with anything gold, gem-like or what he deems as 'treasure'. He was very disappointed that it was closed, not to mention the fact he was the oldest in our group and most of the kids there were either babies or Kindergarteners on a field trip, he was not happy. Not happy at all. Lucky for him, we're going again this Friday with kids his age. So expect more pictures.

I will sit here because you asked me to, but know that I am not happy. Not happy at all.

Do I really have to act like I like these kids? Uhg. Fine. But this is as close as I get. He actually does really like these guys. But he was in such a mood.

This 'lil donkey was so cute. She came right up to us. Of course because she looked slightly like a horse, Megan loved her.

Tree climbing did make things slightly better for the boy. By the end of the day he had perked up. It may have been because I threatened him. You WILL have fun or I am never taking you anywhere again! Now SMILE for Mommy Dearest! Just kidding. Sort of.

Tuesday things

2011-10-11T16:02:00.000-07:00

1. My blogging has been pretty sporadic lately. Sometimes I get overwhelmed with things I think I should blog about or maybe want to blog about and then my head gets full. And you know what I do? I don't blog. Or I blog about lame things. Or I make lists ;-)
2. I quit using my dishwasher. Yep. I'm crazy. But the thing is...the dishes were looking better going in than coming out! I can't figure out what's wrong with it. I tried all kinds of soaps, I put Jet Dry in, the water heats, the spinners spin. So what's the deal?? I don't know. So I just said screw it. Even though I hate washing dishes (or so I thought). The best thing? My favorite coffee cup is always clean and ready for me in the morning. And the sinks are always shinny and clean. Win + win!
3. School is going along great. We had a little rough bit of it today, but 99% of the time we're good!. I've been thinking of doing a 'day in the life' homeschool style post soon.
4. One thing I have learned to accept is that schooling 2 kids IS harder than just one. And it IS going to take a little more time than originally planned. It took me a little getting used to, but I'm totally ok with it now.
5. The crock pot has been my saving grace lately. Our busiest days are Monday's and Wednesdays (we have extra curricular classes those days) so I've been trying to have stuff ready to go so I have one less thing to worry about.
6. Pinterest. Can't say it enough. But I love, love, love this site. I know a lot of people say its a time waster or a place to put things and then never do them. But not for me. I do actually use the site for more than just pretty things. This is my recipe board I really have tried at least 70-80% of the things I've pinned. Here are a couple favorites:

Source: chefmommy-brandao.blogspot.com via Corey on Pinterest

Salsa Chicken (crock pot) kids favorite.

Source: bakingbites.com via Corey on Pinterest

Lemon bars. Oh my gosh these are SO GOOD.
7. I also use Pinterest for school stuff. There are tons and tons of homeschool references, grade level things, freebies from teachers, or just really good ideas you could adapt for your own kids. I'm planning on doing these two things before the end of the month:

Source: ttsd.k12.or.us via Corey on Pinterest

Pumpkin Math Day

Source: mrsleeskinderkids.blogspot.com via Corey on Pinterest

Science investigation
8. These images are ginormous! I'm sorry. I have no idea how to fix them. :-/
9. What are your kids going to be for Halloween? I'm usually so excited for it...but I'm just not prepared at all this year! I can't believe it's coming so soon. We are excited, however, to go on our annual Halloween camping trip! (I hope it doesn't rain this time!)
10. Certain things always remind me of either a song or a movie. Or a song will remind me of a movie. Or something like that. Example: Pete was just going to make a phone call. Jake says: Who ya gonna call? And I immediately think: GHOST BUSTERS! My children think I'm crazy because they have no idea what I'm talking about. Note to self: rent Ghost Busters.

Just because...

2011-10-09T15:37:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week:

The rain came down in sheets. I thought for a moment the Good Lord had forgotten about fall. It poured and poured and poured. And thunder and lighting too. So weird.
But the beautiful fall weather has returned. It really is what keeps me sane, since summer isn't too much like summer here...with the fog and all. Anyway, I got a few good ones of the girl in the warm, soft afternoon light as the boys were busy blowing all the evidence of the storm away down the hill. {this place is a mess after it rains!}

Going to go enjoy the rest of Sunday. ♥
side note: i guess blogger has gone and changed the picture format again?? i don't know, but these seem to look a lot better when you click on them to get the larger image.

Do you see what I see?

2011-09-22T18:39:00.000-07:00

This was last night looking out Megan's bedroom window. A momma and two baby deer just chillin' in our driveway.
It's not really an unusual thing. We see her and the babies all the time. Just the first time I really got a pic of it. Momma is so not afraid of humans at all. I've come out my garage/carport door and she's been standing right behind the car (which you can't see in this pic) and all she does is look up. She eventually walks off slowly, but she's got no fear.
Baby #1 was born just this year. He's a little buck. He's so cute. Right now he's got two tiny little antler stubs on the top of his head. Earlier this summer he had cute little white spots all over his rump but they're gone now.
Baby #2 is actually a yearling. She should be 'leaving the nest' soon.
Anyway, just a peek into this amazing place we get to live. Right smack dab in the middle of a city, right above a busy freeway, yet worlds away from everything. I love it.

Tuesday Things.

2011-09-13T14:37:00.000-07:00

Not sure if I'll make it to 10 or not.

1. Sunday was the memorial service for one of the people from our church that had passed away. It was a wonderful memorial. She was a little younger than I thought she was. She'd been through so much in her life, and it showed on the surface. But on the inside...she was...so young. She never, ever complained about the things that had happened to her. She always smiled. She always said she was "alright", even if you knew she wasn't. She was a wonderful example of faith, in that way. She always knew He would take care of her. I'd like to think I'm that way, but I'm not. I worry way too much. I don't put my problems over to Him as much or as trusting as maybe I should.
2. I made the photo board for the memorial service. I only knew her the last 11 years of her life. It was amazing looking through a lifetime of memories. Once again, I'm reminded of the power of photographs.
3. I started watching Thirty Something on Hulu back when I first had my surgery. I needed something to do whilst I sat in a recliner for a week. My parents never watched that show when it was on TV. I thought, hmmm maybe I would like it now that I actually am thirty-something. It's funny even though I am the same age as the people in the show...they will always seem older than me. Always.
4. I also started watching Felicity on Netflix thanks to my friend Allison. (Pete is gone this week, that's why I am filling my time with TV shows LOL!) I loved Felicity when I was younger. LOVED it. And when I watch that show now, I am exactly the same age as the characters. (as I was when the show first aired...18-19 years old) Do you know what I'm talking about? Is that just me?
5. The fridge repairman came today. He was late. As expected. But the good news was it wasn't the compressor. And I don't have to go out and buy a new fridge. It was only a $279 fix. Not bad considering what it could have been. But dang, the labor was 3 TIMES the cost of the part. And he was only here an hour. Ca-razy!
6. Pete's in Wyoming this week. Hunting. Of course. I'm glad it's only a week this time. His dad went with him. I'm glad his dad decided to go. I hope they're having fun and will be home soon.
7. My children decided it would be awesome to lick their fingers and stick them in the sugar bowl I have on the counter for coffee. Yeah. I wanted to get really mad at them for doing that. Then I remembered I used to do the exact same thing to the butter when I was a kid. Gross. Don't worry, I threw out the sugar and moved it so they couldn't easily get it. You won't have to worry if you come over for coffee ;-)
8. So I have this friend. Well I guess technically she's more like an acquaintance. I've known her for a long time, and we have mutual friends. We've just never really hung out before. So all of a sudden she wants to hang out. Which is fine. Only she didn't call me to ask. She asked one of our mutual friends to "set it up". Isn't that kind of strange? I guess she's maybe intimidated by me? Or at least that's sort of the way I feel whenever I'm around her. I don't know why that is. I can hardly intimidate my own children let alone someone else....an adult. I don't really know what to make of all this. Only now, I'm supper uncomfortable to hang out with her. I'm uncomfortable because obviously she is. I don't know. It's just weird.
9. Um well....that's all I can come up with. I need to go get all the food from outside in the carport and put them back in the house. fuuuuuun!

No more drama, please.

2011-09-07T19:09:00.000-07:00

This picture has absolutely nothing to do with this post. But I figured y'all needed something to look at since I haven't posted a picture in forever.
I don't really want this to become a "poor me" post. But I'm afraid it will probably come off that way.
You know those "friends" you have on facebook? The ones who maybe aren't really your friends or a friend you haven't seen since high school anyway? You know, the ones who seem to always have something wrong happening? Some horrible drama? You know the ones. The ones who seem to get off on the drama and enjoy the attention it gets them for posting their crap on facebook?
I get really annoyed with those friends.
But you know what? I sort of feel like I am that girl lately. Only I don't like the drama. I don't like it one bit. And I don't get off on getting attention because of said drama. I'm only writing this, not for sympathy, not for attention, but only for pure venting purposes. Because, I'm totally sick of it. I just can not take anymore drama.
Lets see here's some things that have gone down in the past year.

* My dog died
* My dad got sick
* various family dramas because of it
* My gallbladder starts going bad
* Dad in the hospital multiple times
* Dad passes away
* More family drama
* My house sells, yet they won't turn off the water because the bank hasn't recorded the new owners name yet. So I keep getting charged for water and garbage.
* various other instances dealing with my old house.
* I have surgery to remove my gallbladder.

Here's what's happened just in the last few weeks/ 24 hours:
* 2 church members pass away on the same day (our church is small, so this is kinda a big deal)
* our pastor is in poor health and it's sad, but we're pretty sure it could be any day now for him too.
* we've had 3 mice in the house. All dead now, thank goodness. But I've since been cleaning like crazy. There is not enough bleach in the world to disinfect after mouse droppings, in my opinion.
* I can't really write about it on the internet since it's not completely resolved yet, but some lady is trying to say we did something when we didn't do. Or well, trying to blame us for something that was her fault. I don't see anything really coming of this, but STILL. It's just one more thing.
* One of my incisions from my surgery (after more than a month) has all of a sudden started "leaking". Yeah. Not blood or anything, but clear fluid, and it's red and irritated and kinda hurts if anything touches it. So that can't be good.
* My computer is on the fritz. It's 5 years old, Dell won't warranty it anymore and it's moving slow and crashes at least once a day. I have a laptop, and it works fine and we can make due, but with the kids homeschooling and Jake being required to be on the computer for a class 30 minutes a day, we really do need 2.
* THEN TODAY all of a sudden, my freezer quits freezing. I've turned it all the way up and it's still leaking water all over my kitchen floor. The ice cream is melted and veggies unfrozen. Luckily the meat seems to be holding up ok. We bought this fridge about 9 years ago when we bought our first house. Nine years isn't old in refrigerator years, is it? They're not like dogs, are they?

Anyway, I realize in the scheme of things, 90% of what I just wrote isn't any big deal. It's just life stuff. We all go through it. I totally get that. Again, I'm not looking for sympathy. I just needed to get it off my chest.
I'm just....*ugh*.... warn out I guess.
I'm just ready for some normal days.

And right after I wrote that....a GIANT spider jumped out of my printer onto my desk and across my keyboard! (*&$(@)(&*%)(*&^! I freaking HATE spiders!!
Someone give me a break! :-P

10 on Tuesday

2011-09-06T14:14:00.001-07:00

1. Oakland + September = my favorite. If it would only stay like this all year.
2. I desperately need a new computer. My next one will most certainly be a Mac.
3. Crockpots may be one of the 20th century's greatest inventions. Especially for busy moms. One of our favorite recipes: chicken + BBQ sauce + pineapple. Hawaiian pulled chicken. Sooo good.
4. Photo shoots are fun but I think they take a lot out of me. I didn't have a desire to take a pic for a week.
5. I'm completely sold on local + organic food. I have been for a while but recently since I found a great farmers market, I've been buying ALL my produce there or getting it from my own garden. Besides the obvious health reasons... It just TASTES so much better. I'm excited to continue this into the fall and winter and see if I can make it eating 'in season' produce only.
6. School has been much much better. I've got some things ironed out and we're going much smoother.
7. Today we finished school around 1. So much better than 3.
8. Girls are so much easier to teach. And they just inherently have better handwriting.
9. Got my first pair of TOMS. I was sure Pete would say they were ugly. But he actually likes them. I see more in my future. They are comfy.
10. Thinking of starting a winter garden. Have you ever done one? What grows in winter?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Random blathering about time. Or the lack thereof.

2011-08-29T11:57:00.000-07:00

I feel like there is no time. No time for anything lately. School has completely overwhelmed me the past two weeks. I feel like I have no time to go to the store. No time to take a shower. (don't worry, i find the time ;-) ) No time to fold laundry or sweep the floor. No time to work. No time to play. No time to relax.
Not to worry. I'm not going to quit homeschooling or anything. I just haven't quite found my balance yet. It takes time. I wasn't as prepared this year as I was last. And then some changes in our curriculum have made it harder to find a good groove.
The thing with the school from my last post: It's not really anything. I'm not going to quit the charter school. The thought has crossed my mind only because sometimes the reasons behind me wanting to homeschool, but yet still going through a 'public school', sort of clash. I want my kids to have a love of learning and sometimes the school would rather focus on spitting out mindless information on a standardized test. Those two things in my mind clash.
Anyway it turns out I was right, and our school is being audited because they are trying to get an accreditation from some national school accreditation thingy. Don't ask me LOL! But basically, they're wanting to improve standardized testing scores across the board. So we've had to do a little adjusting in our curriculum to meet their needs. It's not necessarily a bad thing. Its actually good. We're getting some more support (as parents/teachers) in order to meet these goals. So I've been talking a lot with our teacher, ordering new materials, and trying to find a balance in our daily schedules to make sure we get this stuff all in.
Last week I only left the house once. I'm not kidding. Used to we could get our schooling done within a couple hours and then be able to go on a field trip, or to the grocery store or the library in the afternoon. This year so far,with all the extra stuff I've been doing, and the extra curriculum load with two students, I just haven't found the 'smooth' yet. We haven't been finishing school work until about 2:30 and then Pete is home by 3. When he gets home all I want is a break! But yet there's still laundry to fold, dishes to wash, dinner to make...... .....
I also took on the task of a paid photo shoot last week. It was so fun. But now I need to find the time to process the images and get them to the client. I've done 15 so far. I promised her at least 30-40 good images. I guess I'm half done.
Anyway, I did find the time to sit here and write this random post about having no time. In the meantime, my dryer just buzzed, and the kids are ready for their math lessons. I must be off. I'm promising myself that by this time next week I will have a more smoothness to our day-to-day schedule. And maybe I'll start posting pics with my posts again. ;-)

10 on Tuesday.

2011-08-23T16:36:00.000-07:00

1. I made marinated tomato salad to go with dinner tonight. The tomatoes are fresh from our garden. They're tiny and smell like sunshine.
2. I'm the only one in the family who actually likes tomatoes. Funny...we have at least 564 tomato plants in our garden. Huh.
3. We got three new chickens in our coop. They lay green eggs! Would you eat a green egg?
4. I got some shocking news yesterday. Ok I guess it wasn't that shocking. It wasn't necessarily bad news either. Just annoying. Anyway, now I've got to change some things up, homeschooling wise. hmmm.
5. Homeschooling through a charter sometimes feels like being employed by a giant national or statewide corporation. Only.....I don't even get paid.
6. Ditching the charter school all together has seriously crossed my mind.
7. Thursday I have my very first paid photo shoot. I'm totally nervous. And kinda freaking out about it. I really hope it's not foggy.
8. I kinda miss the whole "first day of school" thing. The excitement, the newness, the tears. (from me dropping my baby off at Kindergarten) I guess I only get that experience once.
9. My little Meggsy Beggsy turns 5 on Sunday. Where did this baby go?

10. Who is this big girl?

Week one. Done.

2011-08-19T16:00:00.001-07:00

We started school this week. I'm not gonna lie...it wasn't all giggles and smiles. After a really busy, really fun summer, and coming right off of surgery + recovery, jumping right into school Monday morning wasn't the easiest thing. Jake was the most reluctant and rightly so, I suppose. Monday was his birthday, after all. (don't worry, I didn't make him do too much, plus I decorated our school room and made him a cake! Not to mention the Harry Potter DSi game he got)

But even I forgot how much it work it was for me. I was seriously exhausted by the end of the day, Monday. Poor Megan....I forget this is Kindergarten for her, and she's still little. And though she participated a lot last year, she wasn't really expected to do a whole lot. So by about 3:30 (even though we'd been done for hours by then) she was SO ready for a nap! I can always tell when she just starts cryin' for no reason!

There may have even been an instance one day this week when I threatened: "I WILL SEND YOU BACK TO PUBLIC SCHOOL SO FAST...!!!" I think all homeschooling parents threaten with that at least once a year. :) Even though public school wasn't all that bad for Jake when he went. But unless we move to a better school district, I could never follow through with that threat! Anyway, it took a day or two to get into a groove, but we ended on a high note. I think we're all more prepared for the weeks to come.

We ended the week today with mostly games and projects. I liked that. The kids, of course liked it too. It brought everything we worked on during the week together. The project above was something I got from here.
I haven't received our science curriculum yet, so for now I'm kinda flying by the seat of my pants. I'm really looking forward to NOT having to do that anymore! However, I did want to share these fantastic books I got at Costco yesterday. I'm a HUGE fan of the kids book section at Costco. Especially this time of year (when they start getting the Christmas stuff out O_o ) they usually have some great finds. If you look at the top picture, on the right, I've got those 10 tall skinny books. That's what I picked up yesterday. I think they were 5 books for $12--something. They're all science related, from space, to the human body, inventions etc.. The 2nd set is the animal kingdoms. Each book has 100 facts + quizzes and activities about the subject. Each set also came with a huge, ginormous, too big to fit in my tiny room, but still awesome anyway posters. One of the human body and one of the animal kingdoms. So, if you have a Costco near you, go look and see what you can find. Honestly, if I didn't have a lot of money for science curriculum, I would use these books as a base and then supplement. The pictures are great and really catch the attention of the kids. My two sat down with these yesterday and just poured over them. These books are excellent additions to any science curriculum or kids home library! They are well worth the $12 and some change for a set. In fact, there was one more set I didn't get and I'm going to go back for it!
P.S. Several of the other books in the picture were also Costco finds. I just can't resist a good kids book.

2011-08-16T13:12:00.000-07:00

This may look like some ordinary sandwich. And I suppose it mostly is. I had some left over bacon (i know...who has leftover bacon??!) and decided the perfect lunch today would be a BLTT. That would be bacon, lettuce, tomato, and turkey. Oh and red onion. Because I love red onion on sandwiches.
Anyway as I stood there gathering my ingredients and waiting for the toaster to pop, I pulled a butter knife out of the drawer for the mayo and all of a sudden I had an instant rush of memory.
Sandwiches.
My dad loved sandwiches. He took his sandwiches seriously. It was never just PB&J or turkey and cheese. The bread was always toasted. Always Miracle Whip, not mayo. One side of the bread was always mixed: Miracle Whip + yellow mustard. It was always over the top: turkey, cheese, tomato, onion, bacon, cheese....and what ever else sounded good. He even had a special spatula thingy for the spread: a butter knife would never do.
I always told dad he made the best sandwiches. We would joke that he should quit his job and open a sandwich shop in town.
So today as I stood there and spread my own Miracle Whip on my toasted bread and added all my toppings, I couldn't think of anything else but dad. I imagined him making it for me. And I remembered how many times we stood over the little island in the kitchen and made sandwiches together. Funny how such a mundane task can do that to you.
I sat down with my BLTT and enjoyed every bite. Today it wasn't just an ordinary sandwich.

Back to reality.

2011-08-13T20:58:00.000-07:00

Weekend Random.

*On Monday it will be 2 weeks since my surgery. I'm feeling 99% of normal. Every day I feel just a bit better. If I could just bend over without discomfort I'd be 100%

*I never want to have surgery again. I'm fine. It went fine. But anesthesia is just not my thing. Nor is pain. It was a little more than I had expected.

*Monday is also Jake's birthday. He'll be 8. I love him. He's just a really, really good kid. Sometimes I think we expect too much out of him. But he handles it. He's such a help around here.

*Monday is also our first official day of school. I'm ready. I spent all week lesson planning and I'm ready. And excited.

*Just because I totally dig this pic. And cuz she's cute.

*We went to the farmers market this morning. I'm totally loving the one on Grand Ave in Oakland. I actually convinced Pete to come with me...and he loved it! I bought 5 avocados. I can't wait to eat them. Guacamole.

*Oh! AND! My camera...I got a new one. Most of you already know. Canon 60D. So far I'm loving it. Weird, but it's easier to operate than my old Rebel? True story. And full manual is so not as hard as I thought it'd be.

*Looking forward to getting back into a more even schedule with life and blogging and all that.

*Happy weekend!

Dinner tonight

2011-07-20T18:16:00.001-07:00

Please excuse the lackluster slightly unappetizing photo above. It was taken with my iPhone. But I assure you....this dinner was delicious!
I made roasted veggie Pasta Primavera. 98% of the veggies came straight from our garden. Our pea plants are about done so the peas are frozen from Trader Joes and my tomatoes aren't quite ripe yet, so the ones I used were mini organic heirlooms also from the Trader named Joe.
First I went out to the garden and picked a bunch of carrots, some zucchini, green beans and some green onion. Oh and I grabbed a small handful of fresh basil too. Then I cleaned and chopped everything up and added the tomatoes and some fresh garlic as well. Then I tossed everything with a little bit of EVOO and salt and pepper. Everything went one layer on a cookie sheet and into the oven at 450* for about 10 minutes. I flipped the veggies and roasted them for another 10 minutes.
Then I grabbed a bag of frozen fettuccine alfredo (also from Trader Joes). I know I'm a little obsessed with Joe. But he has really good food! And I've been diligently reading labels. This stuff is all natural. There's nothing I can't pronounce or don't know what it is listed on the ingredients. No chemicals, no preservatives. You could certainly make your own pasta sauce if you wanted, it's easy. Anyway, I followed the directions on the package. When it was just about done I added all my roasted veggies, plus the frozen peas, plus some fresh green beans I had previously blanched. And dinner was done. 25 minutes. Oh and that basil I picked? I tossed that in at the last minute too. mmm mmm mmm m m!!
Dang it was good. Roasting the veggies gave them such a sweet taste. The carrots were delicious. Zucchini--divine. Tomatoes-sweet, sweet. What an awesome summer time meal.
Oh and I also made pizza on the grill. Have you done this yet? I'm telling you, you're missing out if you haven't. Google it, there's all kinds of tutorials and instructions and recipes. There's nothing like it and it's so, so much better than store bought.
Do you have a good summer recipe you want to share?

Collins Lake camp trip

2011-07-18T15:42:00.000-07:00

The fog had rolled back in last week so we were SO ready to get out of here and find some sun! It's funny how quickly the Bay Area can turn from warm summery days to butt cold in just hours! I had my heater on last week! Anyway, Thursday afternoon we rolled off the hill with our 5th wheel and off camping we went.
We weren't going to leave until Friday. But then all of a sudden Thursday morning Pete sends me a text and says "we can leave today if you want. I'll be home at 1:30". So I rushed to get everything in the trailer, make one last run for ice etc....and when does he finally show up home?? Um. 3:30. Two hours past when he said he would be home. I should have known. My husband is notorious for that. LOL! It all worked out in the end though. We finally got going around 4:30 and made it to the campground with just enough light left to set up camp.
This was the first time out in the 5th wheel, so I was really excited. Camping in the trailer is SO MUCH nicer than a tent. I had a pantry and a sink...and a toilet! And a real bed!
The campground kind of sucked though. I don't know that we'll go back to this place. The campsites were tiny. Basically just parking spots. Ours was so small we had to move the picnic table out of the way just to back the trailer in. And forget sitting around the campfire. At least in our spot there was just no room at all. Our friends got there before us and well....they basically took the better of the two spots. I don't blame them I guess!
Other than the campground itself, we did manage to have a great time. The boys slept in their own tent, which they loved. They were up at 6 am each morning ready to fish.

We spent most of the day Friday and Saturday at the swimming beach.

Us adults were outnumbered 8 to 4. Erin and Mike have 4 kids + they also brought their niece and nephew + our two kids. Luckily they all get along really well!
We also managed a S'more or two. Or three.

Saturday was Amanda's birthday.

Erin made the cake before we left. Yes, she MADE it. And brought it 3 hours in a Suburban full of kids to a campground! She's totally that kind of mom.
Look:

She even brought this stuff for the kids to play with. If you can't tell from the picture, she brought a whole little western play set complete with general store, sheriff office and cowboys etc...She's nicer than me. haha
I did manage to bring Hillbilly Golf with us, though. We discovered this at our church camp last month and decided it was the perfect thing to bring camping. We were going to make our own, but I couldn't pass up a set at Target for 20 bucks! But see....our campsites were so small we had to play in the road!

It was so nice to get away. I hope we can at least take the trailer out one more time before summer is over.

I have my surgery August 1st so I'm hoping to feel up to going again by mid-August? The doctor said I needed about a weeks recovery time so I think that should be good enough, right?
Swimming lessons started today! Oh how I love summer!

Homeschool past and future.

2011-07-08T15:21:00.000-07:00

I realize that in my last post I was all gushy, gushy over summer and now here I am talking about starting school again.
I think I have ADD.
But really, I have just one month until we start school so it's time to get planning!
First, let me give my thoughts on our school year last year and homeschooling through a charter. I think most of you know that I really loved homeschooling. Like way more than I thought I would. First of all it's given me something to do. A job other than sweeping floors and folding clothes. Not that that isn't great and all...but I think I really needed something else to focus on, goals to achieve etc... I think I'm a happier person and better mom and wife because of homeschooling. And secondly, it's allowed me to step out of my comfort zone in a lot of ways. I've gone places, done things and met people all because of this homeschooling gig and for the sake of my kids. I'm a pretty shy person. I tend to always want to go somewhere new with someone I know because I get a little freaked by new social situations. I'm awkward. I'd rather just stay home all day. But I can't do that. My kids need to get out and see the world and meet people and socialize. (and they are not like me at all--both social butterflies!) So I signed us up for every field trip, class and activity I could get us in to. And it was fun. And I'm not scared to do it anymore.
As I mentioned we are homeschooling through a charter. A charter school is basically a 'parent run' public school (sometimes these schools are just like any other public school..sometimes they are more of an independent study program). The school receives funding through the state just like any other school and is held to testing standards results (among other things) in order to hold on to their charter. So the major plus to homeschooling this way (for me) is basic: money. The school gives each enrolled student a certain amount of money each semester for curriculum and classes. It sounds perfect. Someone will BUY all my curriculum for me?!! Well, yes... and no. Here's were some of the drawbacks come in. First there's a TON of homeschooling curriculum choices nowadays. Way more than there used to be. BUT a lot of them still lean towards a more Christian view, rather than secular. Which is fine by me...but not fine to the public school system. So I found that even though I had all this money to spend last year, I ended up spending a lot of my own money anyway. The other + and - to using a charter school is having to be held accountable. At first this seemed like the perfect thing for me-someone who was a little reluctant in the beginning-to have someone to help guide me and to know that I was being held accountable so that we wouldn't just sleep in till noon every day. I still view this as a plus and a minus. A plus because I really, really like our teacher. And because schedules and deadlines really do drive me. I am a notorious procrastinator. But knowing that I have to report to someone else, forces me to get going. So all that works for me. But...but, but, but....sometimes I just don't like being told what to do. LOL! Three categories that bug me every month (subjects that we have to list on our learning record that gets submitted to the state) are: special interests, PE, and life skills. Now, Jake's 'special interest' is archery. Doesn't that qualify also as PE and a life skill?? I think so. But apparently the school wants more. I have to list new life skills each month. And I have to show a progression in his special interest. And he needs to be doing other things for PE too. It's annoying. Especially when it's winter and freezing and raining. I do not care about PE in the winter.
But anyway overall I'm still glad to be going with a charter school because bottom line: we just don't have the money not to do it this way. Did I mention they also pay for classes like swimming, gymnastics, dance, karate etc...? Jake got to take this really cool outdoor explorer class that was very expensive and it was completely payed for by the school. It was an opportunity he would have never had if we didn't go through the charter.
So here we are with a month left until school starts for both Jake and Megan so I've been busy getting us ready. Here's our curriculum line up for the 2011-2012 school year:

Language Arts:
For Jake this will be a hodgepodge of things we'll put together. First I will be ordering several literature packs from a company called Moving Beyond the Page. The lessons use literature for comprehension, writing, spelling and grammar.
We will also use Writing Strands 3 (continued from last year) And I'm pretty sure I'm going to order All About Spelling for both kids. Spelling is by far Jake's worst subject. This program takes a phonetic method along with common spelling rules to teach spelling. I know for a fact that Jake has many gaps in his early teachings of phonics and was never taught any spelling rules at all until last year. So I'm hoping that by taking a small step backwards we can quickly make a giant step forward with spelling.
For Megan I am using Explode the Code workbooks for phonics/reading and handwriting. I will also use the All About Spelling with her along with a computer program we began last year called Reading Eggs.
Math:
For Jake we will continue with Singapore Math 2B, 3A and 3B. (each level takes about a semester and we've already started 2B) It's worked well for him and we're just going to keep going. For Megan....I'm still on the fence with this one. I'd like to just use Singapore since I already have it. But she's a different kid and numbers don't seem to a) interest her and b) I think she may just learn differently than Jake. We've begun the kindergarten curriculum, but I don't really like it. I'm thinking of starting Megan with Math U See.
History/Geography: We will continue with our study of Early American history and move into Western Expansion. We'll use Beautiful Feet Books for this again. The guide says this is for 4-8th grade, but I think we can make this work for us since we will be doing this as a family. And since this seems to go right along with the US and western expansion, we will be doing a geography study of the 50 states. I purchased a curriculum online that looks fun called Road Trip USA.
Science: My kids love science and unfortunately, last year was kinda boring. I tried to make it more interesting, but it was a lot of work gathering ideas and supplies for experiments etc...So this year I'm going to try out Nancy Larson Science. It's expensive, but it comes with everything. No hunting around for things or trying to come up with ideas on my own! sounds good to me!
PE/extra curricular/special interests:
Jake will continue to study archery and go to his outdoor explorer class. Pete also promised him he could play baseball this year so we will be looking for that ( in spring?) too.
Megan: for now we're looking for either a gymnastics or dance class (or both) for her and just kind of see where her interests lead her. I already know that she's extremely interested in horses. I'd love to get her into some lessons or something, but our school only will pay 30% (because they're generally so expensive) and a lot of the lessons won't start her until she's 7 AND a lot of the lessons around here are for English ridding and I'd rather her learn Western Pleasure. (i grew up with horses and it's what I would prefer her to learn).
And I think that's it. *Whew* It only took me 4 days to write that all up! I know it doesn't pertain to many of you, but I don't know...It's our life right now. :)
Now to go pack the trailer for camping!

Taking Summer by the Horns

2011-07-07T07:22:00.000-07:00

Hello.
I haven't been blogging much.
We are way too busy enjoying summer.
Oh yes, it showed up here finally and we are taking advantage of it...because who knows when the fog might roll back in!
We've been swimming.

my niece Caitlin and our friend Amanda

And gone to the county fair. Where Megan participated in a little show and got up and sang in front of everyone. (Oh my goodness that was CUTE!) She is fearless.

Our niece is here from Georgia and stayed with us for an entire week. That was so fun. I'd almost forgotten how much we all missed her.

We had a big party out our house for 4th of July. Lots of kids and adults and FOOD. Yeah, my friends and I tend to get carried away. But in a good way. The best part? Introducing the art of S'mores to some of the young'ns. Sticky, gooey, hot marshmallows + kids who've never even had them = funny.

The kids went and spent 2 days with Grandma and Grandpa. I'm not gonna lie, we missed them and kinda didn't know what to do with ourselves. (except eat dinner on the couch!) But it was a very nice and welcome break. When you homeschool, there just aren't as many breaks from kids. Most of the time, that's fine. But sometimes....you just need a break.
The rest of the summer is shaping up to look like this:
Camping next week
Swim lessons as soon as we return
The Big Wilcox Month of Birthdays (all of August--mine, Jake's then Megan's)
Camping again?
The start of our 2nd year homeschooling and Megan officially starting Kindergarten.
And.....Surgery. mmm mmm Yep. The 'ol gallbladder is coming out. I know, I sound like such an old lady! but I've got to get this thing out of me because the pain and annoyance of it all is becoming unbearable. It seems I'm having 'episodes' of passing a gallstone (not to be confused with passing a kidney stone-still painful, but entirely different) quite often lately. It is extremely painful, causes me to not sleep because it always happens at night, and gives me a lot of anxiety when it comes to eating. I just never know what is going to trigger an attack or what is not. Anyway...I want it gone. I met with the surgeon on Tuesday and though a specific date has not been set yet, he said the surgery should be sometime in either August or September. I'm a little bit scared, but I'm just really hoping that this pain will go away and I can go back to being normal. Whatever that is!
And well, that's that for now. I hope you are enjoying your summer as much as we are!

10 on Wednesday.

2011-06-22T15:29:00.000-07:00

1. I'm a day late. So sue me. :) We're kinda in full summer mode over here right now. I know I totally complained about there being NO summer in my last post and then all of a sudden summer showed up. So, I'm taking full advantage of it while I can!! The fog is already rolling in....
2. I'm going to see a Gastroenterologist tomorrow. I've been having tummy troubles for quite a while now (i haven't blogged about it because I hate being that girl who always has something wrong or some problem) but it finally got so bad last week, I couldn't handle it anymore and decided I really needed to get checked out. I had an ultrasound and apparently I have gallstones. I have no idea what this doctor will say tomorrow. I'm guessing surgery?? I kinda hope so, so that I don't have any more problems. But I kinda hope not, cuz I'm scared.
3. Because of my stupid stomach problem we almost didn't go to our church camp retreat last weekend. We haven't gone in the past two years because of different reasons so we were all really looking forward to it this year. Finally late Thursday morning, after much debate as to whether I should stay home or not, I got up off the couch and said: Let's GO! And we went. And it was pretty awesome.

4. Jake went right to fishing. I think he caught about 4 or 5 over the weekend. Pete is the 'teacher' for all the young boys. He brought 4 extra fishing poles so the other boys could use them. He's so patient and really enjoys showing this next generation of men all about living the outdoors man life. It's truly a gift he has. He helped our little neighbor Will (who turned 6 that day) catch this big monster! That kid was so excited!

5. Saturday they got to do the zip-line. That was so cool. Megan even did it all by herself! I don't know where I was, but I missed it and didn't get a picture.

6. We came home to a "heat wave" here in the bay area. Yesterday it was a smokin' hot 88* so we headed out to a local spot for swimming. I'd never been here before, but it was really fun. The kids loved it. There's tons of lifeguards, it's plenty shallow enough and there's lots of shade too. We'll definitely be going back there.

(it was super murky water though, because it was so crowded. I guess normally it's almost blue)
7. We're starting to enjoy lots of things from our garden. Last week we had our first zucchini and now this week, lots more! Sugar snap peas, carrots, green onions, & more zucchini. We just got our first little yellow buds on the tomato plants so in a couple weeks we'll have yummy home grown sunshine to add to our salads. MMMM!
8. Speaking of farming....we got our first egg from our chickens this week! It's so tiny! We also butchered 2 of our roosters. Somehow we ended up with 4 roosters, which is just way too many. So (cover your eyes if this sort of thing bothers you) Pete and Jake did the old school thing---and chopped their heads off. Really. I BBQ'd them up the next day and.... It tastes like chicken! Free range, organic chicken. ;-)

9. We also lost 2 chickens this week. Pete had the brilliant idea to let them stay out of the coop all day. We went to round them up and several were missing. We finally found all but 2.....we did however, find evidence of a fox. :(
10. We're planning our 4th of July BBQ next week. Does anyone have a suggestion for a dessert? I'm not necessarily going for the red, white and blue theme, but that wouldn't be bad either.

Impress your friends, make bread!

2011-06-11T19:27:00.000-07:00

First of all...I'm fine. :) Thanks for asking! I just haven't felt much like blogging lately. We've just been going on about our day-to-day and nothing real exciting has been going on. Trying to figure out what summer is going to look like around here. Though, I think I'm beginning to realize that summer and Oakland in the same sentence is somewhat of an oxymoron. My entire life summer has meant tank tops and flip flops; swim suites and Popsicles; hot, hot sidewalks and baseball and BBQ's. It's just not quite like that here and I'm trying not to be Debbie Downer about it but..... well... I'll just stop. Technically it's not even summer for another week and half, right?

Anyway here's what's going on around here...
*I made bread! Well, I've made lots of bread before. Megan and I made yummy pull-apart cinnamon bread a few weeks ago.

Dang that was good. I've also made pretzels and pizza dough and even full fledged french bread with the 3 rising and kneading times. But I picked this book up at the library this week..Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.

WOW! seriously? This is so easy. It's like less than 5 minutes a day and it's GOOD. There is just nothing like homemade bread. We had our friend Joe over for dinner Wednesday night and I threw a baguette in the oven and served it up warm with homemade spaghetti. He took one bite and looked over at Pete and said, "Dude....she cooks like this every night? Do you know how lucky you are?" Ha! I'm sorry, but that made me seriously happy. So try this method out. It's super, super easy and yields great results. I can't wait to try other variations.
*Jake made a swing. He got some rope and a board and with the help of his dad hung it up in the tree next to the driveway. It's definitely the new favorite thing around here. And of course they both fight over it.

*We went bowling. That was super fun. I really love bowling. Did you all know I took bowling as my PE credit in collage? It's true. I thought it would be and easy A cuz I'm super lazy. Anyway the kids had a great time. Jake loved it. Megan could have cared less I think, but she had fun. I beat Pete...and really....that's all that matters, isn't it? !!

* Our garden is growing like crazy! We've already enjoyed some basil and cilantro and just this week we have our first zucchini! I can't wait to eat it. It's just about ready to harvest. We also have a gang of tomatoes, peas and carrots. For some reason our green beans and bell peppers didn't do so well. But for putting seeds directly into some pretty crappy soil, I think we're doing pretty good!
*Hmmm...other activities have been going to the zoo, going to the in-laws for memorial day where it SNOWED, Pete's been cutting down trees so we now have a better view out our living room window for the 4th of July fireworks. We're planning to have party for that. Oh and hey! guess what?! Our house finally sold. What house, you say? The house we moved out of a year ago. hmmhmm. It's a very long and drawn out story that I don't really plan on sharing on the internet. But I'll just say this: FINALLY! We are so relieved that it's finally over. And we're getting closer and closer to being debt free!
*So I guess maybe it's not all that boring around here after all. Maybe I should blog more so I don't overwhelm you all with these random bits!

The happenings

2011-05-23T13:30:00.001-07:00

It's been kinda busy around here the last couple weeks.
1. First we went on a field trip:

We went to an organic farm. It was super interesting. The kids liked it, but I'm pretty sure I got more out of it than they did. But it is really cool to see where your food comes from. I wanted to jump on the local band wagon as fast as I could! I think it is so cool to be a part of and participate in and know exactly where and from whom you are getting your food. I just can't afford their very high priced CSA at the moment. Plus, we have our own farmers market growing in our back yard right now. And I just need to be patient.
The field trip also helped grow my secret interest in bee keeping:

This farmer made this very small bee hive (about the size of a coffee table) with about $60 worth of material and about a days work. Within 5 days it already had some bees calling it home and making honey! There was no queen yet though. But still, really cool, right?!

2. Then we had a Tea Party:

And while it was a lot of fun, it was also a lot of work. I took something like 437 images that day and I think my little Canon Rebel XT might finally be seeing the end of it's days. I think I may have actually shot the hell out of it. And my precious .50mm lens is not looking to good either. The poor little guy is wounded and I may have to reduce to duct tape before the end. {hangs head in shame}

3. Then we went to the rodeo. I love rodeos. Thursday was free night. So duh, we went. There was only 2 events: Team Roping and Wild Cow Milking.

It was perfect for the kids though, since they'd never been to a rodeo. Wild cow milking is hilarious, if you go to a rodeo, check out that event. It was priceless! (there is some info online if you google it, but basically it's just a race to get one drop of milk from a cow)

4. Then Friday was our last official day of school. I have no pictures of that. It wasn't really that eventful. Just a day at the park with a bunch of other home schooled kids. Please watch this video. It explains so much...

5. And lastly to round out the weekend......I had a horrible, horrible headache. It started Friday on the way to the park and seriously...there is still a slight shadow of a headache there today. It has been The Worst headache I have ever had. I really, really hope it was random. Because I can't do that again. Absolutely nothing got done for 3 days.

Well that was a boring end to the story.

Wednesday.

2011-05-11T17:34:00.000-07:00

*he♥rt wood. It's this neat? a friend of ours cut a tree in their yard and this was it's shape. So cool.
*I still find it amazing how the internet has allowed me to find some of the best friends I could ever ask for. I understand how weird it can sound, but I am so thankful for the friendships I have made through this silly computer. Yes: real, tangible friendships.
*our Sunday School teacher is having a little girls tea party this Saturday. This has been in the works for a long time and is finally coming together this week. She's even making dresses for all the girls! I went over yesterday to 'help' and they are turning out so cute. It's going to be fun. I've been asked to take some formal pictures for the event so I've been scouring Pinterest and the www looking for inspiration on tea and garden parties. It's good for me to have a project to focus on right now. What will I do come Sunday??
*grieving is such a funny thing. For me it seems to ebb and flow...come and go. Mostly I'm fine. I go about my day smiling and laughing and doing things like normal. But it's still lying right there just barely under the surface. Sometimes it feels like if someone comes along and touches me I might just burst. But I hold it together. It seems to come right when I turn the light off at night and turn over to sleep. I could have fallen asleep reading, but as soon as the light goes off...it's like it's just... there. Present. Sadness. Anger. I expect it might be like that for a while.
*Please don't think I'm wallowing in sadness or anger. I'm not. I'm simply just stating that I am still grieving. The summer after high school graduation one of my best friends lost her mother. She was so sad. And I just did not get it. Not fully. I just don't think you can until you go through it.
*my girl and I have been spending lots of time together lately. It's archery practice season. So the boys have been going to bow and arrow shoots on Monday's, Wednesdays and sometimes even Friday's! I'm glad that Pete and Jake have that. And I'm glad me and Megs get some girl time. But dang...3 nights a week?!
*We are currently waiting for them to come home from Archery practice. But I am listening to Adele radio on Pandora and it's awesome and Pete wouldn't really like it so I guess that's a good thing. Me 'n Megs are singing out loud.
*Summer fun--free kids bowling! Check out this link and see if there is a bowling ally near you (there's tons! every state and Canada) From May to September M-F 9-5 pm everyday kids bowl 2 free games! All you have to do is sign up and they send you coupons in your email every Sunday. (you do have to pay for shoe rental though, but that's not bad) Plus you can also buy a family pass for 24.99 and for all summer you can go every day and play 2 games. That's a HUGE savings. Bowling is EXPENSIVE y'all. You can have up to 4 adults on your family pass. So that's mom + dad + grandparents or babysitters or whoever. It's a deal.
*Mothers Day was nice. My mom came down on Saturday and spent the night. Megan wouldn't leave her alone and was so happy grandma was going to sleep in her 'underbed'. You know, the bed that is under the other one. :) I'm so thankful for my mom. She is.....amazing. She's taught me so much. I think what stands out the most to me right now is that she is incredibly level headed and has SO much class. And she's brave. In situations that most people in her place wouldn't even have the guts to show up to, she walks in and holds her head high. Because it's the right thing to do. I love you mom. I want to be like you when I grow up. :)

10 for Tuesday

2011-05-03T19:32:00.000-07:00

1. I'm pretty choosey with my friends. I think I pick good ones and we have friendships that last forever no matter what. Above is me and my bestest friend, Kari. We've known each other since we were 2 and 3. She and her whole family (who I've also known forever) came to my dad's service on Saturday. They're like a 2nd family to me. I love them.
2. I don't have to cook dinner at all this week! So far we've had 3 friends bring us entire meals this week. Like I'm talking main dish, salad, side dish (or 2) AND dessert. Seriously?! Goodness we are so blessed. I have enough for each dinner they brought and left overs another night.
3. Some people never change. They may hide their true colors for a while, but sooner or later that rotten egg smell comes back around. I'm just lucky that most people in my life are NOT like this. don't worry, I'm not talking about anyone who reads this :)
4. I found this really cool picture of my dad and my grandma. I know he's my dad and all...but hot dang! What a cutie! I'm bummed the photo is so damaged.
5. also going through my grandpa's things I found military manuals from the 40's with titles such as : I'm a Doughboy (infantry training guide) Korea a brief history and cultural lesson on Korea and her people. One of the first lines says since we are going to see a great deal of her people, we should know something about the events in their lives. I don't know why I find that so funny. I just do. The last one is titled: Going Back to Civilian Life it actually has some good information in it. I just find it humorous that there is a written guide for it.
6. I finally understand the obsession with Pinterest.
7. I'm back into my nail polish craze. I go through phases of no polish then changing it every other day. My newest favorite is called "Big Spender" from Essie. It's kind of a fuchsia color. But it's the name that gets me.
8. I'll take another 100 days exactly like Sunday. Sunday was the perfect weather. But actually I think tomorrow might even be better. (Monday and Tuesday were not bad either)
9. has anyone ever tried out Ancestry.com? I recently was reconnected with a long-lost relative who found us through that website. I'm thinking of getting a months membership just to see...there's so much about my heritage that I know nothing about. I'm so curious now.
10. I think it's time for dessert....I have so much to choose from. Will it be cream puffs or this yummy strawberry stuff that I don't know what it's called or fresh chocolate chip cookies? hmmm...choices, choices..

PL update

2011-04-28T13:09:00.000-07:00

First I just want to say again how thankful I am for all my friends and family. Goodness, I have got countless phone calls, text messages, facebook messages and emails over the last week. I can not tell you how much all your love and kindness has meant to me. Seriously!
I'm doing alright. Every day is different. Truthfully most days I have to remind myself what has happened because it still doesn't feel real.
Anyway, on with the video....Please excuse the darkness in the beginning and the shaking...oh my goodness I must have had too much coffee this morning! Also Youtube has made this video look extra crappy. But Vimeo took waaaayyyyy tooooo long and I have zero patience as it is. It's kind of long too...who knew I could chatter on so.
(yeah, i won't be doing this too often. it takes fer eeevveer to upload a stinkin video.)

Friday's.

2011-04-22T07:40:00.000-07:00

Friday is arguably the most loved day of week for most Americans. Am I right? The symbolic end of the work/school week, beginning of a fun weekend--or at least a weekend of no work. When I was a kid, Friday's were always pretty cool, for sure.
From the time I was about 8 to well into my teen years my dad always had Friday's off. He worked Sunday through Thursday, usually the swing shift- 3-11pm. During the week if I was lucky and the bus dropped me off on time, I'd get home just in time to see my dad off to work for the day. A quick good bye and out the gate he'd go. He'd get home a little after midnight and mom and I would of course already be asleep. Before heading to the bus stop in the morning, I'd wake him up for a quick hug and kiss and then he'd go back to dream land for a while. It certainly wasn't ideal, but we made it work as best as we could.
But Friday's...Friday's were different. Friday's were dad's day off. And Friday afternoon's between about 2 and 6 were mine and his.
Sometimes he'd pick me up from school Friday afternoon. We'd head into town and of course to the video store. We'd go into Act-1 say hi to Sandy and Mike and pick out 3 or 4 movies for the weekend. He always let me pick at least one.
Occasionally on nice spring days, we'd head down to Grizzly Rock on the American River. It was like our own private part of the river. He'd throw a pole or two in the back of the truck and the dog and we'd head down the dirt road to the river. We'd hike around, see what we could find and maybe throw a line in. I don't remember ever catching anything-but I do remember getting a salmon egg in my eye once.
On a real lucky day, we'd head to the garbage dump. I know, doesn't that sound glamorous?? But everyone knows when you go to the dump, you get to stop for ice cream at Jan's Frosty on the way back. Who doesn't like to share ice cream with their dad?
It wasn't always something epic like river hikes and ice cream. Mostly just playing catch and hitting balls in the driveway. Or shooting hoops. Or sitting on the back of the tractor as dad mowed the lawn. Or simply just following him around and he did chores around the property. It really didn't matter what we did. But Friday afternoons were always mine and his. My favorite day of the week.

The coolest guy I ever knew.

2011-04-20T13:31:00.000-07:00

I still haven't quite found the words to express how I feel.
He loved old cars, rock-n-roll music, the ocean, surfing, Harley Davidson's, camping, fishing, golf and baseball.
He was the coolest guy I ever knew.
I love you, Daddy.

Tuesday.

2011-04-05T11:40:00.000-07:00

1. if today is any indication of what the summer is going to be like around here, I'm not going to like it. It actually has nothing to do with the weather, surprisingly. Our house is old and sits on the side of a hill. The hill is starting to slide a bit. Which means the house is sliding a bit. There are engineers here today trying to work up a new retaining wall. And because of that, my dog has had to be in the house all day. She's NOT an inside dog. It's driving me nuts. There has to be another solution to this. Because they are going to be spending all summer building this wall. Apparently. ugh.
2. we planted our garden this weekend. Of course, it's right in the path to where these worker guys need to work. Pete is not real happy about this. We did a direct sow with seeds in the ground instead of trying to grow seedlings or buy seedlings to save time and money. At this point I'm not having too much hope for our food plot.

3. Jake had a pretty awesome week. He lost both of his top front teeth and he shot his very first turkey. Before any random readers think we're crazy...He did complete his hunters safety course last fall and does have his hunting license and was fully supervised by an adult the entire time. He did however, shoot this big old turkey all by himself. Pete was beyond proud! I think he may have even got a little teary eyed over it. (don't tell him I told you that) We had barbecued turkey Sunday afternoon, and turkey alfredo last night and we'll have turkey fajitas Thursday. It's not going to waist. We eat what we kill.

4. I've told Jude 3 times now that I'm going to do a project life update here and I still haven't. I'm lazy. I will though!
5. I'm trying really hard to boycott my local grocery chain. I'm just so sick of it. I go in there to pick up milk and bread and end up paying 50 bucks. And the produce there sucks. I live in California. Really, we should have just about the best produce anywhere (the state is like 90% farmland) but it's just gross. I picked up an avocado off the pile and it literally burst open and 100's of fruit flies flew out of it. I just about puked. So to the best of my ability I am vowing to shop only at Costco, Trader Joes and Target. The only 2 things I can't seem to get anywhere else but the grocery store is the salad dressing we like and basil. But hopefully, we'll have our own basil soon growing in our garden.
6. We just started using this online chore chart. I'm not real big into charts and stuff, but this seemed kind of cool. Jake really likes to do things on the computer. It makes him feel independent so he's totally into it. And parents this is totally and completely FREE. I love free. Anyway, it's pretty cool. I encourage you to go to the website and watch their little video, it can explain it better than I can. But basically you set it up for your kid to log in themselves every day, see what their chores are (day and evening) and then they get to work on checking them off throughout the day. They earn points for every job they complete. You get to set the point value for each job. The points can be exchanged for money (also set by you) and they can save, spend or share. They even have it set up so you can go directly to Amazon and purchase a reward once it's earned. We haven't even discussed rewards yet and Jake is still totally into it. There's a whole list of typical chores and can even add your own. You can also set "extra jobs" that they can do if they want to earn extra points. Like I added wash the car, vacuum the car, pull weeds and clean the bathroom to our extra jobs. Megan isn't really into it, but she's kind of young. Jake is like a dog with a bone. He seriously is begging for extra jobs every day. I told him he's only allowed to wash the car once a week! LOL!
7. Thanks for all the Trader Joe's recommendations! I'm going tomorrow!
8. other than the 3 days of testing last week, we didn't do any schoolwork. I kind of understand now why public school just seems to fizzle out right after standardized testing. Because I feel completely fizzed out right now! We started back up yesterday, but it has been tough. None of us have been able to focus. It might be this nice weather too. We just want to play!

9. It was so nice last week that the kids never even came inside until dinner. Jake is already getting tan. This kid gets so tan, so fast. Even with sunscreen.

10. And that's it.

Faces.

2011-03-31T15:33:00.000-07:00

Today we went on a picnic with our neighbors. Finally spring is here! I LOVE this place we go to. It's got a beautiful walking/bike trail, lots of picnic benches and this spot right here. This little cove always has THE best lighting. Does it always have cooperative children? Eh...not so much! Megan is notorious for her dramatic faces she makes. And here's proof. This is just her being normal. It's funny because I'm constantly saying Meg can you at least just look at the camera? Smile? Maybe? No? For goodness sake can you just look normal?? But then I remember....This is her normal.

I'm concentrating very hard and I will not look at the camera.

Fine, I'll stand here and look cute, but I refuse to look at my mother.

Ugh. Ok fine. Here. I'm looking. And I'll move half of my face into a smile. But that's it.

Oh wait, I think I got a half-way decent one here.

I'm not looking. I'm not looking. But I will lick this snot that's running out of my nose.

Ok, I forgive her here. Who doesn't look funny drinking from a water fountain?

I just thought this little sequence of pics was so funny and so telling of her personality. I ♥ her.
And him. Cuz he always smiles.

10 on Tuesday.

2011-03-29T12:18:00.000-07:00

1. I'm sorta obsessed with Trader Joe's lately. I know it's like SO 2005 right? Corey was living under a rock! Or rather, a town with no TJ's for the last 10 or so years. Now that we have several conveniently located near several of our normal go-to spots, I'm finding more and more excuses to stop in. My favorites are the pizza dough-- I can make my own, but not for 1.29! and I don't have to wait for it to rise for 2 hours either. I also love the sun dried tomato pesto. OMGosh! mix it with mayo on a sandwich?? so good! Oh and I finally decided to try their #1 seller, the orange chicken--super yummy! (if you have any favorites of your own, please tell me. I'm still sort of a TJ's newbee and I get a little overwhelmed in there!)
2. The sun is shinning! It's not raining! And tomorrow it's supposed to be like 70 something. Spring. Finally. I'm ecstatic!
3. This week we've been doing the state standards test for Jake. We have to go to a big church and meet a bunch of other people from our charter school to take it. It's kind of neat to finally see a bunch of "homeschoolers" all in one spot. I should probably do an entire post about this because I really could go on and on about my observations and thoughts. I'll just leave you with this for thought.... An 8 year old girl allowed to walk around all day with no shoes on. Not even socks (and it's still kinda cold in the mornings) because "she doesn't want to". And another student taking Trapeze lessons (yes as in the trapeze at the circus). I'm not saying anything. I'll let you guys just think those two things over. Feel free to talk this over in the comments. :)
4. My dad is still in the hospital fighting pneumonia. When I spoke with him yesterday he had had another chest x-ray and it appears he is no worse, but no better. It kind of deflates me to hear that, but I have to look at the positive and think no worse. no worse is ok.
5. it seems as if our move to the city/country as inspired a real pioneering spirit in us all. First chickens and now a vegetable garden. The kids are outside as I type pulling weeds for our soon to be food plot. Next up--I'm thinking of learning how to make my own cheese, try out bee keeping and then maybe try my hand at natural soaps, deodorants and oil cleansing. Just kidding. Well, not really actually. I wouldn't mind trying any of those things. Except I'm sorta scared of bees.

6. Jake finally lost his front tooth yesterday. I swear it's been loose since before Christmas. Maybe before Halloween. Forever. I can't believe how much he is like me when it comes to this stuff. I would never ever do anything to pull my teeth out. I'd wait till they just fell out. And that's exactly what he does. We were driving to his test yesterday literally a block away he says "uh....mommy?" I look back and there is his little tooth sitting on his tongue and blood kinda seeping out of it's hole. I just had to laugh. You can't even take the tooth out of your mouth??

What a goober!

7. What's your favorite Easter candy? I actually don't really like candy that much. But every year I can't wait for Reese's peanut butter eggs. Not like the little foil wrapped ones...the big ones in the yellow wrapper that are like a real PB cup , only they seem extra PB filled. Oh I just love those things. Two years ago I may or may not have hid and eaten an entire 12 pack of those suckers all by myself. I don't do those things anymore. One....or maybe two...will do :D
8.I finished reading A Reliable Wife on Sunday. I basically spent all afternoon reading. It was SO good. Deliciously bad. Does that even make sense? Read it if you haven't already.

9. Because I can't think of...

10. 10 whole things to write about today.

The end.

Up and down.

2011-03-25T12:24:00.000-07:00

This post is all over the place. Bear with me.
Last week I was so chatty and this week I haven't posted at all. Hm. Well, I'll admit, I'm not in the best of moods. My kids are particularly driving me nuts today. Even though they aren't even being bad. They're just being......kids. And I guess for some reason that is just too much for me today.
Maybe it's all this rain. I hate to be a whinny cry-baby, but oh my goodness will it ever stop raining??? My neighbor and I took the kids to this science museum thingy over in Berkeley yesterday. It was pouring rain. No--dumping buckets of rain and blowing 65mph winds. We were drenched and looked like drowned cats by the time we walked the 100 feet from the car to the front door of the place. It was in-sane! And it's been doing this for weeks upon weeks. ugh.
Ok I'll stop now. We did manage to have fun at the science place. So it wasn't all bad.
Last night I got a call from my step-sister. I'm getting to the point when I see either one of their names pop up on my cell phone that my stomach goes in knots and I sort of just want to ignore it, but if I do I'll really regret it. Because pretty much the reason the call me is to tell me status on my dad. And usually it's not good. So anyway...my dad had to go back into the hospital last night. He's got pneumonia again. And who knows what else. It's just so frustrating. We were there a week ago today and he was looking and feeling so much better. I talked to him just two days ago and he sounded great and said that he's feeling better every day. And then I get this call that he's being admitted again. And it's like?? What?? Things change overnight and it's so overwhelming at times. This constant up and down roller coaster of emotions. And if I'm feeling this way?? Then I can not even imagine what he is feeling. He tries to be so strong. He doesn't want me to worry. He always says "I'm doin' alright". Even though I can hear it in his voice that he's not. And it tears me up because.....what can I do? I just want to fix it and I can't. I don't even know what to say. I hope you feel better just doesn't seem like enough. duh! Sometimes I have a hard time with words and this situation is just proving it to be true even more. I just don't even know what to say or what to do. I try to just have faith. But then when he gets knocked down again, my faith gets knocked down too. I just want him to be better. I'm begging God to just make him better. Because I can't even fathom the other.
On a lighter note....
We got the results of some of the standardized testing Jake has to do because we're still technically "public schooling" through a charter. Anyway, the K-3 grade students have to take the WRAT test in the fall and then again in the spring. I'm not a fan of standard tests, but this one is pretty basic. It is simply to see what grade level they're at in reading and math and the progress they have made through out the year. So when Jake took this at our first meeting with our teacher way back in August, I'm embarrassed to say how horrible he did. In his defense, he'd never done anything like it before and he'd never even met the teacher either so it was awkward. But still. He scored even lower than I had expected. I knew 1st grade in public school was pretty bad...but it might as well been a wash out. He scored below grade level in everything. BUT we got the results of the spring test on Tuesday and I am so pleased to say he's at a 3.5 grade level in everything. Third and a half grade! Holy Heck! I am so proud of him and I have to say that I am pleased with myself too. Cause I'm his teacher and all. :) At least now I know I'm doing something right! He has STAR testing next week. That's the state standardized one. I'm not looking forward to it because this one is just a bunch of BS that school teachers spend half the year training their students to take so they look good. Or good enough. We have 6 more official weeks of school and then we're done for the summer! Lets just hope the weather starts feeling a little more spring like.

Rainbow walk

2011-03-17T11:04:00.000-07:00

Here are Jake's rainbow photo walk pics. We used my iPhone and the Instagram app. This app is so cool! and it's FREE! If you have an iPhone or iTouch download it and find me. My username is coreyann. It's really fun, because you can see other peoples pics and comment on them or "like" them. It's sort of an awesome time-waster like Flickr. :D
So without further adieu ...

Red:

Orange:
Yellow:
Green:
Blue: (photo taken by me)
Purple or Violet. which ever you prefer :)

Megan was "too cold" so we'll see if we can't try hers inside later on.

Dreamy...

2011-03-16T19:23:00.000-07:00

Um yeah.....I seem to really be into taking pictures this week. I can't seem to get enough. Must be all this cruddy rain---it's giving me good light in the living room! These tiny pink roses live on this giant overgrown rose bush on our back patio. I love them. They are sweet and romantic. But the blooms never seem to last long, especially when it's raining.

(pics were edited using Pioneer Woman's actions for PSE. Boost, Seventies then Sunshine)

That's all I got...don't forget the rainbow pics tomorrow!

Photo Challenge

2011-03-15T13:34:00.000-07:00

Hey I'm just popping in here to offer up a challenge to you or your kids that might be fun this week. I saw this on a blog and I thought it was a great idea. On Thursday I'm handing the camera (or maybe just my phone) over to the kids. Their job will be to go on a rainbow scavenger hunt and take a photo of things they can find that are red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. It'll be fun for them and interesting to see what they come up with.

Here's mine...I didn't put a whole lot of thought into it and just used my phone, but it's fun to see literally what is right around you, in the smallest of spaces. These were all taken right in my kitchen and office.
Let me know if you or your kids do this, I wanna see!
P.S. this would be a cool addition to project life too :)

Black and White. And Orange.

2011-03-12T14:12:00.000-08:00

I posted these on facebook the other day, but I started playing around in photoshop and I think I love these black and whites even more. Just thought I'd post them here.

This one below I just happened to crop vertical so it would fit in one of the little slots in my project life album. The closer crop makes it even better, I think. I love it and sort of want it on a big old canvas.

This one is from today and I thought it was just too cute! I set these Cuties in the window in the living room because there was such pretty light. I was just practicing, trying to get my aperture and focus right. As soon as I put my camera up to my face, this little guest popped into my view finder. Even kitties like Cuties, I guess.
Hope you are enjoying the weekend. :)
P.S. My dad is home from the hospital! I'm so happy. He's pretty worn out, but so happy to be home. ♥

5 for Friday

2011-03-11T06:25:00.000-08:00

I don't know if you know this, but I love to cook. Like second to taking pictures and wasting time on the internet, I love cooking. I subscribe to over 100 blogs on Google Reader. I haven't counted, but I would venture to say that at least 80 of them are cooking blogs. I'm not kidding.
I have a bulging recipe binder. One day I'll actually get around to punching holes in the recipes and put them in the binder rings. I've found SO many good recipes online over the past oh...6 or 7 years. I usually write on them after I've made it with "good!" or "yummy!" or "Pete loves it" and shove it with the rest of them. When I was still subscribing to Weight Watchers, I'd note the points values too. Sometimes it's kind of fun to look through them all. I forget what I have in there sometimes! It's like a recipe scrapbook :)
Anyway, we've had some really yummy stuff lately so I thought I'd share our 5 favorite things, all recipes found right here on the internets.

1. Chicken enchiladas. Oh my word. I've made these 2 or 3 times and I just want to bathe in the sauce. It's sooo yummy. Use low fat sour cream...no one will even notice. Oh, also the recipe calls for flour tortillas, but I use corn because I think they taste better. Just fry them slightly in a tiny bit of oil first to soften them.
2. Ham and Cheese Pretzel Bites. Ok, technically these are an appetizer. But I made them for dinner Wednesday night. Goodness they were delicious! You know those yummy soft pretzels at the mall? I would bet these are better. For reals. I've made soft pretzels before, but these take the cake. They are a little labor intensive, but really not hard. Make em for a party.
3. Weeknight Bolognese. This sauce was off the hook! I changed the recipe slightly. Pete doesn't like chunky tomato anything, so I used a can of tomato sauce instead of crushed tomatoes. I also added about 1/4 cup shredded carrot and maybe a tablespoon of sugar to sweeten it just a bit.
4. Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie. Do I really need to explain this? It's like warm gooey cookie dough in a pie. MAKE IT. you probably have everything in your pantry to anyway. :)
5. Double White Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel cookies....with sea salt. I know, I know....long name. But I didn't name it! These are so good! I love peanut butter cookies and these just kind of take it to the next level. Especially if you're into the whole salty/sweet thing. I put some semi-sweet chips in mine too, because I like chocolate and peanut butter. :)

Project Life update...

2011-03-09T13:50:00.000-08:00

more than 2 months in and still going strong. i don't really have any more to say that i haven't already said. i still love this project. i posted yesterday on facebook about how much i love photos. my friend thought i was being mushy. i WAS. i just love pictures. i love how each one tells a story. i was watching a video of pics on Becky Higgins blog the other day. i don't know her, i don't know any of the people in any of the pictures but i just thought the whole thing was so moving. people living, people loving, babies being born, people dieing, little every day things, big events, good things, bad things....it's all part of life and it's so cool!

people might think it's a little self indulgent or conceded or whatever to have a blog, or scrapbook or take pictures of yourself. it's not. tell your story! how awesome would it be to know what your grandma was like when she was in her 30's raising young children of her own? or what your parents were like when they first got married? pictures + words = awesome.

(these last 2 weeks weren't my favorite, it's been a bit of a rough couple weeks! but it's documented and done and I'm happy about that--it's about the good bad and ugly, kids!)

i have run into a slight hiccup in my process.....i'm already out of ink in my home printer. that kinda sucks. but in the printers defense, i have printed way more than just one picture a day. i think the way i process my pics in photoshop probably causes the printer to use more ink. i'm guessing?? i usually sharpen and saturate the colors a bit so i'm thinking that would take up more ink, right? i dunno. i didn't get the 100 pics the print pack promises, but i never thought i would anyway. i did think i'd get more than this though. anyway, last time i paid $50 at Staples but this time i got smart. hello, Amazon--duh! i love Amazon. i bought the prime membership a few years ago and it has been worth every. single. penny. i just ordered a new print pack for 30 bucks and free 2 day shipping. yeehaw. it's better than the 50 bucks and i figure if i sent my pics out to Costco weekly or monthly, i'd probably still pay the $30 a month + gas to get there so for now as long as i can get the ink for this price, i'll continue to print at home. we'll see.

10 on tuesday...

2011-03-08T14:41:00.000-08:00

10 things i love about living here. or maybe just 7. but still...i like living here even if I can't think of 10 things.

1. discovering new things. I keep finding all kinds of interesting things around here. as i've mentioned before, when we moved in this place was so overgrown and there was just weeds and leaves and more weeds and leaves everywhere. my mom and i spent and entire weekend clearing out flower beds that hadn't been touched in years. besides what was already overtaking the beds, i never really thought there was anything else in them. then spring came. (well sorta) and there are bulbs popping up everywhere! and flowers I never knew were there are all of a sudden popping up on the side of a hill. It's like something new every day. It makes me feel more connected, knowing that this place has a past. a past full of love and life.

2. the house is quirky. it's hall is long and narrow. it's bathrooms are old and funky, the kitchen is teeny tiny, there's little secret cupboards above all the closets and a ironing board built into the wall in the kitchen. it's funky, but i kind of love it. sure, there are plenty of things i would change. I'd knock down a few walls just to start with. but it's pretty cool the way it is too.
3. the view. we've lived here....8? 9? months now? and i still haven't gotten over it. i SO wish i could show you just how awesome it is. you'll just have to believe me. or buy me a zoom lens :D
4. homeschooling. i'm pretty sure the only reason why we're homeschooling now is because we moved specifically to this house. if we would have moved just about anywhere else, Jake would still be in public school and I'd probably still be complaining about the teacher, the homework, the other kids, the lack of learning or all of the above ;) not to say there aren't good schools out there. our school in Tracy, was actually really great, but all i'm saying is that i don't think i would have done this if we didn't move here and i'm really enjoying it, and the kids are too.
5. we seem to have a happier life, in general. we're all together WAY more than we ever were before. so much time was spent driving and commuting and waiting. now? Pete's commute is like 20-30 minutes--tops. he's home by 3 in the afternoon most days! he has friday's off which is not good for our pocket book but SO WORTH IT in terms of togetherness. we both talked about how yes, it would be nice to have that extra days pay, but how we're so happy to have the extra time together...it would be weird to go back to a 5 day work week.

6. so many things to do and places to go. hiking trails, lakes, museums, the beach, parks, friends, the city...it's all so close now. I love it.

this is lafayette reservoir. i have no idea what that tower is for, but the kids call it 'Rupunzel's tower' :)

7. chickens. raising chickens is fun.

A little bit brighter...

2011-03-04T12:49:00.001-08:00

*The sun is shinning through the haze today.
*I feel more human than I have all week.
*Dad is going on day 11 in the hospital. But he's feeling so much better and we're all hoping he gets to go home soon.
*Things are still up in the air and feeling crazy. But a little sun shinning through the kitchen window, a little warmth on my face, makes all the difference.

The good news is...

2011-02-28T21:10:00.001-08:00

I went to see my dad at the hospital today and they did the angeogram of his heart while we were there. I guess they go In through a vein in your leg with a camera all the way up to the heart to have a look around in there. The good news is... It's NOT his heart!! The doctor said the lining around the heart is fine, the heart itself is fine, and there are no blockages or anything! Amen!
They gave him some meds to control the irregular heartbeat and he's been fine since then.
BUT. But but but.... The fluid is still accumulating in his lungs. And we're really just not sure why. If it's not the heart, and the chemo is working, then why why why is there still all this fluid?
I don't know the answer.
Since it's not heart issue, they are going to send him back to the original hospital tomorrow. We're all just praying now that once he's back with his normal doctors they can figure out what is going on and decide what the next plan of action is.
So that's it for now. We are all SO relieved that he doesn't have to have heart surgery!!
Thank you all for your love and prayers! It means so much to me. I let my dad know that he's got a lot of people praying for him and he was so grateful. Thank you all and than you Lord that it wasn't his heart!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Prayers for my dad...

2011-02-27T15:01:00.000-08:00

Most people who read here know that my dad wad diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma back in August. It all started with him feeling fatigued and really out of breath during the most simplest of activities. Shortly after a visit to my house he went to the doctor to find that there was lots and lots of fluid building up in the lining around his lungs. This is when he was diagnosed with the lymphoma. Anyway, he went through some chemo treatments, and then a new round started in December. The doctors could see that the chemo was working...his lymph nodes had shrunk considerably. Yet he was still having massive amounts of this fluid continue to build up, making it very difficult for him to breath.
This last Wednesday he was admitted to the hospital for a procedure that would, in a sense, "close up" the wholes in the lung lining, preventing the fluid to get in there any longer. He was told he would have to stay in the hospital for 3 to 7 days. By Friday though...he did not seem to be getting any better. The chest tube was still pumping out lots of fluid.
I'm still not exactly clear on all the next events (the kids and I have been pretty sick ourselves) but they discovered the problem is actually with his heart. Apparently he has a condition called Constrictive Pericarditis where the lining around the heart thickens causing the heart not to be able to function correctly. Right now his heart is beating 140 beats per minute. Normal is like 60-90 beats per minute. Anyway, he was transferred yesterday to another hospital that is MUCH more equipped to handle these situations and is known for their cardiology department.
I don't really know much more at this point, but it is looking like he will be having open heart surgery sometime this week. I would appreciate any thoughts and prayers for this surgery, for the doctors to have steady hands, and for comfort for him.
The good news is is that he is in pretty good spirits. A little worried, but rightly so. He's in no pain and basically feels fine right now. So that is a good thing!
The kids and I are headed up there tomorrow morning and will probably be gone most of the week, I would imagine.
Thank you again for all your thoughts and prayers! ♥♥♥

10 on Tuesday.

2011-02-22T10:27:00.000-08:00

1. This picture has nothing to do with anything. I just think it's kinda funny. She always is making funny faces.
2. French braids on little girls is great for keeping hair out of their faces. It's my favorite style for her lately. Plus-less tangles! Which is a huge bonus for me (and her). Combing through tangles is not fun.
3. Online bill pay. Why am I just discovering this?? I mean, I know it's existed for quite some time but I just really started using it like a month ago. You mean all I have to do is click a button and the money just goes there? I don't have to write a check? Or use a stamp? And there's no charge for this service?? Um yeah. I'm totally like a decade behind the times!
4. Only in California can you have a beautifully warm day at the beach one week and then have it snow the next! Seriously, it snowed here Friday night. I was sitting on the couch waiting for Pete to get home and I was playing around with my phone. My weather app said it was 34 degrees. I thought for sure that had to be wrong. I mean, I knew it was cold but I didn't think it was that cold. Then about 20 minutes later Pete comes in and announces it's snowing. And sure enough big old fluffy flakes were falling from the sky. It didn't stick or anything. But still. SNOW. In Oakland.
5. Confession: we love Little House on the Prairie. For some reason a few years ago my mother-in-law bought the entire series on DVD. All 9 seasons + bonus material. I have no idea why. The last time we visited, she gave us all 10 sets of DVDs to bring home. It's certainly not on my list of "must have" dvds! However, we all have enjoyed watching them immensely. Can you get any more wholesome than Ma and Pa and Laura and Mary?? The kids LOVE it. They've actually learned stuff about history from it. And life lessons. I admit to not really caring for this show much when I was a kid. I'm pretty sure it wasn't on our list of must see TV at the time. I do remember watching it in syndication later on in life, but still I could take it or leave it. But watching it with my kids is great. I love that they love it. And I know there is NOTHING like this on TV nowadays.
6. The kids now play "little house" and argue about who should be who. No you be Albert and I'll be Laura! No I wanna be Mary, she's blind! I'm going to be Miss Beetle. No she's married now, so her names is Mrs. Sims. Lets pretend it's the one when they find all the gold! Yep. They do this all day. It's funny, but cute. And it's better than playing say....CSI or The Bachelor, right??
7. I have so much to do today yet I'm sitting here avoiding-as usual! But I have to go to the post office. I hate going to the post office. We can all commiserate on hating the PO, right?
8. The estate wedding we went to on Saturday was beautiful. The house was amazing and had this awesome brick fireplace in the kitchen. Pete and I both decided we want one. And a wrap-around porch. It sucked though, because it was freezing and rained the entire day. I guess that's the risk you take getting married in February.
9. I was secretly so glad I was not asked to take pictures at this wedding (I have for the last few weddings in our church) because I was miserable. I was so cold. And it was so crowded--no one wanted to go outside because of the rain so everyone was huddled inside. And the place just wasn't big enough. Beautiful, but not big enough for 200 people. Anyway, I got stuck in the kid room all day--which wasn't much fun either, but still the better end of the deal I figure!
10. Our baby chicks are growing fast. I'll have to update on them later in the week. It's amazing how big they are now compared to just two weeks ago. We still have 29. I honestly thought a few of them might die. It's typical. But nope. They are all thriving! Oh my goodness we're going to have a lot of eggs.

Words for Wednesday.

2011-02-16T14:31:00.000-08:00

I just couldn't go without words today.
Notes from the photo:
* Megan's hair desperately needs to be washed and combed.
* Jake's hair desperately needs to be cut.
* Jake's front tooth looks funny. It's loose, but not loose enough to come out yet. And the new tooth is coming in anyway I guess and pushing this one sideways.
* You can't tell that it's pouring rain/hailing like crazy in this picture at all. But it was.
* This picture was taken approximately 10 minutes before all hell broke loose.
* Words I actually uttered to my 7 year old: You better pray there is no glass in her bed and that she doesn't wake up with bloody cuts tomorrow morning! (awesome parenting moment right there y'all)
* Of course I had to write yesterday how awesome "quiet reading time" is. Because today it all went to hell.
* They both completely disregarded my instructions and took advantage of the fact that I was doing paper work in the office and that surely I wouldn't notice them NOT reading.
* They decided to play in Megan's room instead. And threw a stuffed animal at the ceiling. And broke the glass globe over the light in her room.
* I've tried to tell them time and time again---mom will ALWAYS find out if you did something you weren't supposed to. One way or another-ALWAYS.

10 on Tuesday.

2011-02-15T12:59:00.000-08:00

So totally random.
1. We're almost done with 2nd grade. And it's only February! Crazy to think about it, but we've already moved ahead in math and will finish everything else within the next 2 weeks or so. 3rd grade and Kindergarten, here we come!
2. Word problems suck. They sucked when I was a kid and they still suck now. There's just no real way to make them better. Not that I've found anyway.
3. Valentine's Day was nice. We don't ever really do anything. I'm just not into going out because it's a made up day and then having to deal with everyone else who went out too. Lame. Mother's Day though...well that's different ;-) We didn't share any cards or candy or flowers. There were no school parties. But I did make heart shaped cookies. And Pete and I had a date "in" ala Jude and Micah style ;-) We do this all the time so it wasn't anything new, but it was still special. I ♥ him no matter what day it is.
4. Winter has returned to CA. boooo! I knew it was too good to last, but man I sure miss those nice sunny and warm days.
5. During 'school hours' my kids call me "Miss Mommy". I have no idea why, they just started doing it. Jake started it and now Megan does it too. Maybe it makes him feel more like he's in school? I don't know. It's funny though. I promise, I do not make my children call me that. I'm not Mother Dearest.
6. So a while ago I 'hid' someone on Facebook. I just kinda got tired of her negative posts but I felt maybe it would be offensive to just delete her. But then I discovered yesterday that she deleted me! Whaaaat?? Should I be offended or relieved? Oh the drama.... 8-P
7. I went to see my dad this weekend. The boys were gone so it was just me and Megs. I haven't seen my dad since Thanksgiving because he was feeling bad from the chemo treatments. Also, the chemo makes him very susceptible to infection so kids with colds don't mix with cancer patients too well. Anyway I was so happy that he was actually feeling really good when we were there. But also SO shocked to see he had become so thin from just a few months ago. I think it was the first time I really realized just how sick he is. I was so happy to see him up and moving around and feeling good, but so sad at the same time. It was just like a big dose of reality.
8. I've been enforcing "quiet reading time" every afternoon for the past few weeks. Ahhh it is so nice to have a little down time before Pete gets home and we start dinner etc... Since Megan isn't taking naps anymore I make sure the kids have at least a half hour in their rooms, by themselves to read and relax. We all get a chance to recharge.
9. We're going to a wedding on Saturday. It's at this really fancy estate on a vineyard. I just realized I have nothing to wear to a fancy estate wedding. Nor do my children. EEKS! What are we gonna wear?
10. Speaking of fashion.... I did, in fact, wear heels yesterday for our 'date in'. Wearing heels was part of my things to do in 2011 list. And judging by the reactions of all 3 other family members it was obvious wearing heels is something I never do, but should do more often. Jake blushed with bright red cheeks when he saw me walk out of my room. Megan shouted "oh mommy! those are really pretty, fancy shoes!" And Pete's reaction...well that's between him and me and not the internet. ;-)

Weekend + chicks.

2011-02-08T10:50:00.000-08:00

I almost hate to write this...Knowing that half the country was buried in snow and frigid subzero temps this weekend.
But it was absolutely glorious here. I mean tank tops + flip flops weather. Saturday it was about 75 and Sunday got up to almost 80. Fantastic! I now understand why people love the Bay Area so much. It certainly isn't the summer. But Fall/Winter/Spring just might make up for those foggy, dreary, freezing days in July. Maybe. I'm still on the fence about that one. I mean sweatshirts in July just doesn't compute with my brain. No matter how nice the fall and spring were.
Anyway, Saturday started off pretty normal. I had plans to clean the house in the morning then spend the rest of the day outside doing...something. I was in the middle of mopping the dinning room when I get at text from Pete's sister. Are you going to the beach? it said. No, Pete doesn't want to go, he's working outside, but I want to! I replied back.
The next thing I know, my SIL and 2 nieces show up and we head out for Ocean Beach in San Francisco. I love spontaneous, fun weekends! We got a little bit of a late start, and it was quite crowded over there, but we had a nice little picnic and the kids got to chase the waves for a while.

Jake could spend all day looking for 'treasure'. On our way back to the car he found some sort of animal skull in the sand (gross!) and quickly proclaimed "It must be a monkey skull or something!". You know, because it's totally normal to find a monkey skull on the beach in San Francisco. It's definitely not a monkey skull but maybe a squirrel? The beach is just across from Golden Gate Park so maybe?
Sunday was just as fantastic, but in a different way. We went to church in the morning and I wore a skirt and didn't complain that I was freezing. Awesome. Then we came home, had a nice lunch then....naps in the sunshine! I sat out on the patio and read my book. I don't even know what everyone else was doing. I just know it was quiet. We all just relaxed and read and napped. LOVE days like that! Oh and I guess there was some sort of "big game" on. But we didn't watch it. :)
Yesterday our baby chicks arrived.

Yep, we're doing it again. We are totally crazy. I'm just thankful they AREN'T turkeys. I still have nightmares about stinky, yucky turkeys in my garage. (you can read about that here and here) I just had a great laugh reading through those old posts! So yeah...29 baby chicks arrived yesterday. Twenty. Nine. What in the world were we thinking?? That is a whole lotta chickens ya'll! Got eggs? We got all different types. Our chicken yard will be very colorful. Some red ones and black ones and black and white ones. It'll be fun for the kids. And maybe a money maker too, if we can sell some eggs to the neighbors. This time, thank goodness, they are NOT in my garage. Pete built a cage thingy and it's in the shed on our patio. And this time they actually have a place to go once they are big enough. We have a barn here people! And they will go in the barn just as soon as they are able. And the barn is far enough away from my house that I don't have to smell them.

AND both kids are old enough now that THEY can take care of them and their poopy water and food thingys. So we'll see how this goes. Right now they are so very cute. I said that about the turkeys too, remember? :)

Project Life update...

2011-02-04T15:09:00.000-08:00

Thoughts:
*I love this project. I mean I just really love it. Right now, at this point in our lives it just works. I don't feel like have the time, or more importantly, the desire to do put more effort into scrapbooking than this project expects.
*There is something so satisfying about putting a photo into a slip in an album, and adding a few words and calling it done. I already have pages to flip through. An entire month. It completely satisfies my instant gratification tendencies perfectly.
*Chrissy, it is a little bit like a never ending Week in the Life project. Except that it isn't. At least for me, this is way easier. It's one photo a day. Not like 100 to sift through and pick which ones to use and where to put them.
*My iPhone has been wonderful in this project! LOVE it. The peacock photo and the sunset photo were both taken with my phone. Not bad, eh?! And I don't even have the nice iPhone. Mine is the old 3G. The pics print out great. I do have a few that are grainy because of low light, but that kind of adds to the coolness, I think. Not every photo is going to be perfect. I'm ok with that.
*I don't think I could do this, or be this enthusiastic about it without my own photo printer. Last week I went and bought the ink for my PictureMate. IT WAS FIFTY BUCKS. Holy crap. I couldn't believe it. I've never paid more than 40 before. But I guess this thing is kinda "old" now, technology speaking so they get to charge more for the oldness?? It sucked paying that much, but in the end it is worth it....At least if I get the 150 prints it says I'm supposed to get out of it.
*Every day I spend about 10 minutes loading a pic to my computer, editing it if necessary and the printing it out and putting it in the slot in the album. I spend maybe another 5 minutes filling out the journaling card. If I feel like it. Well, maybe not every day. But so far it has been at least ever other day.
*The kit comes with these little filler cards to put in the 'extra' journaling spot each week. They're cute, but I've been enjoying filling these spots up with other pics from the week. This week I couldn't pic just one, so I cropped 2 into a 2.75 x 3.75 canvas and printed it out for that slot. Another bonus to having my own printer :)
*Right now I've been good at keeping up with the picture a day. But I know from experience, I tend to get bored about 6 months in. LOL! But that's kind of the great thing about this. It can be a pic a day, or not. It'll work no matter how you do it.

George Washington's Breakfast.

2011-02-02T12:49:00.000-08:00

Have I mentioned how much I love our history curriculum? I think history might be all of our favorite subject. We use Early American History published by Beautiful Feet Books. The curriculum itself isn't all that great, in my opinion. It is Christian based and while that is not BAD, it's just that in this case it seems to be a little contrived. BUT the books...the books are fantastic. My kids just love them all. They love the stories and are both really learning.

Today we read the book George Washington's Breakfast by Jean Fritz. It was just kind of a fun little book of fun facts about Washington to follow up on our main study of him and the Revolutionary War. The book is about a quizzical little boy named George who wants to know more about George Washington, specifically what he ate for breakfast. If he found out exactly what he ate, his grandmother promised to make it for him.
We find out at the end that George Washington's breakfast consisted of 3 hoecakes and 3 cups of tea every day. Kind of a humble breakfast for the father of our country, right?
Hoecakes are basically little cornmeal pancakes. The name "hoecake" comes from the original way they were prepared. Turns out they were actually fried on an actual garden hoe over a fire.
I decided we needed to make our own hoecakes to try them for ourselves.
I got out the box of Jiffy cornbread mix and followed the recipe directions for corn pancakes/waffles. I'm sure these are a little different than actual hoecakes, but it worked for our purpose.

Oh, and I didn't fry them over the fire on a hoe. The kids thought that would be really gross. I used a cast iron pan instead. :)

The verdict?

One thumb up, one thumb down. But Jake would say anything was "gross" even if he actually liked it. And Megan likes everything. I loved them! But I love corn bread.
Anyway, it was a fun little activity. I love being able to bring our lessons into our real life.

Saturday morning.

2011-01-29T12:51:00.000-08:00

I've had the house all to myself this morning. The kids both stayed the night at Pete's sister's and Pete had to work today. You'd think I'd be running through the house, hanging from the rafters, having my own personal dance party like Tom Cruise in Risky Business. Nope.
I'm totally, completely bored. And I can't wait to go pick up my little people.

Project Life.

2011-01-27T19:10:00.001-08:00

Got my Project Kit in the mail today. I was SO excited! I quickly got down to business putting it together. Since I'm basically a month behind because they ran out of kits, I had 26 pics to print so I could "catch up" so to speak. Because I have NO patience what so ever and because I have these instant gratification tendencies, I sent my photo order out to Rite Aide this morning, knowing my kit would arrive this afternoon. Lesson #1 don't do that ever again. Please, please please I'm telling you now...Don't ever get your photos printed at Rite Aide. It's like...they're not even on photo paper. More like really cheap brochure paper. You know what I mean? The color isn't right, but I half expected that anyway. Anyway, they look crappy. I won't be doing that again. I will either print myself (going to get new ink tomorrow!), or drive the 30 minutes to Costco for what I know will be excellent quality + better service. The girl at Rite Aide was like a strung out crack ho. No joke. Lesson #2 I took way too many vertically oriented photos. The way the kit is set up is for 4x6 landscape photos. In it's simplest form anyway. You could order another set of page protectors for this, but I didn't. So I'm not sure exactly what I'm going to do with those pics that are vertical. Because I don't like the way they look in there all sideways. What I'll probably end up doing is just printing them so that they will fit in the smaller journaling pockets and then find some other "stuff" to go in the bigger pockets where the photo normally would have gone. Lesson #3 get my home printer working! I just know this whole process will be so much easier and more fun for me if I can just print daily or at least every couple of days. Like I said before, I like instant gratification. So if I can print it myself, I will! I have an Epson PhotoSmart printer and I love it. I just don't love having to change the ink all the time. They say you're supposed to get 100 pics out of it, but I have never ever got that much out of one ink pack. Anyway, I'll be heading to Staples tomorrow morning to get that ink and spending the rest of the afternoon finishing up my journaling. (That is, after I fold that mountain of laundry I ignored today!) I'll post some progress pics as I go.

WW. His & Hers.

2011-01-26T14:15:00.000-08:00

Panini = YUMi

2011-01-25T18:35:00.000-08:00

First, I apologize for this horrendous photo. My house has horrible lighting, particularly after the sun goes down. I didn't make it in time to take a decent pic of this meal.
Anyway...
Paninis! Oh my goodness. Ladies if you dare serve your families sandwiches for dinner you will surely get a strange look, a curled up lip and a uuuhhhh ?? sandwiches?? for dinner?? Or, at least you will at my house.
BUT! If you grill them on a fancy grill machine and call them a "Panini" you will get all smiles.
I don't know what it is. I mean It's just basically a grilled turkey and cheese sandwich. But I'm telling you, something magical happens when you squish it all together and get fancy grill marks on it. mmm mmm mmm.
I jokeingly listed on my 2010 post that I wanted a panini press in 2011. I wrote that because at the time I was just hungry and I couldn't think of anything else to write! Although, I HAVE really wanted a panini press for quite some time. I just never could justify paying 50 or 60 bucks for what is basically a waffle iron. I already have one of those that I rarely use. I just happened to be browsing the kitchen area at Target a few weeks ago and found this one on sale for 20 bucks. So I grabbed it. It's not fancy. And I think it would be better if it were actually cast iron instead of just Teflon. (my sandwiches slip around quite a bit when I'm trying to close the lid. I'm thinking cast iron wouldn't do that as much) BUT for 20 dollars, I really can't complain. And I love that I can totally get away with making sandwiches for dinner. Holla!
These that I made last night are rounds of french baguette, provolone cheese, turkey, bacon and avocado. I added tomato and red onion to mine too, but the man and the kids don't like it that way. I also served easy peasy garlic parmesan fries. A recipe (copied here) from this site. And they're baked, not fried SO they're TOTALLY healthy ;)

Garlic Parmesan Oven Fries (copied from What's Cookin' Chicago)
recipe adapted from Tyler Florence
serves 3-4

2 large russet potatoes, scrubbed and dried
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (i just used regular old parm)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

Preheat the oven to 425.

Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise. Then cut the halves lengthwise into fourths to make 16 big, fat wedges.

Toss the potatoes with the olive oil, salt and minced garlic in a large bowl. Place the potatoes onto a metal baking sheet, spreading to a single layer.

Roast the potatoes for 30-35 minutes, until the potatoes are cooked through, brown, and crispy. Don't shake or turn the fries around while they're cooking. The longer they sit in contact with the metal baking sheet, the crisper they get. (This is true! They really do get crispy, I promise!)

Toss the fries in a big bowl with the cheese and parsley and serve hot.

Go get thee a panini press!

5 for Friday.

2011-01-21T19:10:00.000-08:00

1. California has this wonderful way of teasing us into thinking spring is almost here. The last few days have been wonderfully warm and glowy.
2. Public Service Announcement: Leggings are not pants. Though they are very comfortable and paired with the right booty covering top, dress or skirt they are very cute. But they are not pants and should not be warn as though they are. Also, proper undergarments are a must. There are appropriately manufactured garments that will not show lines or...uh....other stuff. Find it, buy it, wear it!
3. I don't know why I have become the fashion police as of late. I really have no room to talk!
4. Pete should be home tomorrow! YIPEE!
5. I'm addicted to red, seedless grapes. I can not wait till warmer weather stays around and local fruit is available. Because I just paid 7 dollars for 3 lbs of grapes. What the heck?!

10 on Tuesday.

2011-01-18T10:08:00.000-08:00

1. Megan this morning when I woke her up said: oh mommy my nose is all stuffed down!
Oh that girl cracks me up.
2. I'm getting annoyed with Facebook. I mean, there are so many reasons I like it and feel the need to check it many times daily. But I am so tired of the crap people post. I'm about to go weeding through my "friends list" and let go of some of it. I get really annoyed by the copy and paste status updates. Sure, some of them are great but I do not need to see them multiple times a day, week, month over and over and over filling up my feed. ugh. And don't send every single person in your friends list a private message asking for money (oh yes, it's happened) or advertising your 'business'. And don't reply to the message either because then I'll just keep getting stupid messages from people I don't even know all. day. long. It's really only one person that does this, and I've tried hiding her, but I still seem to get 'event' invites and private/not so private messages from her all the time. Crap, it's annoying! She even went as far as going to my wall and posting direct links on it. GO AWAY.
3. Maybe I should just step away from the Facebook. Because the more I think about it, the more annoyed I get. Ha!
4. My niece, Hannah, came and spent the night with us Sunday. It was so fun. The kids really loved having her over. We don't have overnight guests too often. So I made sure they had lots of popcorn and pizza and cookies.
5. I've been keeping up with Project Life even though I don't have my kit yet. So far it has been a picture a day, but I'm pretty sure knowing me that won't last forever. I'm just going to go with the flow and make it work for us. Since I haven't been doing much scrapbooking at all the last few months, it's important to me to do this project. I've been using the digital one online. I don't like it. But it's giving me a place to put the photos, right some journaling and get a feel for the project. When I get my actual kit, I'll just print out my pics and copy the journaling I have saved there.
6. I've gotten a jury summons every year (sometimes twice) since I was 18. I've only actually had to go to the court house once in all those summons, but....why me? Why so often?? Pete has only ever been called once since we've been married.
7. I keep finding myself cleaning stuff up only to turn right around and make a mess again. Something seems very wrong with that to me.
8. Do you ever get something pop in your mind...like something you forgot about or lost and it just pops in your head and then you can not rest, can not do anything else, can not think of anything else until you find it? I do this all the time. I did this on Saturday. All of a sudden it popped into my head that I need to have Megan's birth certificate for enrolling her in school. I knew I had it, I just couldn't remember where exactly it was. I started getting all panicy and tore through our file box until I found it. Luckily, it was right where I left it. Right where it should be. But I freaked out for about 3 minutes.
9. I need my own personal stylist and shopper. I need someone to say: here, this looks good with this, now buy it! Or just have them buy it for me. Because if it's left up to me, I will circle the store 2 or 3 times and then put everything back. I also need money.
10. I get really bored when Pete is out of town. I also get really lazy because my routine is out of whack. I've been trying to stay on track this week, but I'm so easily distracted.

Boy, that was random! Happy Tuesday

Saturday...

2011-01-15T14:50:00.000-08:00

Oh yes, another pic of the little one. I can't help it...she's just been so good with the camera lately. Usually she doesn't look or makes a weird face or makes her mouth look silly. But lately she's been giving me good, honest smiles. She's so pretty when she smiles for real.
The other reason for not posting many pics of Jake is that he desperately needs a haircut. Like bad. I was trying to grow it out a little on top, but I just can't stand it. He has this cow-lick thing right on the top of his head and the hair just stand on end. I think I'm just going to have to cave and cut it. Because I don't have the patience to wait for it to grow out long enough to lie down.
Ok fine, here's a cute one of him...

He is cute. But do you see that cow lick thingy?? It has to go.
Pete is down in Arizona for the week. This is the first time he's been anywhere for any length of time for 6 months or more. It's the first time since we've moved that he's been gone. Which is pretty crazy to think he used to be gone every. single. weekend. for most of Megan's life. You'd think we'd all be used to him being gone. But I don't know. Maybe it was because we got up at 4am to take him to the airport. Or maybe it is because Pete has been home so much. Or maybe it's a combination of both, but last night was really hard. The kids cried and cried at bedtime. Even Jake. He's usually my strong one, but he was so upset. Luckily he'll be home in a week. But it'll be a long week.
Not much else is going on around here. The sun is shining and it is beautiful today. 63*! Isn't it funny though, how as soon as the sun comes out people start acting crazy? I saw a girl today walking around in booty shorts and a tank top. I'm sorry, but honey, it ain't that warm, and no body wants to see your big ol' booty in the middle of January. Keep it covered people. Keep it covered.
That's all. Happy weekend!

Wordless Wednesday.

2011-01-12T20:14:00.001-08:00

Cimanimanim Roll Sunday

2011-01-09T13:22:00.000-08:00

Seems like we've had these every Sunday for the last month.
So now we're proclaiming it Cimanimanim Roll Sunday!

All in favor say 'I'!

And they all agreed.
And it was so.

Happy Sunday!

2011 to-do list...

2011-01-07T14:59:00.000-08:00

1. go bowling.
2. take a road trip out of state. nevada does not count.
3. bake bread. bread that requires yeast and rising time.
4. send christmas cards.
5. participate in a race/event. thinking of this: anyone want to join me? september 9-11.
6. buy a pair of great heels and actually wear them.
7. smile more in pictures. (i'm not a sad person, really)
8. wipe mirrors clean more often, particularly before taking self portraits in them.
9.
10.
11.
...

What I see...

2011-01-03T14:34:00.000-08:00

I see the cutest little girl with messy hair. She rocks the messy hair look.
A girl full of sincerity. I can't think of any other way to describe her except sincere. She just has this way about everything she does, everything she says, the way she hugs you, the way she always, always remembers to say Thank You for everything. She's just so sincere about it. She'll say, "thank you for taking us to Safeway, mommy" as it if it was the absolute highlight of her day. When she opened presents at Christmas, every single time she'd squeal with delight, hug it to her chest and say "oh it's just what I wanted!". Sometimes my heart hurts because I just love her so much.
I see a little girl in the cutest little pink cowgirl boots. Oh she loves these so much. Pete's mom got these for her for Christmas and they are just so perfect. She'd wear them every day and everywhere if I let her. I kinda want to keep them nice though so I won't let her wear them out in the mud.
I see a little girl who colors in the lines, but never ever follows any of the 'rules' when it comes to her art. She colors things how she wants to and not how things are supposed to look. Look at Shaggy--he looks like he just ate some poison or something! HA! She's so good at seeing shapes and patterns in things. You know how kids will look at the clouds and say "oh that one looks like a horse!" ? Well she does that but with other things, like lines in the wood on a table, or the way things are stacked, or in rocks on the ground. It dazzles me, how her mind works.
I see a girl who is learning to read. She knows her letters by the sound they make, not the name of the letter. She'll bring things to me and ask me what they say. She'll reply with "oh yeah, I see the sssss" or "there is the BUH". It's funny to me because Jake never did that. And I see now after homeschooling him for 6 months, how many gaps there are in his early eduction especially in phonics. It's like after kindergarten phonics were just forgotten. I'm glad I know a little bit more about it the 2nd time around and hopefully Megan can have a better foundation.
I see a little girl who loves to play dress up. Who doesn't mind touching bugs and lizards and getting dirty. A girl who when asked if she wanted to learn to ride the motorcycle curled up her lip and said, "uh motorcycles are for BOYS". I see a girl who talks to herself, plays with herself, and sings to herself happily all day long. But one who also makes a friend where ever she goes, shares her toys and cares for her friends.
I see a girl who insists on holding my hand when we walk together. Who wants to sit in my lap every morning. A girl who thrives on routine and lives by rules. I see a girl asks for waffles every single day for breakfast. But one who doesn't throw a fit when I give her cereal instead.
I see a little girl who is growing up right before my eyes. A girl who will turn FIVE (!) this year. I see a little girl who I love with all my heart.
♥ Oh I am so lucky to be her mommy! ♥

Moto X Cross

2011-01-02T14:58:00.000-08:00

All of a sudden this motorcycle has become The Best Thing Ever and Oh My Gosh Mommy This is SO FUN!

He learned to ride about a year ago at Pete's siters house. Her girls (8 and 12) learned to ride years ago and this bike used to be theirs. He got it real quick. Which of course made him cocky as heck. Which of course led to a bad accident about a month later. An accident that scared the crap out of him. He didn't get hurt, but the bike sure did.
We were planning on buying the bike from the girls anyway, since they'd outgrown it, but since our kid wrecked the heck out of it, we took it, got it fixed and it became Jake's.
But then of course he wouldn't ride it. We moved to this great place for riding motorcycles and he wouldn't ride it. He was so scared. And he wouldn't ride it.
My mom and Mike even got him this awesome helmet, gloves and goggles for his birthday and he wouldn't ride the motorcycle.

All of a sudden about a week or so ago he asked Pete to ride. He did and now it's every day, all day, all the time ride, RIDE, ride!

I love it. ♥♥

Good Bye 2010...

2010-12-30T12:45:00.000-08:00

I saw this on another blog and I thought it was kind of cool. She asks herself the same questions at the end of each year and it's interesting to see how the answers can change and stay the same too. It's kind of long so I won't blame you if you scoot out early ;)
But before that I just want to get some quick goals written down for 2011. Not resolutions, just goals.

1. Take more pictures. I seriously lacked on this in 2010.
2. Document more. Blogging, scrapbooking, picture taking. More.
3. Pay off credit card. self explanatory.
4. Maintain a healthy weight. I just quit Weight Watchers so we'll see how this goes :P

Ok on to the questions...
1. What did you do in 2011 that you never did before?
began a diet and exercise plan. kept it up for an entire year. well the diet part anyway. ran a lot. I hate running. started homeschooling. moved to Oakland.
2. Did you keep any of your resolutions from last year and will you make any new ones?
I tend not to make any resolutions. But I did set 4 simple goals for next year.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Yes. My neighbor and friend had a healthy baby boy last January. I can't believe he's almost 1!
4. Did anyone close to you die?
No.
5. What countries did you visit?
none.
6. What would you like to have in 2011 that you didn't have in 2010?
hmmmm..... A panini press? I'm pretty easy to please. And a warm gooey sandwich sounds yummy.
7. What dates in 201o will be forever etched in your memory?
A day in January when I decided to take control of my weight and health. July 1st- the day we moved to Oakland. Our entire trip to Disneyland.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
losing 60 pounds. I mean I hate to go there, but it is kind of a big deal. Deciding to homeschool, finding out that it ain't all that bad, actually loving it.
9. What was your biggest failure?
certain parenting moments, of course. And also certain wifely moments too.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Well Pete almost cut his thumb off in July..does that count? We were all pretty sick with colds/flu towards the end of the year. But luckily nothing too serious.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
A vacation to Disneyland.
12. Where did most of your money go?
BILLS, BILLS, BILLS. oh I wish I could say: savings account, instead.
13. What did you get really excited about?
DISNEYLAND! I still can't believe it's over. Man, I love that place.
14. What song will always remind you of 2010?
dude, i have no clue.
15. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Camping. Taking pictures. Scrapbooking. Exercising.
16. Compared to this time last year you are...
-happier or sadder? happier
-fatter or thinner? THINNER! and stronger :)
-richer or poorer? Richer in life, poorer in the pocket.
17. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Worry.
18. How did you spend Christmas?
At mom's, then again at Pete's moms.
19. What was your favorite TV program?
LOST
20. What were your favorite books of the year?
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played With Fire.
21. What was your favorite music from this year?
I really don't know. I'm not in the car as much anymore, therefore I don't listen to the radio as much either. Nothing really stands out in my mind.
22. What were your favorite films of the year?
Tangled, How to Train your Dragon, Despicable Me. (do you see a pattern?) We also just watched The Town over Christmas and it was really good! I remembered how much I like Ben Affleck.
23. What did you do on your birthday and how old were you?
Nothing and none of your beez wax ;-)
24. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
LESS BILLS!
25. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010?
What?? I don't even know what this means. I DO know, that losing 60lbs has made my wardrobe very sad actually. I need a whole new one immediately! My closet is pathetic.
26. What kept you sane?
my husband. my mother. surprisingly-exercise.
27. A valuable life lesson you learned in 2010?
I'm still learning.

A White Christmas...

2010-12-27T12:58:00.000-08:00

What a wonderful Christmas we had. It was so busy and yucky leading up to it, but actual Christmas was very nice. The only missing part was seeing my dad, who I missed very much. His chemo treatments make him very susceptible to infection so we all thought it best to keep germ-filled kids away for this time. I did talk to him though, and he sounds much better. He's been sleeping well and hasn't had to have his lungs drained of fluid for over a week now so it seems as though the prayers and the chemo are working. Thank you for that! ♥♥
Christmas Eve and Christmas morning were spent with my mom and Mike. I do have pics from that, I just haven't edited them yet. So those will come in a separate post.
Saturday afternoon we headed up the mountain to Pete's parents. There was actually no snow when we got there. We were a little shocked, I thought there would at least be a little. But we were lucky! Just about dusk Saturday night it started to snow, and we woke up to about 5 or 6 inches of fluffy white stuff Sunday morning. :)

This was so funny...Our dog, Maggie just loves Pete and kept chasing him down and then back up the hill we were sledding down. So finally Pete just put her on the sled with him. Can you not see the pure joy in her face? HA! She totally loved it.

This one is all kindsa blurry, but I just love it.

Jake headed down the hill. He was actually the best sledder...made it the farthest each time.

Meggy going all by herself and loving it.

Snowball fight!

Cute Hannah, making a brick for the snow wall.

Jake in his new coat from Grandma Katy.

And Megs in her new coat too :)

There's more, but those were the good ones, and the only ones I felt like waiting for blogger to upload. :) Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!! We're taking the week off from school work to hang out, clean up, reorganize, and move forward into 2011.

10 things I still haven't done

2010-12-21T12:57:00.000-08:00

The Holiday Procrastinators Edition

1. Finished my shopping. Yep. Still two gifts to buy.
2. Wrapped presents. I usually leave this till last anyway, but since we're going out of town Friday, I really need to get this done ASAP
3. Bought stocking stuffers. I do have some chapstick and a notebook for each. But yeah, that doesn't really "stuff" a stocking.
3. Made my contributions for Christmas breakfast and Christmas dinner. I can't really do that till Friday anyway, but it is still one more thing to do.
4. Found my kids snow clothes. Or bought them new ones. I'm not a fan of snow. Because I'm not a fan of being cold. And I find it silly to buy snow clothes for a once maybe twice a year event. (Nicole and Beth are laughing right now, I'm sure!) But it must be done. Grandma has lots of snow at her house and there will be lots of playing in it, I'm sure. But I can not find the snow boots we bought last year?? Where are they?
5. Bought batteries. I haven't even checked to see what kind the DS takes. Better do that quick. Knowing me, it won't take batteries but some other 40 dollar charger that doesn't come with it, that I'll have to hunt down Christmas Eve at Walmart only to find out it's sold out.
6. Finished baking. I still want to make more cookies. We've made 3 different types and they're all gone.
7. Laundry. I mean, I know this doesn't really count because there's ALWAYS laundry, but it does matter when you need to pack and there's no decent clean clothes.
8. Pack. I need to pack.
9. Neighbor gifts. I do have one neighbor and I'd like to take #6 and give some to her. She drives me nuts sometimes, but she really is a good friend.
10. Relax. I can't wait to get to my mom's Friday and just chill and enjoy the season. And then get to Pete's mom's on Saturday and chill out again.

Oh for cute!

2010-12-18T13:25:00.001-08:00

We made graham cracker houses today! They turned out so cute! And I think I had more fun than the kids. Megan was more interested in eating the candy at first and then got creative. Jake was having fun at first and then got bored. Me? I just kinda went crazy. It was fun and easy and I'll think we'll be doing this again next year. Totally worth the 15 dollars I spent in candy we'll never eat.

You can click on the images to make them larger

I followed tips from this site. It worked really, really well. The icing is disgusting, so don't eat it. But it is exactly like tacky glue. I didn't use the hot sugar method to stick the grahams to the cardboard, it worked fine without it. The directions to cut the graham crackers worked perfectly! I made up the houses myself ahead of time because I knew my kids would just get frustrated and I wanted them to just have fun with it. Plus, I have control issues. ;)
Here are the finished houses. They're so cute! Megan is on the left, Jake in the middle and me on the right.

A Tuesday in December.

2010-12-14T13:43:00.000-08:00

1. I'm trying really hard to enjoy this holiday season. But it's tough this year. With us being sick and my dad being really sick added to the normal stress of the season, I'm just having a hard time really getting into it.
2. We did finally get our tree up. With a few mishaps and shenanigans, it really deserves it's own post :)
3. my advice to you: don't get divorced. It makes your children crazy well into their adulthood. This isn't meant to make either one of my parents feel bad. I understand now why it happened and I am essentially ok with it. I don't wish for my parents to be together or anything. It's just a fact. And Christmastime is the hardest.
4. more advice: if you have the means to do it, have more than one child. Again, this is nothing against my parents. I had a wonderful childhood, I really did. But now that I'm an adult, I have no one (like a sister) to b*tch to about family crap. So I come to the internets to complain instead. You're welcome!
5. I tried to make cookies yesterday for our charter school teacher. We meet with her once a month to make sure sure we're on track and following state standards for our grade level. Anyway, the cookies were a complete disaster X two. I wanted to make jam thumbprint cookies. I went to the internet in search of a recipe since I couldn't find the one I used to have. Anyway I made up the recipe, but doubled it since it only made 10 cookies. Who makes only 10 cookies?? Anyway, you're supposed to roll the dough in your hand then in sugar, then use your finger to make a well for the jam. Well, the dough was WAY way too crumbly. It wouldn't even stick together. FAIL #1. So I went back to the internet and found another, similar recipe and just added to what I already had mixed (probably a bad idea). They stayed together though, and I was able to get them in the oven. But then...Then the jam melted out all over the place. And the actual cookie? wouldn't even cook all the way. Even after 15 minutes. FAIL #2.
6. I made up a batch of regular old chocolate chip this morning and filled a little tin. You really can't go wrong with chocolate chip, right?
7. Why did I ever think $500 would be enough money to buy all the gifts on my list this year? $500 sounds like a decent amount, even too much really. But hot dang! money goes fast. Especially when Santa decided to go ahead and get child #1 what he really wanted. $500 for both kids, Pete, parents and 3 nieces + 1 nephew.
8. I'm going simple this year on the gifts. For my kids that pretty much means: something you want, something you need. I left out the something you wear and something to read. Only because Jake's gift was expensive and he doesn't need new clothes right now. I will probably get him a book though. I mean, how could I not? I'm still working on Megan's gifts, but she really doesn't "want" anything yet. She still hasn't quite grasped the concept like Jake has. And that's ok. I know what she likes so I got her that.
9. Yes, Santa caved and got Jake the Nintendo DSi XL. I wasn't going to do it. I had completely talked myself out of it. But there were several factors in my final decision: 1) I know it's what he really, really wanted. And I can't stand a disappointed kid on Christmas. 2) We don't own any other gaming system. No Wii, XBox, Playstation or any of that stuff. 3) Pete said, "WHAT?! you're not getting him that?" after I thought he didn't want him to have one. All that, plus I found a really good deal, I had a coupon on top of that and games were 50% off at Toys R Us. But he ain't gettin' nothin' else from us. Except maybe that book ;-)
10. I don't know what else to write. I'm exhausted just reading back what I wrote, and assume you must be too if you made it this far!

Aaahh, city life...

2010-12-07T12:14:00.000-08:00

Sirens, freeway noise, people....
Spiders, bugs, ticks, mice...
uh huh. you read that right.
Living here on this hill, smack dab in the city, is very much like living in the country.

Last night we had two encounters that just go to show how much we don't live in the city. First, at dinner Megan is pulling at her ear. Pulling and pulling and saying how much her ear hurt. I just figured the cold that we've all had must have finally turned into an ear infection. I mentally thought ok after dinner give her some tylenol, in the morning make an appointment and get some pink stuff. But she kept pulling and tugging and was almost in tears by the end of dinner. So I took a look. Behind her ear was red and swollen...it almost looked like poison oak or something. Then I saw it. Right behind her earlobe was a tiny little black tick trying to dig it's way into her brain! A tick! On my baby! EEEEWWW!! Pete pulled it out and all was fine.
So after that, I decided to take a long hot shower and get cozy in my jammies. (And make sure I didn't have any ticks! EEEWW!!!) I wanted to sit down by the fire and read my book. I got out of the shower and heard a muffled little meow meow outside the bathroom window. I knew it was just our cat, Miss Kitty, wanting to come in from the cold. I finished wrapping my hair up and getting my jammies on, then went down the hall, through the kitchen and into the dinning/entry/fireplace room. (it's a multi-functional space and I don't know what to call it) I found my family all huddled around Pete. Bang! Pow! Zip! They were playing some silly shooting game on his iPhone.
I opened the front door and then the screen to let Miss Kitty in. But she wasn't right there.
Hmmm, I thought.
Me: Miss Kitty! Kitty, kitty, kitty! Come on pretty girl. (makes silly kissy noises)
I heard something, then saw her fluffy tail as she whizzed into the house.
Bang! Pow! Zip! Everyone else is still intently watching the video game.
As I turned from closing the door I see Miss Kitty proudly perched in front of me with something in her mouth.
Me: Ahh! She has something in her mouth!
Bang! Pow! Zip!
Me: Ahhhh! It's a mouse!
Cue cat to then drop said mouse onto the floor.
Bang! Pow! Zip! Awesome Daddy! Yes!
Me: It's still alive!!! GET IT!!
Bang! Pow! Zip! seriously, no one even moved! Really?!
Me: There is a MOUSE and it is NOT DEAD! GET. IT.!!!
Bang! Pow!
Me: Seriously?! Put the freakin game down and get this frickin MOUSE!
Pete: ok, ok. (in the nicey cat talk voice:) get it Miss Kitty. Get the Mouse.
This whole time I'm trying to get someone's attention, Miss Kitty just sat there proudly. And the mouse, fortunantly I suppose, just stood there stunned. Once everyone started moving, well, so did the mouse.
Me: Ahhh! Get it! GET IT! Ahh!
Miss Kitty did kinda pat at it a little. But where was her killer instinct?? Where where her claws and her fierce, flesh tearing teeth??!
Pete: She's not just going to let it go, she'll get it. (said just as she let it go again and it scurried off into the kitchen)
Me: AHHHH GEEEETTT IIIIITTT!! NOOOWWW!!
Pete then stepped on it's tail and had it somewhat controlled.
Jake: I'll get the broom!
smart kid!
Pete then whacked the mouse on the head a couple times, scooped it up with the dust pan and that was that.
WHEW!

Pete: jeeze you panicked. You acted like that was like a big deal or something.

I just looked at him quizzically.

Can someone please explain to me how having a real live mouse in the house is NOT a big deal?

The weekend that wasn't.

2010-12-06T09:59:00.001-08:00

I think this is the latest into December I have gone without putting up our Christmas tree in years. Yep. It's still not up. This right here?: The extent of our holiday decorations. I had a horrible nights sleep Thursday night. It was windy and there was this noise outside that was driving me absolutely mad. Crazy mad. I couldn't sleep. And the short times where I did drift off, I had the weirdest dreams. Anyway, Friday I got up, shook off the no sleep and decided we should have a craft day. I took a shower, got dressed and we headed off to Michael's to grab some glitter and Styrofoam cones. I don't even know what happened, but after 20 minutes in that store, I was done. I felt like I could hardly stand. We came directly home and I was done. Fever, chills, aches. ugh. I just hate feeling like that. I'm just barely feeling better today.
So no tree up. No fantastical holiday baking day. Although, we did manage to get in a few crafts. And about 10,000 movies in our jammies. It was funny because Pete came home Friday and spied that little tree next to the fireplace. I had picked it up at Michaels because it was 50% off and I thought it was cute. Anyway, Pete goes "so is that our Christmas tree this year"? He was kidding. My first reaction was HECK NO! you Grinch! But part of me kinda thinks: that wouldn't be a half bad idea! I'm not going to do that to my kids though. I'm not that mean. Mostly.
Anyway, we did manage the glitter trees. They took all of maybe 10 minutes to make and look really cute in person. Martha Stewart extra fine glitter is awesome. The tallest white tree is actually covered in doilies. I 100% copied the idea from Rhonna Farrer and it took about 5 minutes. Hers still look cuter than mine does though. Megan made all the sequin snowflakes. We painted a bunch of popsicle sticks white, some sprinkled with Pink Paisley glitter too, and then she glued a bunch of craft sequins on. They are pretty cute. I punched holes in them so we could hang them on the tree, but now I'm thinking they look pretty cute on the mantel. I couldn't keep Jake's interest with the crafts, he was much more interested in shooting his BB gun instead. Oh well. We'll see what this week brings. I better go get the tree out now, so at least I can see it and get it out of the box!

Christmas cookies...

2010-12-02T12:02:00.001-08:00

It's that time of year again. The time of year when I get crazy ambitious with my ideas for holiday baking. Every year I think I'm going to have a whole day-NO-a whole weekend full of FUN baking!! Then, about halfway into the first batch of rolled out cookies, I ask myself...why am I doing this again??
But I just can't help myself. The idea always creeps in, and sounds like a good one in the beginning. We'll see how far I get this year...

So far here is a list of what I would like to make:

*Cream cheese frosted cut-out cookies -so yummy!
* Mexican Wedding cookies -nobody ever eats these but me and my mom but dang, i love them!
* Pepparkakor-These are a traditional Swedish cookie, kind of like a thin crispy gingerbread. Pete grew up with his best friends mom making these all the time. So they are for him. I like them too though.
* Chocolate chip- because who doesn't like chocolate chip?
* Spritz- again, probably only me and Megan will eat these, but they're so buttery and yummy. I just hope I can get the right consistency with the dough so they'll come out of the cookie press correctly. There's a real science to it.
* Thumb prints- can you tell i really like the buttery cookies? mm mm mm!
* Peanut butter
* Snicker doodles-another of Pete's favorites
* Some sort of chocolate dipped pretzel, or pretzel/chocolate combination. Haven't quite decided what yet.

So what are your traditional Christmas cookies, or candies, or baked goods?? I'd love to try something new. Share a recipe if you have one! Does anyone make biscotti, or candy or fudge??

Wednesday. Wordless. sorta.

2010-12-01T16:32:00.001-08:00

Kinda boring this time. But I'm almost getting into the Christmas spirit. Happy December!

Going, going, going...

2010-11-29T14:31:00.000-08:00

waiting for the parade at Disneyland

Oh November has been a blur. We have been going non-stop since before Halloween. It's been fun, but...shoot, could you give me another week before December? I just don't feel up to it yet!
I had all these dreams of getting my house decorated for Christmas this week. And baking cookies. And a bunch of fun Christmas crafts for the kids.
But I just can't seem to get myself there yet.
Remember to tell me next year not to plan a vacation in November. This is two years in a row we've done it, and while it's fun at the time, it seems like getting ready for Christmas is much more of a hassle, or well maybe overwhelming, than it should be. Or than I want it to be. I want to enjoy December. But every year I feel pressure starting the day after Thanksgiving, like a looming dooming cloud. And then it all flashes by like a dream and it's over 27 days later.
Next year I'm decorating on November 1st, like they do at Disneyland.

The castle, Walt and Mickey waiting for the fireworks

I'm thinking of doing December Daily again this year. I got my book all ready last year and then ended up skipping the whole project. :( I love my album from 2008. This year I'm thinking of doing all digital and then printing as a book from Shutterfly or something. Probably using Ali Edwards' templates. I like instant gratification, but I don't have a properly working photo printer right now, nor do I have the money to fix it or get a new one. I also don't have the patience to wait for my photos to be printed by Costco or whoever. So I'm thinking I can get instantly gratified by creating my pages each day digitally and then getting the book printed in January some time. In theory.
One last quick note...if you are the praying type, I could sure use some prayers for my dad. I mentioned before that he had been diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma and that he seemed to be doing well after chemo. Well this weekend we were visiting and I could tell that he wasn't feeling all that great. He called today to say he was on his way back to the hospital at the advice of his doctor because he was having a hard time breathing. Last time they had to remove about a quart of fluid that was around his lungs and he's thinking they will have to do that again. I really don't know any more than that. They're waiting to hear what the doctors have to say. He seems in good spirits, but wants to find out what's going on. Naturally. So I'm waiting too, to hear from him or my step-mother. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous or scared. I'm trying to keep in good spirits and keep myself busy until I know anything else. Thanks for your prayers!

I can't believe....

2010-11-18T14:01:00.000-08:00

...That it's Thursday already.
....That it's already been a week since going on vacation. (which i do have a lot to say about, but not sure if everyone really wants the details or not)
....That Thanksgiving is in ONE WEEK. holy crap.
....That Christmas is in 33 days or something crazy close to that. (why does this stuff always just sneak up on me like this??)
....That our school year is just about 1/2 over already. Already?
...That it was 80 degrees yesterday, and tomorrow it's supposed to be freezing and raining like crazy.
...That Christmas is in 33 days! Did I say that already??
....That I'm getting a cold. And I can already tell it's going to be a bad one. not that I really can't believe that, it's just ugh....I don't want to be sick.

Anyway...
so speaking of Christmas...what is TOPS on your kids wish-lists this year? Our kids already know that Disneyland was a big (read: expensive!) part of their Christmas this year. So I'm not going all out but...
Anyway, Megan still is at the age where she doesn't really have anything specific. She still just likes horses. And clothes.
Jake, on the other hand, really wants a Nintendo DS. And I was sort of all for it....until I saw the price. Man, those things are not cheap! Of course, I think everything over a dollar is expensive ;) but $169?? It's more than I wanted to spend on just one thing. What do you think? Do your kids have one? Is it worth the money? I mean, I know the kids like them...everywhere we go we see some kid with their face stuck to one. So...maybe I'm just being cheap. Which yeah, this is ME we're talking about here. ;P

Well, that's all I got for now. My nose is stuffy, and my throat hurts. Off to nurse this yucky cold...

10 on Tuesday.

2010-11-09T13:16:00.000-08:00

1. I have no energy today. I've been excited and pumped up for days, and now the day I have so much to do..the day before the day I've been anticipating for 2 months is here and I just want to take a nap.
2. It might be because I was up all night with a little girl coughing and coughing and coughing. ugh. She's fine during the day. But she coughs all night. :( BUT! I did find a cough medicine that actually works (over the counter!) Children's Mucinex. It does exactly what the box says it does. It took a little while for it to kick in, but once it did she was silent and sleeping.
3. Oh, in case #1 makes NO SENSE at all....We're going to Disneyland tomorrow. EEEK!
4. My tummy was in knots all morning. I hate that feeling. And it's exactly what happens every single time we go on a big vacation. Make it stop!
5. I probably won't be able to sleep tonight. Because I'm such a nerd that vacations still make me feel like a kid on Christmas morning. The morning can just not come quick enough. Is it time for bed yet? It's only 3 am?? Can we get up yet? Breakfast? Who needs breakfast?! Lets get this show on the road. Literally.
6. I've done entirely too much planning and research for this trip. I downloaded an app for my phone that will tell us all the wait times on the rides. I already know when all the parades, shows and fireworks are happening and what time/what day I want to see them. I also made us reservations for dinner at the Blue Bayou. The restaurant that's inside the Pirates of the Caribbean! I'm excited for that. Never eaten there before.
7. Why do my kids still ask for candy every time we go to a store, knowing FULL WELL we have a ginormous basket full of candy at home? Why?
8. I have so many other things I should be doing right now. The kitchen needs to be cleaned and dishwasher ran. The glitter box needs to be cleaned and extra food and water set out for the cat. I need to find the memory card for the camera.
9. I just want to take a nap! did I say that already?
10. ARE WE THERE YET?

Wordless Wednesday

2010-11-03T18:37:00.001-07:00

10 things about Halloween.

2010-11-02T14:59:00.001-07:00

Halloween Camping 2010

1. I brought my camera. But I was very lazy. So I just used my phone for pics.
2. It was pretty cold. Generally, it tends to get cold right after Halloween here. Not this year. Ok, well, Halloween day was nice, but because we were camping, the campground celebrated on Saturday. And Saturday was kind of miserable. Weather wise, anyway.
3. I'm constantly amazed at how creative people can be! It didn't seem like as many people went all out, like they did last year. But still some sites were just amazing! There was one that had set up a couple of Easy-Ups and made a 'Fun House'. All the people dressed up like clowns. Except they were scary clowns. They had the music of a fun house, the lights, balloons...everything! And when you walked into the fun house, they scared the crap out of you! LOL! It was great. Megan I think might have had a small heart attack. But she made it. And then a few minutes later said, "that was fun!" YES!! Jake on the other hand, was not impressed.
4. I didn't dress up. I was going to, but I just couldn't get over the fact that it was windy and cold and drizzly. I wanted to be as warm as possible. That wasn't going to happen in a costume! I don't know how you Minnesotans do it!
5. Halloween camping is so much fun. But a LOT of work. Thank you Mom and Mike for making it memorable for my kids. They really do love all that you do! You can sort of see from the first pic up there that they had 2 EZ-ups set up (because of rain) and a little graveyard path that went back to the 3 witches and a cauldron of candy. Oh yes, and the graveyard butler at the beginning of the path. He was a big hit! Everybody loved him.
6. Note to self and to mom: bring twice as much candy next time. Seriously, what were we thinking? We didn't have nearly as much candy as we needed. Well, we maybe had just enough. By the time it got dark, we were completely out. But most people were done by then anyway.
7. Speaking of candy...Holy cow! I kid you not...we have at least 10 pounds of candy. At least. No two children should ever bring home this much candy from one night of trick-or treating. It's just ridiculous. Think about it...there were at least 200 campsites at the campground. 99% of them were occupied, 100% of those were handing out candy-many people giving more than one piece at a time, times that by two kids...equals a $^# load of candy!! Even in a night of trick-or-treating in a neighborhood, I doubt you would hit 200 houses. Would you?
8. But it was all good candy. The kind of candy that needs to be hidden immediately! I'm talkin' 10 pounds of Reese's, Snickers, Kit-Kat, Skittles and Starbursts. No raisins or rolls of pennies!
9. People were creative with their campsites, but not so much with their costumes. There were, of course, a few great ones. But mostly I just saw kids in store-bought cheaply made costumes and no make-up. Now, don't get me wrong. My kids' costumes where NOT masterpieces by any means! Megan was wearing a cheaply made store bought costume. I wish I had the talent and time and know-how to sew my own, but I don't. As I'm sure most people nowadays can relate to. But still. I still think you need to do it up as best you can. A costume is not just a piece of clothing. It's head to toe show, man! Take the time to do hair and make-up. It makes that store-bought costume really come to life! To me, it's the funnest part of dressing up anyway, right? I know it's Megan's favorite. She couldn't find a mirror so she spent the better part of the afternoon looking at her reflection in the pot sitting on the stove inside the trailer! I'm serious.
10. I can't wait to go next year! I'm already thinking of ideas since we'll have our own campsite next time. This year we stayed with my mom but we've already reserved our spot for next Halloween now that we have a trailer of our own!! Pete had a trailer for a ranch he was hunting on right after he sold the other pig ranch. He's no longer doing hunts there, so the trailer is ours to use whenever we like! It's old, but it's nice. At least it's not pale blue and dusty rose on the inside! LOL! I used to be a 'camping purest' tents are the only way to really camp I used to say. Then I had kids. And I got real.

Wordless Wednesday.

2010-10-27T14:46:00.000-07:00

iPhone ShakeitPhoto app.

Tuesday. again!

2010-10-26T12:56:00.000-07:00

1. Had another really great weekend. I love that I can say that over and over and it never gets old. Whether we stay at home or go off on an adventure, being together doesn't seem to get old to me. I spent so many weekends over the last 4 years alone. Well, with just me and the kids--since Pete was always at the ranch. I absolutely love that we're all together so much more now. And bonus: our weekends are always three days long. Pete gets Friday's off. ♥♥♥

2. Saturday I was able to go off on my own though. I went and visited with some of the girls I used to work with. It was fun to see everyone again. But sort of odd too, since I'm the only one who doesn't work outside the home. It's weird because it's like I still fit in....but then again I don't. Hard to explain I guess.

3. My friend Christine, who hosted the party, has lost over 150 lbs!! For serious! All on her own. She looks amazing. If her voice didn't come out of her face, I would hardly know it was her. I hadn't seen her in about a year, except for an occasional pic on Facebook. But there's nothing like 'in person'. Wow! She is just truly an inspiration. She has worked so hard and proved so many people wrong in so many ways. I really love her and I'm so glad she is living a much more healthy life.

4. I have met my weight loss goals too. Well, actually, I've exceeded them by about 20 lbs. I've had many people say "I didn't know you had that much to lose!" Heck, I didn't either. I didn't even think it was possible. But here I am...the same weight I was when I got married. I can hardly believe it myself. I don't mean this to be boastful, but I can not tell you how good it feels to put clothes on and they just....fit. Without feeling like I'm about to burst. Or without worrying about my muffin top (wait, lets be honest here: huge inner-tube spare tire) hanging out the top of my jeans. I finally feel like me again. Which is weird and probably only I understand that statement. I don't have any formal before and afters, but this one here on the left is me about a week into my weight loss and on the right is me about a week ago.

I need to get back into working out though. I haven't made it a priority since moving. There just seems to be other things to do. I'm very good at putting off the stuff I don't like. And even after 6 months of working out every single day, sometimes 2 or 3 times a day. I still don't like it! But it is important and if I want to keep myself looking this way I'm going to need to make it a priority again.

5. Ok so this one SO does not belong right after I just told you all how I lost all kindsa weight and want to be health and all, but it's too good not to mention. For your next gathering you MUST make this dip. For reals. If you're married already, your husband will propose to you again. If your single, someone is bound to propose to you after they eat this. I'm not kidding, it's so good!

Jalapeno Popper Dip (tastes just like a jalapeno popper!):
(adapted from Annie's Eats)

Ingredients:
2 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup mayonnaise
1 (4 oz.) can chopped green chiles, drained
1 (4 oz.) can diced jalapeño peppers, drained
½ cup shredded Mexican style cheese
½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Cooking spray

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375˚ F. In a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese, mayonnaise, green chiles, jalapeños, and shredded cheeses. Mix thoroughly with a spoon or spatula until smooth and evenly combined. Spread the mixture into a baking dish (approximately 9 x 9-inches).

In a second bowl, combine the Panko and Parmesan and stir with a fork until combined. Sprinkle over the cream cheese mixture in the baking dish. Spray lightly with cooking spray. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the mixture is hot and the topping is golden. Serve warm with baguette slices, vegetables, etc. as desired.

I made this for our party Saturday. It was a huge hit. I used LOW FAT everything and no one, not even Pete who notices everything, noticed. If you can control yourself, it's really not all that bad for you. But it's really, really hard to control yourself with this stuff. I had to walk away.

6. We're still truckin' along on this homeschool thing. I am still liking it, and I think Jake is liking it more too. We've been writing and essay on Jamestown (the first settlement here in America). So far he has three pages written! I have guided him some in paragraph structure. I still think he could not do that on his own. But all the sentences are his. He's very proud of himself. He said, "the 2nd graders at my old school would never write this much!". And he said it with a big smile on his face. :)

7. Oh! here's another really good, super simple, very frugal recipe! See that's the thing about Weight Watchers: it totally makes you obsess about food way more than you ever did before. you think about it constantly. at least I did...but it's getting better...maybe.
Take a package of lean, boneless pork chops; sprinkle them with a little salt and pepper and then stick em in the crockpot. Cover the chops with about a cup-cup and a half of salsa verde (the green stuff) not the green enchilada sauce, but actual green salsa. Just enough till they're covered. Stick the lid on and turn the crockpot on low for....i dunno...all day. Right before you're ready to eat, take em out and shred the chops, then stick the meat back in the juices. Then, make tacos or burritos or whatever. It's so yummy! And healthy! And Cheap!

8. I know I wrote this on Facebook the other day but it's still so funny to me: The fact that Megan calls the cat's litter box the "glitter box". It makes me laugh every time. Yesterday she informed me that Miss Kitty had "no food, no water, but a wheely clean glitter box!".

9. Confession: I like all the shows on the CW network. Really. One Tree Hill, The Vampire Diaries, yes even 90210 and that silly Hellcats show. I can't help it.

10. Halloween camping THIS weekend! YAY! praying it doesn't rain....it's supposed to :(

The littlest pumpkin.

2010-10-22T15:55:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went to see my dad. We hadn't been up there in a while and we were due a visit. A few months ago my dad was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. IE: Cancer. *ugh*
I haven't said anything about because, frankly, I just didn't know what to say. He's my dad and I'm his little girl. And he's one of the biggest, strongest man I've ever known. So to see him go through this...to see him weak? Well, it's kind of tough. I will say though, that he's actually doing really well. He's finished his chemo for now. It was supposed to be 6 rounds, but it was reduced to 4 when the doctor saw marked improvements just after 3. So that is good. He's still recovering, but seems to be getting his strength back. It was good we went to see him. He said he did more that weekend than he'd done in 3 months. Grandkids will do that to you, I think. ;)
So while we were visiting we took a little drive down to the smallest pumpkin patch in the world. Actually, it wasn't really even a pumpkin patch at all. It was a few pallets spread out on the lawn by the fire station with a few pumpkins, some scarecrows and an old truck. My dad was lured by the old truck. ;)

Anyway, the kids picked out a few pumpkins. Megan took her time looking for just the right one. She wanted the littlest one she could find. Because we'd just read The Littlest Pumpkin and she didn't want any here at this patch to feel left out.

After the tiniest pumpkin patch in the universe we went to the local grave yard. It's just something we do occasionally and it seemed to fit the season (Halloween and all). And it's not just your typical grave yard...These are old. Been around since the Gold Rush days. It's kinda cool to see how old the headstones are. Some of them actually say what they died of, or you can tell if there was some sort of mining accident because several people died on the same day. I dunno, call me crazy, but I think it's interesting. And when I die I want to be buried in one of these cemeteries. I just think they're cool, and much better than some fancy green lawn somewhere in suburbia.
Anyway, so that is that. It was a nice visit with my dad and I'm glad we went.
Today is misty and gloomy. Pete lit a fire for me first thing this morning and it's been going all day. I love it! I have pot roast in the oven and I made pumpkin cream pies for dessert. Which aren't really pies at all. They're more like little cakes with cinnamon flavored cream cheese frosting in the middle. Supper yummy. Supper fall-ish. Pretty much perfect.
I hoping that all the rain gets rained out this weekend so that next weekend it's nice and sunny. Next weekend is Halloween camping!!

Ten on Tuesday.

2010-10-12T12:42:00.001-07:00

1. all of a sudden my WiFi on my iPhone is working like a dream. It hasn't worked in months and I could never figure it out. Then all of a sudden today it's working perfect...even out and about like at the library. I wonder if it has anything to do with the power going off (switching off my wireless network)??
2. I really believe that after a certain age all drivers MUST take an actual driving test, not a written test, to receive a new drivers license. Old people going 40 MPH on the freeway is just not safe. Old ladies driving 1972 Buick Skylarks driving 15 MPH down a city street (weaving all over the place) is not safe. I realize that not ALL old people do this, but so many do. Please give me a driving test when I'm 80. And please refer me back to this internet post when I get all crotchety and bent out of shape about it.
3. The library is awesome. Seriously, why did it take me having to homeschool my kids to realize what a wonderful place it is? The library will entertain my kids for at least an hour each week. Probably more, if I went more. Plus (and this is the best part) it's completely silent in the car on the way home. Like completely. They both sit and read all the way home. It might be my favorite part of the day.
4. We had a really fun, but somehow really exhausting weekend. Friday night the kids were up past 11. Then we got up early Saturday and went to a local harvest festival. It was really fun. The kids got to pick corn straight out of the field. We got a bag full of beautiful Indian corn. I'd never quite seen some like this. Bright reds and blues. Really, really neat. They also had an entire field of popcorn. Like corn for popping. They said you let it dry out for 2 months and then stick it in a paper bag in the microwave for 3 minutes and it pops right off the cob. For some reason I think this is SO COOL! I can't wait to try it. Anyway, we were at the harvest fest ALL. DAY.

Then we were invited to our friends for dinner. We showed up at 6 and stayed till 10:30. That's late for us! But it was so much fun. The kids rode motorcycles and played outside all night. Sunday was church and then we ended up going to another friends house for dessert after lunch. Yesterday by 2 o'clock I was done. Jake was reading his lesson to me and I about fell asleep! I could not keep my eyes open. I fell asleep on the couch at 7:30. I don't remember anything else.
5. Our friends that had us over for dinner had the best food. Oh my gosh! I LOVE Mexican food. In fact, I could probably eat it every day as long as you threw in a pizza every now and then. Anyway, she went to the Mexican market and got fresh corn tortillas (so fresh they were still steaming in the bag), salsa, pico de gallo, guacamole, chips and carne asada. Why don't I go to the Mexican market? Seriously...I have been missing out! This food was incredible. She sent me home with some left over salsas and the corn tortillas. I made chicken enchiladas last night. YUM again!
6. We are just about 2 weeks out from our Halloween camping trip. I'm getting excited! What are your kids dressing up as this year? Meg is going to be Tinkerbell. Jake is going to be a pirate again. Pete is going to be the same scary mask guy he was last year and I think I'm going to be a butterfly.
7. I can not believe how fast time is flying. How is it already mid-October??
8. But that also means it's less than 30 days until our Disneyland trip!! I am beyond excited. I mean, I even have dreams about it. I found this really cool FREE app for my iPhone called MouseWait. It's supposed to have pretty accurate wait times for all the rides in Disneyland and California Adventure. It also has a list of restaurants in DL, CA and Downtown Disney with menus and prices. It will even use your GPS location to tell you which rides/restaurants/bathrooms are nearest to you and give you a map (not that i need one) as to how to get there from where you are. There's also a list of hidden Mickey's that you can check off as you find them throughout the park. I am totally GEEKED OUT.
9. Speaking of technology and geekiness....my friend is totally addicted to her phone. Really badly. The other day we're driving to a park that we'd both driven by together many times and even been to together before. Yet here she was driving down the freeway with one hand, and staring at the GPS on her phone in the other hand trying to navigate by a little screen to tell her where to go. All while we are passing up HUGE signs on the road that tell us EXACTLY where to go. I finally told her: why don't you try putting the phone down and following the actual signs on the actual road?!! It sounds snarkey now that I read it back, but really it was a funny moment. We laughed. Have we really gotten that dependent that we can't even look at the signs on the road to tell us where to go?
10. Oh Tuesday, I like you so much better than Monday. At least this week I do. :)
*bonus!* 11. Why oh WHY are the tabloids making these girls from 16 and Pregnant/Teen Mom into stars?? I understand (sort of) the point of these shows on MTV that show that it's not so easy to be a teen mom. That pregnancy is hard, that labor is not easy, that being a mom when you're 17 is scary as hell. I do understand the 'reality' of it, if you will. But every time I go to the grocery store, I stand in line and see these girls and their kids plastered all over People and US Weekly making them look like some kind of teen hero/superstar. I'm sorry, but this is NOT what we should teach our children to look up to. Well, neither is any of the other crap the plaster on those mags BUT *anyway.....* it irritates me.

5 Favorites.

2010-09-29T11:52:00.000-07:00

1. This chapstick/lip balm.

A few months ago when we first moved here I all of a sudden had the most horrible chapped lips. I've had issues with chapped lips my whole life, but this was something different. I could not get them to get better. I kept lathering on this cheap chap stick I got at Target. (Target brand) It would be better for a while, and then it was like burning. Like I had a million little cuts all over my lips and someone kept dunking me in salt water. Yeah. It was awful. I don't know why it took me so long to figure out, but apparently there was some sort of chemical in that cheap stuff that I was allergic to. I did a google search for the best chap sticks/lip balms and found these Yes To Carrots lip balms. They are fantastic! 98% Organic. Which doesn't really mean anything to me except that they don't have any weird chemicals I can't pronounce and they don't burn my lips! I have the minty one. It goes on super smooth, has a nice fresh scent and leaves your lips a little shimmery almost like a lip gloss.....but with out the nasty stickiness. AND you can get them at Target. SCORE! Oh and yes, I feel these are much better than Burt's Bees. I know that is the popular all natural, organic lip balm...but Yes To Carrots is way better in my opinion.
2. Essie Nail Polish.

I've heard/read a lot about these nail polishes for a while. But you had to go to a specialty shop or a salon to buy them. No thanks. That is until now...I recently saw them at Bed Bath and Beyond and then the other day I noticed they were at Target! SCORE! Yeah, I like Target. Anyway, they've gotten a lot of hype in the blogisphere so I decided why not? Yep. It's kind of the best nail polish I've tried. I got this color Soiree Mauve. (it's SUCH a color my mom would choose!) I've warn it on my fingernails for the last week, taken showers every day, washed dishes, pulled weeds, washed little girls hair, got hot glue all over my hands, and....it's not chipped. Like, at all. When I walked out of the Target that day I thought to myself did I really just buy nail polish for 16 dollars?? (i bought 2 colors, they're 7.99 a piece!) Totally worth it.
3. Honey Crisp Apples.
I'm so addicted. I'm pretty sure I first heard of these from Kal a few years ago on her blog. They are truly the best apples ever!! I ate all the ones I bought in 2 days (6 apples I think). I went and made a special trip to Safeway just by apples. They're that good.
4. My kid reading.

Last year he pretty much hated it. It was a chore. And boring. And hard. This summer we worked really hard. I joined the local library and we've been going every other week since we moved here. It really is true what they say about reading TO your kids and reading WITH your kids and exposing them to all different kinds of books. I think it really does instill a love of books and reading for them. Over the summer we started reading the Magic Tree House series. I highly recommend them for kids in 1st-3rd grades. They're easy chapter books filled with lots of history and science. Anyway, we'd been reading these books together, but just last week Jake picked one out all on his own and started reading it in the car on the way home from the library. He finished it on his own in 2 days! It really did feel like we'd finally jumped over a hurdle. Now he begs for me to read to him, and asks all the time for new books. He's pulled several books off the shelf in his room and read them on his own too. I'm just so proud of him. Oh and while we were at the library last week I picked up this book. Bunnicula. Do you remember that one? Oh I loved it as a kid. I've been reading this one to him, since it's a tiny bit over his reading level. He just loves it.
5. Megan singing.
It's the funniest thing. I catch her singing to herself all the time. I remember Jake doing this at this age too. She just makes up a melody to anything. And sings for like 5 minutes straight. Then asks: did you like my song? do you want me to sing it again?
It just cracks me up!

2010-09-28T11:52:00.001-07:00

I drove my kids all the way across town to the special splash pad park because its a bazillion degrees and we have no A/C at home. And my kids are the only ones playing on the jungle gym. Weirdos.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Just when I thought it was safe....

2010-09-27T13:35:00.000-07:00

To put all the kids summer clothes away, summer showed up in Oakland. Of course! It's ok though, I'm not complaining. September has been absolutely gorgeous! Wonderful weather. If this is what fall is like, I'll take it. Plus around here fall means all kinds of fun stuff! Like pumpkin patches and apple orchards, and fall festivals. Oh and Halloween Camping!!!! Yes, we're doing it again this year and we are SOOO excited!! We haven't been camping this year at all so we're happy to be going, and extra happy that it's Halloween camping cuz...dude, that was so much fun last year. AND......AND !!! We just booked our trip to DISNEYLAND for November!!!! Is it wrong that I'm so painfully excited that we're going to Disneyland? Seriously, I'm 99% sure I'm more excited than my kids are. And the other cool thing? We're staying here. Oh YEAH! Disney's Grand Californian Hotel and Spa. Have you seen this place? Click over. I'll wait............................Um yeah. It's kind of fantastic. I've always wanted to stay in a Disney Hotel but never had the chance to do it. Usually, they're pretty outrageously expensive. We usually stay at the Embassy Suites, which we all love. The breakfast, the room, the free drinks and snacks at 7 every evening. Oh and the Koi pond. The kids love the Koi pond. The only bad thing was having to take the shuttle to and fro the parks. That wasn't horrible, but it would be nice to be closer to the park...at least walking distance. So I started looking into our options when we decided we were definitely going to go. Turns out during "off season" they give super awesome deals on Disney trips. This hotel is usually way, way WAY out of our price range. But since it's off season, they took a giant 30% off. It made it only slightly higher than the Embassy Suites. And it's inside California Adventure. Can't get much closer than that! Yes, there is an unhealthy amount of excitement inside me right now! You can laugh, it's ok.
Thank you for all your kind words about Nacho. We are all doing much better now. And we're not considering getting another dog any time soon! One is fine and we're loving her and caring for her more than ever now.
And that's about it. Here's some pics I took of the kids last weekend because every post needs a pic or two. :)

Tragedy strikes.

2010-09-23T09:26:00.001-07:00

Our dog died last Saturday. It was awful. AW. FUL. Nacho was always kind of a strange little dog. But we loved him anyway. Friday night Jake went out to feed the dogs and Nacho came out of the bushes looking all weird. Weirder than normal. He had been digging (obvious from the dirt all over him) but his eyes also looked kinda wiggy too. I can't explain it. But he didn't look right. I just kinda shrugged off though and said he was fine and to just go ahead and feed him. Well about an hour later I walk by the back door and notice him still standing over his food bowl, but not eating it. And then snapping at our other dog when she walked by. He never does this. And usually the food is gone in 10 seconds anyway. I just thought maybe he doesn't feel good and again I just passed it off as nothing. A few hours later I walked by the door again and decided to go check on him and he didn't come. He always comes. They both do as soon as the door opens. I called him. Still nothing. Finally after a few more calls he came stumbling out of the bushes with his head down. I just wasn't sure what to do. I knew something was wrong, but...what?? He slowly made his way back to the bushes and hid and I could not get him to come out. Oh and I should mention that Pete was not home all weekend. He had a group of hunters and would not be back until Sunday afternoon. I've had enough animals in my lifetime to know that when they go hiding in bushes and won't come out, there's really something wrong. But what could I do?
I went to bed that night and just hoped that he would be better in the morning.
When I got up Saturday, I went to the back door and saw both dogs cuddling together on the patio. I figured Nacho must be feeling better because that's how I find them most mornings anyway. And, well, he wasn't in the bushes so I thought that was a good sign.
I went about my day normally. We got dressed, went to the store and ran some errands. We got back home around 1 that afternoon. I went to the back door and noticed only Maggie was at the door. No Nacho. My heart stopped for a second. This could not be good. I called for him. Nothing. The kids and I both went out on the patio and called and called. Finally, Jake says "mommy! he's in here!" Oh thank goodness I thought, he's just lying in the dog house. But oh, it was just awful. Nacho was lying in the dog house, just barely hanging on to life. It was the most horrible sight. To see an animal suffering like that, and knowing there just wasn't anything I could do. I quickly rushed the kids back in the house. They are a total MESS at this point crying and sobbing. I'm panicking, not sure what to do. I mean, what am I going to do? THERE IS NO HUSBAND HERE TO DEAL WITH THIS! And I couldn't just leave him there.
I quickly pulled myself together and went back into the house. I gathered up the kids and did the only thing I could think of to comfort them and myself. We said a little prayer, and hoped that God would take Nacho to heaven quickly so that he wouldn't suffer any longer. It was the most pitiful prayer. The kids just wailed and sobbed.
I made them lunch and then waited with a pit in my stomach.
But God seriously answered our prayer, and quickly. I checked outside after a few minutes and it was evident that he had passed.
Thank goodness my neighbor was home. I felt horrible, but I had to ask him to come and assist with the burial. I felt horrible. I mean who asks their neighbor to bury a dog? I do. I just could not have done it myself. Thank goodness for good neighbors. He used to work at a vet so he knew just what to do.
We figured Nacho had eaten something bad...There's all kinds of critters around here. And it was pretty evident by the way he expired, that he had either eaten poison, or eaten something that had been poisoned. It is a terrible way to go.
I can't help but feel guilty some how. Or negligent. I knew he was sick. I just didn't realize HOW sick until it was too late. There was nothing I could have done. But still. I still feel horrible about the whole situation. It's one thing when your dog is old and you kinda know he's getting on in years and the end will come soon. It's another thing when they're young and just acting weird one night and then GONE the next day.
And poor Maggie. She just seems so sad now. We've all been trying to give her extra love. We also went and did a major cleaning up of the back yard. I DO NOT want it to happen again.
Luckily Maggie is getting older and isn't too interested in eating things she's not supposed to anymore.
Anyway. So that's the drama that's been going on around here.
A more lighthearted post to come soon.

Flying by the seat of my pants.

2010-09-09T16:26:00.000-07:00

Every week I make a plan for the next week regarding our homeschool. I make a pretty detailed lesson plan including what we'll do every day in Language Arts, Math, Science, History/Geography and Extra/Life Skills/PE etc... I go through each of our textbooks reading the lessons, making copies of worksheets, deciding if there might be a field trip we could go on that would go with science or history. I usually try and plan some sort of art or craft project. I try and make sure there are plenty of outings and at least one day a week we get together with our neighbors.

I do all this, yet most days I still feel like I have no idea what I'm doing. I use my lesson plan as a road map, but almost daily I'm finding ways to enrich our learning even more. See all my notes everywhere? :) I fell like we're learning good stuff, but it's just little spurts of information and then that's it, we quickly move on to the next topic. One of the things that always intrigued me most about homeschooling was the ability to really dive into a subject and truly study it. I'm not sure we're quite there yet. The curriculum I chose (for English, and Science especially) is mostly standard based. So, kind of like public school, you move through it rather quickly and I'm not sure how much of it is really retained. I like the idea of the short, concise lessons, but I also like the idea of lots of hands on projects and experiences so that you (your kid) really remembers the subject. I think I've done okay at adding things in, but I'm already thinking that next year I might look into a more comprehensive program, especially for science. (since both kids seem to enjoy it so much)
It's all a learning experience, right?
I did find this fantastic History through literature program. So far I am really loving it. It's from a company called Beautiful Feet Books. We chose the Early American History pack. The program is supposed to go through about 2 years of school. It IS Christian based material so our charter school would not fund this. {Religion is not my focus with our curriculum, I feel like my kids get a lot of it at home anyway, and of course at church and Sunday school, but I thought this particular program was really well put together and that's why I chose it} It's not cheap. What I ended up doing is buying the first 2 or 3 books on my own on Amazon along with the lesson manual. When I finish what we have, I'll go and order more books. Side note: have you tried Amazon Prime? it's 70 bucks a year and on most items you get FREE 2 day shipping. Ok so it's not free, but it pays for itself quickly if you use Amazon a lot. I bought all my Christmas presents last year this way and it was awesome. Totally worth the 70 dollars.
So back to Early American History..... We're currently reading the first book in the series, Leif the Lucky. This book is about Leif Erikson, the person believed to first discover North America about 500 years before Columbus. (I had no idea. See, I'm learning too!) Leif is a Viking, his father originally from Norway. The lesson materials don't really go into detail about Vikings, so I thought it would be good to study these people at little more in depth. I thought...wouldn't be cool to make our own model of a Viking ship? I looked up model ships online. Wow, they're pretty intense, even for an adult, and um...expensive! So I nixed that idea. I thought, ok....maybe we could just color a picture of a Viking ship. So I googled: free viking ship coloring page and found this.

I LOVE the internet!!
And can I just tell you, the Crayola Website is seriously awesome!! Where have I been?? There are free coloring pages GALORE. Free games and activities. VIDEOS. My kids love the videos. There are a lot of really great craft ideas. I've bookmarked it and I have a feeling I'll be using this website a LOT in the coming months. Especially for rainy days.
Anyway, I don't intend on making this a homeschool blog, but since it is part of our daily life, I will, from time to time, post about certain things. Especially cool things!

Vacation best and worst.

2010-09-07T15:14:00.000-07:00

Best: Spending time with family, just the four of us. I've been to this little cabin many times before, but always with my dad. This time it was just us. And though I love coming here with my dad, it was really kinda cool to just have the place to ourselves. I felt like a grown-up.

Best: Doing absolutely nothing. Really. There are lots of places to go and things to do around the area. But we chose to just hang out. The farthest we went was the beach.

Worst: Pete somehow got a stiff neck the first night we were there. So he kinda just layed around all day Saturday. It was ok though. I just felt bad for him.

Best: Blueberry Struesell french toast. Oh my word, YUM! I kept seeing this bread at Target (it's their Market Pantry brand, I think) and thought, hey it's vacation, I'm going to get it. I had the idea right away that it should be made into french toast. I was so right. Man, it was good! I only had a few bites though, cuz ya know, I'm still watching the figure ;0) They also have an apple fritter flavor, that I think would be good too. Oh and don't forget to use heavy cream in your custard mix. I'm positive it made all the difference. (it will make all the difference on your hips too)

Best: walks to the park and around the town with my little people.

Worst: Jake dropping the $5 mini pack of Tylenol I bought for Pete at the little mini-mart somewhere between the store and the beach and then having to back-track to find it. We did. Eventually. But I was kinda mad for a minute.

Best: Sunny afternoons. When it's cold and foggy at the beach, it's pretty miserable. But man-o-man when the sun comes out....it's like heaven! Just awesome.

Worst: Almost being submerged in the freezing cold Pacific Ocean.

Best: My husband knowing better than to do that and putting me back down. :)

Best: Knowing that now, him picking me up to throw me in said ocean, will not give him a hernia.

Best: Spending Sunday with our friends Joe and Carolina. They are a little younger than us and so far have no kids. But they are really fun to hang out with. They're both with great with kids, and don't seem to mind being around them all day and doing kid things. They just came down for the day, but we had a great time with them at the beach. Joe dug Jake a giant whole in the sand and put him in, and then filled it up to his neck. Jake loved it. Carolina walked Megan along the shore looking for sand crabs and shells. Carolina saw dolphins in the wild for the first time ever. She was totally amazed. It was pretty cool, they were so close to shore and gave us all a show.

Worst: Waking up Monday morning to warm sunny skies. Technically, this is an awesome thing. But it kinda sucked because we had to come home. That always seems to happen...we get the best weather on the day we have to leave.

Worst: Pukeage one exit away from home. Is this my lot in life with these kids? Vacation=Puke?? Please tell me no! Seriously, less than 5 minutes from home Megan barfed in the back seat.

Best: Being only 5 minutes from home after aforementioned pukeage. I have to say, that that is definitely an advantage.

Best: Leather seats.

Best: easily removable and washable car seat covers!

Worst: the Graco Booster with the back attached...I really hate this thing. She's still little enough that she requires the booster to have a back. But the back comes off very, very easily. But for some reason (mostly because I'm retarded) it is a b*tch to put back together. Do you moms know what I'm talking about? Is there a trick? What am I doing wrong? I about threw the thing off a cliff today. I'm not kidding, ask my kids. They're still hovering in the corner. ;o)

Worst: Having to get back to school work today. We're all just kinda blah today and it was hard getting back into the swing of things. The morning was great, but we petered out pretty quick. 4 days of no school is kind of a lot, I guess.

Worst: Laundry, laundry, laundry. Oh my goodness, the laundry.

Obviously, the good far outweighs the bad.

Birthday Girl

2010-08-30T09:15:00.000-07:00

Saturday was Megan's fourth birthday. How in the world did my sweet baby girl turn into....well, a girl??! I know she hasn't been a baby for a while, but dang...four just seems so big all of a sudden. When she got up in the morning I told her happy birthday and said that I thought she definitely looked a little different today and maybe even a tiny bit bigger. She smiled. A few minutes later I found her inspecting herself in the closet mirror in my room. She had to see for herself. :)
We headed back up to Pete's mom and dads for the day.

They needed some help building a shed for their well and so we went to help, and have a little party for Megs too.
Jake and cousin Hannah played all day together. They had so much fun! They spent all morning pounding nails into old wood and then all afternoon catching grasshoppers and butterflies.

Megan spent most of her day with Faith. It was great. Faith is just about old enough to babysit (almost 12) and really seemed to be good with just watching her all day.

In the late afternoon we got down to the birthday party. I made (or tried to anyway) red velvet cupcakes. Only they turned out to be pink velvet because I ran out of red food coloring! Oh well, they were pretty good anyway.
Megan just loved when we all sang Happy Birthday to her.

I didn't bring any candles and Grandma didn't have any bday candles so we used what we could find. One giant candle did the trick. :)

Opening presents:

Then we decided to take an afternoon stroll with the dogs through Grandma's neighborhood. It's just beautiful up there!

And that's about it. It was a really nice weekend. I do wish we could have stayed longer (again) but it was nice to just get away for the day.
My favorite picture from the day...I just love it! We were missing 2 cousins though...I wish it could have been all 6 kids.

So looking forward to the weekend in Santa Cruz!!!

Ten Random.

2010-08-25T14:49:00.000-07:00

Well hello blog.
We have been SO busy lately. Going and doing and schooling and going and doing more. I've been wanting to blog it all though. I really want to. Because I haven't scrapbooked in months and the blog is the next best thing, I suppose. But I dunno...both blogging and scrapbooking and even editing pictures just seems like *ugh* such a task lately. Like one more thing to do. I don't want it to feel like that. But for now...I think it is what it is. But I'm going to try and make a better effort to get in here and write things down.
Anyway, here's what's been going on:
(photo's are random from the last month or so)

1. Summer is finally here! at least for a day or two. Yesterday was 98* (shocking!) today is still about 90*. I love the heat and this weather makes me happy. ( I know, feel free to slap me) Buuuutt...yes there is a but...heat without A/C is not quite as enjoyable. Because it rarely gets this warm in the Bay Area, no one puts A/C's in their homes. Being outside in the heat is one thing...but not being able to escape it a little by going inside, is another. Our living room was stifling last night. Just miserably hot. And we have leather furniture, so we were all sticking to it. eeeww. I would go out and buy a fan, but it's going to be back to the 60's by Friday so I'll be pulling on the Uggs and sweatshirts again. :)
2. This is our second official week of homeschooling. So far it's going pretty well. I'm not gonna lie though...we've had our moments. But they have been very few and far between. I am not regretting my decision at all to do this. I know that this is absolutely right and necessary for our family right now. Will we go back to traditional school at some point? Maybe yes, maybe no. I really can't answer that now. I do get a tiny twinge of jealousy/sadness when I hear of all the other kids going back to school. Just a tiny bit. I get sad for Jake because he really does miss his friends and he LOVED school. And I get a little bit jealous because I know what it's like to have that quiet time all to yourself while the kids are gone at school. But honestly....I haven't had that moment all summer where I've said, "good grief! isn't it time for you to go back to school??!". Not once have I even thought it. I've really been enjoying our time together as a family and with homeschooling, the opportunities are so much more plentiful.

3. What I need to keep reminding myself though, is that I want this to be an enjoyable experience. And that we are doing this for Jake and Megan. And while they do need to actually learn (I'm NOT into un-schooling...at all), I don't see any reason why it can't be fun and enjoyable. And it should be, right? That's the cool thing about homeschooling...we get to pick everything we do and if we don't like it.....we just pick something else! :)
4. The kids took swim lessons a few weeks ago. It was their first time. They loved it. Jake actually was moved up a level right away. I was surprised since he'd never had formal lessons before and he used to be sooo scared. But he's totally not anymore. :)
5. Jake turned 7 on the 15th. Megan will be 4 this Saturday. How do I have a 7 and a 4 year old? How is it even possible that Megan will be in Kindergarten next year???? She's just a bayyy-beeee!

6. Pete got his truck broke into the other day. Another reminder that we are not in Kansas (or the valley) anymore. It sucked. Like a punch in the gut, man. They took his phone, sunglasses, some random crap, tools...and his brand new hunting bow. For reals. But I guess that's what you get for not locking up. Live and learn.
7. Pete's parents moved the same time we did...up to the mountains. The kids and I took a short little trip up there last week. It was so nice! I wish we could have stayed longer. They're new house is so homey feeling. I really do miss seeing them often. But now when we do go, it's like a vacation :)
8. Speaking of vacations...we're going to Santa Cruz next weekend for a short get-away. I can't wait! Just the four of us this time, in the same little cabin we stayed in with my dad last October. Since we haven't really done much this summer in the way of vacations or camping or anything like that, I'm really looking forward to it.
9. I thought I had so much to say and now here I am struggling to come up with 10 things.

10. Oh! I thought of something! My mom was here a few weekends ago. She and I spent the entire weekend cleaning out some of my yard. Finally. We worked so hard. My mom is amazing. She just keeps on going! No one had done anything around here in years and it showed. We spent all day Sunday cleaning out just one flower bed. There must have been at least 10 years worth of oak tree and eucalyptus tree leaves in there. It was not fun cleaning it out. But we did it. And it looks so nice! Thank you mommy! When are you coming back...cuz we got a lot more work to do! ;)
Happy Wednesday.

City Life.

2010-07-28T19:26:00.000-07:00

If you follow me on Facebook, you've probably seen me complaining. A lot. About the weather. I don't really mean to be so negative. I actually really like it here in our new home. There has definitely been some adjustment, but I am really enjoying our home, our friends and our new area. It's just cold. And I really don't like to be cold. Apparently, even by local standards, this has been the coldest summer they can remember in years. So. I'm not the only one. :) I've never lived in a city before. Like a real city-fied CITY. It's busy, and bustling and there are literally people from all cultures and walks of life here. There are people of all colors and shapes and creeds. So much different than your typical middle class suburban white/African American and Hispanic community that we were used to out in the valley. But I like it. I think it's good to see another side of life every now and then. Plus, living up here on this gorgeous hill, it's like we've go the best of both worlds. We get to roam around in nature and have deer in our yard and chickens in our barn (not yet, but soon) and all the fun of country life, all while the city is just minutes (seconds) away. It's pretty cool. Except when I was at the ATM today, this very tall, mentally ill, black man came up to me and poked me in the side while I was making my transaction. Yes, he came up to me and touched me with his finger, in my side. Bless his heart, he was just looking for some change, but IT FREAKED ME OUT. I mean he was harmless, but jeeze...when someone walks up to you at an ATM and pokes you in the side....well lets just thank the Good Lord it was just his finger! And also luckily I had no cash, it was broad daylight, there were LOTS of people around. Anyway, that was not so cool.
The other neat thing about living here is that there is SO much to do. And we've been doing it! We are two minutes away from the Oakland Zoo. Some friends and I took the kids there today. It was really fun, the sun came out and the kids really had a good time. It's a great zoo.
We're also minutes away from all kinds of beautiful parks (like the one in my last post) and hiking trails, Lake Chabot (we go here at least once a week for a walk/jog), and Chabot Space and Science center (we've been there twice already since we moved in). I really can't wait to get out and do some exploring!
Plus, we're also just a 20 minute BART ride from San Francisco. We've already been over there this month too! The kids and I just keep making a list of all the places we want to go see and do. So, is this a cool place to live?-ABSOLUTELY! Despite my negativity about the weather, we are all pretty happy to be here and are enjoying it.

Other random stuff:
Pretty much since we moved in Pete has been working nights. It's fun to have him here during the day, but him coming home at 4 o'clock in the morning and me cooking the family dinner and eating by 4:30 in the afternoon is taking it's toll on me. I sort of feel like either we have a newborn baby, or we're really old people. Like the senior citizens at Denny's having dinner at 4 in the afternoon! Plus it's just kind of exhausting. I always end up staying up late when he's not home at night, then of course I wake up when he gets home, and then he doesn't come straight to bed so then I either lie in bed awake or drift off only to be awoken again an hour later when he does come to bed. Then I'm awake again just 2 hours later to get up for the day with the kids. So that's where my newborn baby reference comes from. The up/down/up/down thing.
This is supposed to be his last night on nights. *whew*
The second night on this job, Pete cut his hand really bad. He ended up with 12 stitches total in between his thumb and fore-finger on his right hand. The doc said he cut an artery and was very, very close to needing major reconstructive surgery and losing the use of his thumb. So basically he almost cut his thumb off. It was only God's grace that he didn't!
We also have already started some of our homeschooling curriculum. Nicole had asked what we were going to use and 90% of what I chose has come from Evan Moor. I chose this publisher for Reading, Grammar, Science and Geography. I'm also looking into getting their History Pockets too. I just really like the way these workbooks are set up. There's no guess work. Everything is set up in short, concise, daily exercises. It's not overwhelming, but the kids (even Megan) are learning a lot from it. So far so good. These would also be great to supplement regular school learning simply because they're so short. And for home school it's really easy to supplement the lessons with library books and other projects. So I like it. Still looking for a math curriculum though. And I'm dreading it.
Anyway, so that's about it. BUSY BUSY BUSY! But fun!

Wordless Wednesday.

2010-07-21T18:21:00.001-07:00

Tilden Park, Berkeley

Wow.

2010-07-13T21:33:00.001-07:00

The view tonight is AH-MAZING! I don't have a camera that even comes close to giving it justice. This is the first night we haven't had any fog. I can see all the way to the golden gate and a beautiful crescent moon is delicately hanging over the bay. I could get used to this :) Wish I had someone to share it with. Pete is working nights this week. :(

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