Overheard

M: Jake! You threw away my lipstick!
J: don't worry about it Megan.
M: but Jake! Now I won't be pretty!
J: don't worry about it! Megan, if you wear too much make-up no boys are ever gonna like you. And you'll NEVER get married! Boys do not like girls with lots of make-up.

That conversation totally made me laugh. Maybe he IS learning something. :) hopefully he can teach her. But who ever listens to their brother?


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Tuesday. Sort of akward iPhone post

Summer is finally here! It still isn't hot but it has been pleasantly warm. Which I like. We've been lounging in the baby blow up pool most of the day.



This girl would be out here in the pool 'swimming' from sun up to sun down. A girl after my own heart.



This boy would catch bugs all day if I let him. I've never seen anyone so affectionate about bugs. Ever.



We took a break for frozen yogurt.



Oh my goodness was it delicious! It was such a treat. Thank goodness this place is way across town or I would be there every day.
So that's it for now. Just enjoying the summer and the last few days we have in our little red house.


Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Random Thursday

It is Thursday, right?
With summer here it all seems to be the same.
Here are some (surprise!) random things going on around here:

* Moving day has been pushed back a little. I knew I shouldn't have said anything. Or set my mind to one thing. Because every time I do that it just backfires! It's fine. Better, actually. Moving day: July 1st. We went over there last Saturday and there's just still so many little things that need to get done. And it's better they get done before we move in. So it's ok. But I'm really getting tired of living in/out of/and around boxes.
* It seems like there's just so many changes going on all at once. Not only are we moving, but so are my in-laws. Pete's parents are moving at the exact same time we are. They're moving to the mountains. And one of his sisters and our little niece are moving all the way across country to Georgia. Again--same time everyone else is moving. Here we all were in this little town and now it seems we're all leaving. It's weird. And bitter sweet. I will miss my Cate. But I'm happy for her and her momma.
* It's official we will start homeschooling in August. We heard from our teacher yesterday and confirmed our enrollment. Which I mean, I knew was going to happen, but it's nice to have the official word. Now it's on to finding curriculum. Oh. My. Gosh....is it EVER overwhelming! There is just SO much to choose from. And what if I don't like it? What if he doesn't like it? What if he doesn't learn anything? Do I really need curriculum for spelling and handwriting?? What about math? Everyone says "use Saxon math" but it looks horrendous. I do not like it. My head seriously spins over this stuff.
* I am craving sugar right now. and pizza. Grilled pizza.
* In the process of moving, I've been able to get rid of a TON of stuff. I went through my closet a few weeks ago and had about 3 bags full of clothes that no longer fit or were just way out of style. I did keep some of my 'bigger' clothes mostly because they're nice and I just felt like well i just can't get rid of it. And I think I just haven't quite wrapped my head around just how much weight i've lost. I put a pair of khaki's on the other day that I figured would be a little big...but um...I could have filled them with water and swam in them. They were huge. Was I really that big? Apparently. YES. I was.
* And clothes that are too big look worse on than clothes that are too small. Mostly anyway.
* I don't like blogs that come up in my feed reader that make me click over to read the whole post. It bugs me. Please don't make your feed do that.
* I feel like summer is already shrinking away. Even though it's only June.
* Ten things I will not miss about living here: 1. the wind-it's awful. 2. doors that don't close-my front door will not stay closed unless it's locked. 3. windows that don't work 4. neighbors. 5. home owners associations 6. garage doors that break 7. neighbors 8. home owners associations. 9. grass to mow 10. again-- the wind.
* The number 1 thing I will miss: Convenience! Living in a suburb every thing is right here. Costco, Target, Wal-mart, Safeway, McDonalds, Michaels, the gas station and bank are all within 5 minutes from my house. I'll be driving to everything when we move. That's going to take some getting used to.

Anyway....I've rambled on long enough yes?
Happy Thursday
It is Thursday, right?

Ten on Tuesday.

Oh how I've negleted you, blog. Please forgive me. Things will return to somewhat normal soon. I hope.
It has been a little crazy around here. It's not that I've had a lack of things to blog about at all. Just lack of time and energy. Here is the abridged version of some happenings around here:

1. Moving date: aprox. T minus ten days. Approximately because the new house is having some work done before we move into it and we're not exactly sure when it will be done. I need to start thinking about utilities...turning off here and turning on there. Moving is such a hassle.
2. More about moving: We're going to have a fantastic view. I mean it's just breathtaking. I never ever thought I'd be living in Oakland. But you know...if I have to live there, I think we've got pretty much the best part of it, right in our back yard. Plus, did I mention that the house sits on three acres? Yeah. My kids are totally going to LOVE that. We all are! Our nearest neighbors? Some of our best friends. How lucky are we? Pete's commute?? Um...it's going from 2 hours to 30 minutes. FANTASTIC!
3. The house itself is a little funky. It's old and hasn't even been lived in in about 3 years. The owners are family friends and just happened to decide to rent it out right when we really needed to. I feel so blessed to be able to live in such a great place. Since it hadn't been lived in in a while, obviously there were some things that needed to be tended too. They've replaced all the flooring and put fresh paint in for us. The only thing I'm worried about is the kitchen. It's TINY. and old. And TINY. But I'll make due. :)
4. The school situation: Well this is the part where I say "never say never". To put it bluntly, the schools in Oakland are just bad. Horrible. Ghetto even. Not all of them, but the majority are. Though our home will be in a nice area, the school we are zoned for is not. I'm talking bars on the windows, bars on the corner, drug deals going down around the next street. And after the year we had in first grade...I'm just not willing to sacrifice anymore for Jake (or Megan's) education. So. We've decided to homeschool. It's not something I ever really thought I'd be doing. Not because I'm against it, or because I think it's weird or anything. Just because I never thought that I, personally, could handle it. Patience is not a virtue that I have. The program I've signed up for is technically an independent study program through a charter school. This means he will still be held to all the state standards and requirements, we will have a teacher to help us along the way, there are group classes and field trips, and best of all: FUNDING. In California, charter schools are public so each child enrolled receives funding for curriculum like any other public school student. (hooray!!) This is going to be a BIG change for us. And I assume there will be quite a bit of an adjustment period. But I'm willing and ready to take this on. And...I actually think it's going to be great.
5. This house is an absolute mess. There are boxes and paper and STUFF everywhere. I'm not sure how much longer I can take the mess.
6. Pete was in Alaska for a week. Yes, again! I'm so glad he's home so he can start helping me pack this stuff.
7. Pete's dad asked me the other day if I thought I'd miss this house at all. Without hesitation my answer was: NO. I really won't. Well, I will miss my kitchen. But not really anything else about this house. I found some stuff the other day from when we were first buying this place. The plans and specs, the options we picked out from the designer, the artist sketch of the neighborhood. As I thumbed through it, there was a slight pinch of sadness. Well...I'm not even sure I'd call it that. But it brought back the feelings of when we were first moving here. How excited we where. How great we thought it would be living here in this quaint "perfect" little neighborhood. But most of all, I realized how quickly that luster wore off. As I fill boxes one by one, I really feel no emotional connection to this house. And the more I think about it, I'm not sure I ever really had one.
8. This is our 2nd full week of summer vacation. Although, now with our decision to homeschool...does summer vacation even count? ha! Anyway. It just barely feels like summer. The last day of school it was so cold and rainy we needed jackets! This week has been a little warmer. Just warm enough for shorts. I guess I better get used to it. It doesn't really get hot in Oakland!
9. I've made a new goal for the month of July. Well I'm hoping anyway. I want to walk/jog 100 miles. Broken down, it's only about 3.2 miles a day. I think I can do that. I just want to keep doing what I've been doing. I still don't LOVE exercise. But I love the changes I see in my body. When I started all this all I wanted to do was lose weight. I knew I'd have to move more and eat less. I never actually expected I'd be physically fit. I mean, I have muscle! Even when I was super skinny, I never had muscle tone. :)
10. As of today I'm down 39 pounds from where I started at the end of January. One pound away from my goal. I'm the thinnest I've been since before Jake was born. My dress size only has one digit! Now that I'm staring my magic goal weight in the face, I realize it's more than just a number on a scale or some random number I picked out of the air. But more about a real lifestyle. I can't just quit now that I'm here. And I won't. I'm not going to take this for granted again.

The View.

From our new house:



What? Can't tell what that is? Lets zoom in.....


Best I could do with an iPhone pic. It's much better in person. And this is only half of it. If you stand on our back porch you can see the San Mateo Bridge and the entire peninsula. Can you imagine this view at night?!
We're about 3 or 4 weeks till moving day.

10 Things.

1. The kids and I spent Saturday with mom at her house for mothers day. It was fun, but I wished it could have been longer. I ♥ her.
2. Sunday Pete's sisters, his mom, and I went to San Francisco for lunch and to see Wicked.
3. We got lost several times. Apparently, none of us have a very good sense of direction.
4. But we finally made it to Buca di Beppo for lunch. They have a delicious apple gorgonzola salad that I'm trying to recreate for dinner tonight.
5. We had about 20 minutes to make it to the theater before the show started after lunch. The concierge at the hotel across the street gave us directions. Of course we didn't follow them.
6. And we found ourselves smack in the middle of The Tenderloin. The Wiki article makes it sound much better than it actually is. Basically it's Skid Row. Very, very bad area.
7. When you're in San Francisco and it smells like sh*t, chances are it's because there is literally sh*t near by. And not of the dog variety. Watch your step. *shudder*
8. Luckily, we were just 2 blocks down from where we needed to be, so we were out of there pretty quick. Thank goodness!
9. We got to the top of 6th and Market with only about 5 minutes to curtain and 2 blocks to go. So of course we started running. I was in some really cute wedge heals, that were surprisingly comfortable, running and all. And then....about 10 steps from the doors, my right ankle gave out and I was *thiiiisss* close to skidding face first the rest of the way. I saved myself though. Oh I never laughed so hard at myself. You should have seen the people standing around. I gave 'em a great show. It was quite hilarious.
10. We made it to our seats about 30 seconds before they dimmed the lights! Wicked was a great show. If you're not familiar, it's the back story to the witches of OZ. You find out how the Wicked Witch of the West becomes green, how she becomes wicked, how the scarecrow, the tin man and the lion all come to be...It's well written and a really cute/slightly tragic story. It wasn't my favorite Broadway show, but I still want to see it again and I want to take my mom next time. I love going to the theater!

Wednesday. Random.

1. I seriously doubt I'll come up with ten things, but we'll see. Does this count as one?
2. Avocados are on sale this week 4 for a dollar. That's great except THEY ARE ALL ROCK HARD. Like you could play an entire game of Major League Baseball with these suckers. Tell me, what is the point of an unripened avocado?
3. I really dislike road construction. Especially when I'm the lead car after being stopped by the flagger. The guy gave me no real direction and there were no orange cones to follow and guys in orange t-shirts all over the newly paved road. I didn't know where I was supposed to go. Drive on the fresh pavement? don't? Follow that tractor that pulled out in front of me? Don't? *ugh* it's just annoying. I'm a follower not a leader. And that goes for more than traffic.
4. I would have thought by now that exercise would be easier. Well, the act of exercise is MUCH easier, but I still have to talk myself into actually doing it most days. Sometimes, I just don't wanna. The thought of lifting up the weights or the thought of another squatting side-kick makes me cringe. But some how I always convince myself to do it anyway. And I always end up feeling better after I do. Last week I had a real busy day and I just didn't get a work out in. I felt like crap. Because I knew I cheated myself. I totally could have worked out and chose not to.
5. Finally, now that the school year is just about done, I finally feel like I have some sort of support, some sort of idea of what Jake has been doing in class and how to help him succeed into the next year. And it didn't even come from his own teacher. I spoke about my frustrations with his teacher and things many times before. To give you a better idea...I have only ever seen maybe 5 spelling tests and 3 or 4 other small projects that Jake has done at school for THE ENTIRE YEAR. I never see any worksheets (except for the few math worksheets he has for homework), never any writing assignments, no journals, NO ART PROJECTS, nothing. Anyway, last week while the 2nd graders in his class worked on the state's standardized tests, the 1st graders where sent to other classes. Jake went to the same class as his after school teacher. We had a long talk Thursday afternoon when I picked him up. She told me she wished Jake would have been in her class all year, and how well he did that week with her. She gave me tips on what we can do this summer to keep up his reading and writing (fun things). Tips on how to build up is confidence and independence . And most importantly: a STACK of work he had done in class that week. I mean, a folder spilling with things like a butterfly life cycle, stories he'd written, science worksheets, spelling games, vocabulary, things he'd cut and pasted. It was almost a relief to see all that work. I'm not sure why exactly, but it was SO nice to just KNOW what he was doing...What he was learning. Finally!
6. I need to write her a really nice note because tomorrow is his last after school session with her for the year.
7. We found a house! And it has more than one bathroom! I'll give more details as it draws nearer to our move. Which I still don't have a specific date for but it will be sometime in June. We are truly lucky and are blessed with awesome friends who helped us find this place. I think it's going to be awesome.
I think that's all I got for now. See, I knew I couldn't come up with 10. Oh well. You still love me, right? ;)

10 on Tuesday.

And it really is Tuesday this time! woo hoo!

1. Had a great weekend in Monterey and Santa Cruz this weekend to celebrate Pete's Birthday. We took the kids to the Monterey Bay Aquarium on Saturday which is ALWAYS cool.
2. Sea horses are awesome. I know...how random and weird is that statement? But it's true. The aquarium had a new exhibit on sea horses. It was just so neat. They come in all different sizes and shapes and colors. And the males birth the babies. It's the only species known to do that. (I'm sorry, I'm a bit of a ocean/sea life nerd.)
3. I wanted to be a marine biologist when I grew up.
4. This whole "diet" thing can be hard when we go out of town. Especially at breakfast. Man, all I really want was a piece of french toast. Or a waffle. Or hash browns. mmmm. hash browns. But yeah, that doesn't quite fit into the "plan".
5. I just don't like eggs. (see #4) I've tried. I really have. But I just don't. Unless they're wrapped in a tortilla, smothered in salsa, cheese, potatoes, and sausage. Or bacon. Bacon! Not in the "plan".
6. It's official. We're moving. I know I said that before, but I wasn't 100% sure. There was still that 2% slight chance of having to wait again. But we got official word yesterday so now I'm on the hunt for a new place and quick!
7. Schools and bathrooms (of all things) have been way more of a concern about house hunting than I imagined it would be. We can find places in the area we like with great schools...but the houses seem to only have 1 bathroom. Like for real. 95% of them only have ONE. I mean, it's do-able, but....not desirable for a family of 4. We can find great houses with 2 bathrooms in neighboring areas, but the schools are bad. Like really bad.
8. Trying to get the kids to help out a little more with chores. Jake has been responsible for the dogs for quite a while now. Probably since he was about 4 1/2. I recently started having him empty the dishwasher too. At first he was all for it, but now he sort of despises it. I don't blame him. Why do you think I'm asking him to help out? ;) isn't that what kids are for? kidding. sort of. I need to find something for Megan to do though. I think maybe I'll start her off with the cat, like we did Jake and the dogs.
9. We found out today that Jake's teacher is going to be absent all week. She had a horrific family emergency. Her nephew was killed in a rafting accident. I feel just awful for her and her family right now. Praying for their comfort.
10. I need someone to deliver a giant dumpster to the front of my house. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed by the "stuff" that needs to get packed up around here. I think tossing it and starting "fresh" would be SO much easier!

10 things...

1. wish i had a picture for this post, but don't.
2. how is it i'm just now really getting into shopping at Carters and OshKosh? went to the outlet here in town because Jake has outgrown his pants again and it's very hard to find pants that fit him. he is super skinny so we need a slim fit with adjustable waist bands. anyway, i got each kid 2 or 3 outfits, everything was on sale, and i had a coupon so i only spent 50 bucks. my kind of shopping!
3. this weather blows! it's cold and rainy again. the weekend is supposed to be really nice though. so i guess i can deal.
4. i am 25 lbs lighter than i was on January 24th. 15lbs to go.
5. i finally, finally used my iTunes gift card! And...this is exactly what I thought would happen. i can. not. stop. Totally addicted. Note to parents, relatives, friends, random gift givers: I will gladly accept an iTunes gift card for any (but not limited to) of the following holidays + my birthday: mothers day, memorial day, flag day, national ice cream day, 4th of july etc...
6. caller ID. quite possibly one of the last century's greatest inventions. there is this stupid debt collector that keeps calling here. over and over and over all. day. long. they are not calling for us. They are calling for someone else with the same last name. I've talked to them, Pete has talked to them...yet they still keep calling. We tell them we do not know, nor are we related to the person they are looking for. Yet they still keep calling. It is SO FREAKING ANNOYING. We only answered in the first place because I thought it would make them stop. But! they! don't! thank goodness for caller id and the fact that i don't have to answer the phone. But still the ringing every hour is driving me nuts.
7. Jake got an award at school the other day. It's kind of like Student of the Month, only they seem to do it a little different at his school. I think it used to be random selection when I was a kid...you know pull a name out of a hat type of thing. Here they pick a kid from every class that displays either trustworthiness, respect...ummmm and some other ones that I forgot! woops. anyway, Jake got the award for respect in his class this month. we were invited to the assembly where he was presented his award by the principal. and it was good that Pete got to go too since he had the day off. I'm proud of him. He really is a good kid and has been really shinning lately with his attitude around home and his schoolwork. Now, if he and Megan could just stop bickering about everything.....
8. Glee! I recently discovered that some people either a) don't watch this show at all or b) don't like it. For serious?! I don't get it. I just think it's fantastically written and the music is great. Some people say they just don't get it. Maybe go back and watch the pilot episode. But i dunno. I was a drama/art geek in high school and i think that's why i like it so much. plus Sue Sylvester.
9. there! goes! the phone! again! ARG!
10. It's finally time to say good bye to our house. It's been almost 2 years and I know I've sort of thought it would happen before, this time I'm 98% sure we will be moving by June. I'm ok with it. happy actually. i will miss my kitchen and possibly the pool and walking trail. but that's all. i'm ready to move on. we haven't found a place yet, but we're looking. and i haven't packed one thing yet. yes, i'm sort of starting to panic.

Being tourists...

Some of the best things come out of not well thought out plans. Last Friday I was going to take the kids up with my step sister, Kelly to Daffodil Hill. I got up Friday morning and got on the computer to make sure I had the directions to get there. Thank goodness I did, because we would have made a long drive for no reason. Apparently, all of said daffodils were dead. There was a late season snow storm a few days before and sent all the pretty flowers back underground. :( We decided to drive to Kelly's anyway. I knew we'd figure out something to do. We hemmed and hawed a little and finally decided to go hang out in Coloma for the day. Coloma is my old hometown. Coloma is the place where James Marshall discovered a big ol chunk of gold while working at the saw mill in 1848 which triggered the California Gold Rush of 1849. Living about 3 miles from this place, I learned A LOT about the gold rush growing up.
Anyway, though I'd been to the park many, many times before, I don't think I enjoyed it as much as I did with my kids last Friday. When we were teenagers we used to go down to the park to watch the rafters come down the American River and see if they'd make it out of Satan's Cesspool. Or watch our idiot friends jump off the bridge. There was no way I'd ever do that! But it had been a long time since I'd actually played tourist in my own hometown.
It was a much better idea to go to Coloma than it ever would have been to see some silly flowers. Why didn't I think about it before? Jake absolutely loved it. We were lucky enough to be there on a day when they had people working the park in period (1850's) attire and were able to answer questions about being pioneers and miners. The first place we stopped was Brekart's store where I paid 7 dollars for Jake to pan for gold. Seriously, we could have spent the entire day doing just this. He, lover of all treasures, was fascinated and completely entertained.


After about 45 minutes of this we finally convinced him to go look at something else! We walked through all the buildings, went to the small museum, walked along the gold discovery trail, and took lots and lots of pictures. Funny, I guess since I'd been there so many times, I didn't take any pictures of the actual things that were there, like the mill or the Chinese house or the miners cabin. Just pictures of us! LOL! And the kids were seriously posing that day. Megan is all about being a Fashonista and Jake is all about being a rock star or Elvis, or something. They are quite funny these days.
Any how...we had a great day and spent the rest of the weekend with my dad. It was so nice to actually do something on spring break besides just sit at home and wait for the week to be over.
Only 6 more weeks of school though! I can't believe it. Yet I'm glad for it. This year has been rough and i can't wait for a new start for Jake. Hoping we get a great teacher for 2nd grade.

Wednesday. 10

1. I took this picture today. I kind of love it. It's a little on the green side, but i don't care. He's cute. I'm still mad at my camera. It just doesn't focus like it used to :(
2. So far spring break has been pretty awesome. Monday morning I wasn't thinking that way. By 10am the kids weren't talking to each other and Jake wasn't talking to me. But it was all quickly resolved. (a few bribes and a threat took care of it. I'm not ashamed)
3. I am more than half way there on my weight loss goal. I can't believe the difference I can see and feel. And really in such a short period of time. I've lost weight before, but I've never really put my whole self into it like I am now. It's why I haven't been blogging, it's why I really, really need a maid, but it's also why I can fit into my old jeans.
4. Easter was really boring. It was cold and rainy. We didn't even hide eggs. And it was just the 4 of us for the day. But boring or not, it was still awesome to just be together. Thankful for that.
5. Sometimes I'm completely amazed by my kids. In a good way. We were talking about the Crucifixion and the Resurrection. Jake wanted to know why the people wanted to kill Jesus and why did he have to die? If He is God, couldn't He have stopped it? Then without Pete or I saying another word he says "He died so we could live". Exactly.
6. Today is my mom's birthday. Happy birthday mom! I have a TON of people on my birthday list this month. I must really like Aries and Torus'.
7. Been watching Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. Love that show. Love what he's trying to do. It's funny...When I worked in child care, we were on the government food program. We actually made and served (and ate) some of the exact foods he was preparing in the school in the first episode. We LOVED potato pearls! LOL! But yeah, gross. I still can't get over how a veggie full chow mein and and chicken is not 'ok' according to the government standards but a lousy fried chicken sandwich and french fries is. Does that seem ass backwards to anyone else?? They have to know that they look like idiots for arguing with him on that point, right?
8. My house is messy right now. Not dirty, just messy. It's buggin me. Major overhaul tomorrow. Much cleaning to be done.
9. Looking forward to Friday. Going to see my dad and take the kids to Daffodil Hill. It's just a popular local place to go in spring where they *obviously* have tons of daffodils :) Hopefully we'll get some good pics.
10. TEN! I don't even know what to say for this one. hm......

Uh...10 on Wednesday?

1. I can't believe an entire week..no wait..more than a week has gone by already! I don't feel like I've been crazy busy or anything...just preoccupied maybe? And priorities are shifting I think. Not going to stop blogging though!
2. Spring has sprung around here! Oh man am i loving it! Today it's 73*! I'm wearing a tank top AND flip flops! Holla!
3. All the trees in my neighborhood (ok, not all but a LOT) look just like this one to the left. Thank goodness I don't have allergies. You can smell these things all over the neighborhood. So pretty though!
4. I haven't been taking a lot of pictures lately. Sadly, the ones I have taken have been with my iPhone. I know, right? I think it's actually time to get a new SLR. My little Rebel just doesn't seem to be performing like it used to. I dunno if it's me or the camera or the lens...but I just haven't been happy with it lately. It sucks though..because you think when you spend that kind of money on something, it should last more than 3 years, right?
5. Jake set up this awesome little leprechaun trap last night. He got a box without a lid, then made a ladder for the little guy to climb up onto a "fake" lid with a camouflaged hole in it. So the thing would drop into the box and then not be able to get out. He even taped is very precious gold coins onto the fake lid to lure the leprechaun. Pretty ingenious if you ask me. Now if you know Jake, you know his gold coins and any of his "treasure" are about the most important things to him in the world. So do you think it was really mean of me to come down here this morning and steal the gold coins from the trap to make it look like the leprechaun took them? I just wanted to give him a "genuine" leprechaun trap experience. He said he didn't care that he took them. But I think we all know he DOES care.
6. Do you die food green on St Patricks day? I don't. I've always thought that was kind of gross. Green eggs and ham? Blech. No thank you.
7. I still haven't used my iTunes gift card. BUT! I did tag 3 songs on iHeartRadio that I want to download. So...that's progress, yeah?
8. I bought a stinky candle from the kid across the street today. (yeah, that kid. the one i don't like. the one with the wacky parents) I don't know why I can't say no. I mean he did ask nicely and all. But did I need a candle? NO. And then it was weird. A few hours later, the dad comes over to thank me. I mean, I guess that's nice, right? I just get so nervous now every time the parents knock on my door. I'm paranoid about some sort of confrontation.
9. Did I mention how nice the weather is?! I think I'm going to go on my 2nd walk of the day when Megs gets up from her nap.
10. Yellow is my favorite color right now. I know it probably clashes with my red hair something terrible, but I can't help it. I love it! Yellow and gray together-total favorite.

That's 10! Happy Wednesday and Happy St. Patrick's Day!

10 on Tuesday

1. Sometimes I try and be a "nice" mom and I buy things that I'm so sure my kids will LOVE. Like sugary cereal. Don't all kids like that nasty stuff? I am not a fan of sugary cereal. Or really any cereal for that matter. If I have to eat it, give me some Corn Flakes or something. Well apparently, I've passed this trait down to my children. I bought them Lucky Charms last week. They hate it. Absolutely hate it. You'd think I was giving them a bowl full of cough medicine. They want Rice Chex. (not that this is a bad thing)
2. I'm completely annoyed by most drivers lately. It's like....do they even realize there are other people on the road? No.
3. I kind of had a hard weekend on the weight loss train. I didn't go off the program or anything, but I did learn that Not Having A Plan is a very bad thing. We made a hasty stop at a McDonald's Sunday afternoon. I wasn't really that hungry, but I thought I'd better eat something, because I wasn't sure when the next opportunity would arise. So I thought I'd chosen smart with the Grilled Chicken Sandwich. WRONG. The stupid thing was 9 WW points. That's A LOT. I decided quickly that I did not want to sacrifice so many points on one lame-o sandwich so I decided to only eat half. Which ended up being only 3 bites. And I was starving for the rest of the day.
4. I probably would have been better off and more satisfied if I'd just gotten a regular cheeseburger. At least those taste good.
5. I still have not used my iTunes gift card.
6. I keep having dreams that I'm running in a race. I'm a really awesome runner in my dreams. I never feel winded and I always feel like I could run forever. It's nothing like when I'm running in real life.
7. Since I often have strange dreams I like to look them up for dream interpretations.....apparently when you dream your running with other people (like in a race) it symbolizes prosperity and happy times. That's good!
8. Why is it when you lose weight, you notice it in the weird places first? Seriously I noticed it in my fingers, ankles and my boobs first. What about that muffin top? why can't we see it there first? Well, I am starting to see it all over now and I'm not quite ready to go down a jean size....but I might need to start wearing a belt :)
9. I'm really super proud of Jake lately. We got his report card last week and he's improved a lot since the beginning of the year. It's been tough. Honestly I can not wait for the school year to be over. And I'm praying he does not get stuck in a split grade class again next year. With him being so young as it is, AND the only boy in his grade in the class....ugh it's just not been good. But he's really pushed through it. I recommend SpelllingCity.com to anyone with grade school kids. Using this site along with regular homework has improved his spelling, reading, writing and fluency so much.
10. We went to the ranch on Sunday to pick up the last of Pete's things. But really, it deserves it's own post. More on that later.

Make this now!

Oh my word!!
Seriously people stop what your doing (after you read this of course) and go to the store and get the stuff to make this dinner. Like now. It is that good. Everyone in here loved it. There were no left overs; not even a tiny bit. I will definitely be adding this to my regular rotation.

Pineapple Glazed Chicken with Jalapeno Pineapple Salsa
(adapted from a recipe at Epicurious.com)

Salsa:
3/4 cup fresh pineapple diced into 1/4 inch cubes (i'm sure canned pineapple would work fine if you can't find fresh)
3 Tblsp finely diced red bell peper
2 Tblsp diced red onion
2 Tblsp chopped fresh cilantro
1 Tblsp diced jalapeno (without the seeds it will not be so hot)

Mix all that together and splash a little bit of pineapple juice over it just to get the flavors mixing.

Chicken:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts patted dry and seasoned with salt and peper
1-2 Tblsp olive oil

Heat a skillet on medium high heat add olive oil and let it get hot.
Add chicken and brown on each side
Once the chicken is done, remove it to a plate and wipe your skillet sort of clean

Glaze: (this is the goooood part!) I doubled this recipe
1/4 cup pineapple juice (i used caned juice that I found by the 'ethnic' juices...like coconut, and mango etc...)
2 Tblsp brown sugar
2 Tblsp yellow mustard ( i used spicy brown mustard because it was what I had)

In your skillet on medium low add in the juice, brown sugar and mustard and whisk together. Bring to a boil and let it simmer for a minute till it thickens a bit. Then add the chicken back to the skillet and let it all warm together, spooning the sauce over the chicken.

And surprisingly, even as good as this is...it is low in WW points. Aprox. 4pts per serving and I calculated it at 4 servings.

Serve with Cilantro Lime Rice (tastes just like Chipotle's) and black beans.

10 on Tuesday

I thought since I had a bunch of random stuff to blog about (what's new?!) I'd just go ahead and jump in on this 10 on Tuesday stuff :)

1. Thank you so much for your support and encouraging words about parenting last week. I really appreciate it. It's a constant challenge and I'm finding I'm always learning, changing and growing from being a parent.

2. I got an iPhone last week. I SO did not need one. You know sometimes you just gotta go ahead and get what you want regardless if it is a necessity or not. I have a hard time with this. I tend to just walk through a store and talk myself out of things. But I didn't do that this time. And you know what? I got a great deal on it, so it didn't take much convincing. I'm having so much fun with it. There's an app for everything!

3. I'm really enjoying the Hipstamatic camera app. The photo above was taken with it. Ali just announced she's going to do the week in the life project again this spring. Since I didn't finish it last fall, I'm thinking maybe doing it this year and using my iPhone for the pics. I'm kinda diggin' the whole Polaroid/Photo booth look to these pictures and think it would make for a fun album.

4. Is iTunes as intimidating to anyone else as much as it is to me? I've never been a song downloader. Never had an iPod or MP3 player...nothing like that. So now I have this phone that is also a music player and Pete just happened to win a $50 iTunes gift card the other day and I have no idea what to do with it. I mean I DO.... But I'm totally overwhelmed with choices. I love music. Where do I start? How would I ever stop? My current faves? But what about my best oldies? Do i mix genres or just go with one for now and get that out of the way? See, I totally over think things. So this gift card is just sitting here. Waiting for me to make up mind about what to do with it.

5. Weight loss/exercise update: It's been 5 weeks and I'm still going strong! I've lost 12 lbs so far and I've moved up to level 3 of the 30 day shred. I NEVER thought I could ever get there. I feel really good and I'm starting to feel like myself again. I still have a long way to go. I'm going for the gold this time. I keep looking at it like going over little hurdles until I get to the finish line. I don't really have any other goals except just getting there. In the past I've done it because I was going on a vacation or whatever. And then once that was over so was the whole "plan". This time I'm doing it for me.

6. Eating well has really not been that difficult. I've found some really great recipes that the whole family likes. Like this and this and this (such a great blog!) We really like tacos and burritos here in our house. I switched over to whole wheat tortillas a few weeks ago. I thought for sure everyone would complain. Turns out they all like them better than regular old flour! Who knew?!

7. Still enjoying our new "normal" around here. Pete has still been busy with business, but since the ranch part of it is out of the equation, it has been SO much better! He's been here Friday nights, guiding hunts Saturday mornings, home in the afternoon, and home all day Sunday. I know not every weekend is going to be that way, but I'm totally ok with that. So far, so good.

8. Really can not wait for spring. It's raining here again. I know rain is not as bad as snow. But I'm just ready to move on now :) I'm tired of wearing sweatshirts. And shoes.

9. Saturday night is our fundraiser dinner for the school PTA. Looking forward to that since it's adults only. :D There's also a silent and live auction and Pete has donated a hunt for it. I'm so curious to see how much it goes for. We already know of 3 or 4 parents who want to bid on it. So we'll see!

10. Oh! I finally watched Julie and Julia last night. What a cute movie! We are just in love with Amy Adams. She is adorable. And Meryle Streep...she's amazing. I teared up just a bit when Julia finally met her long time pen pall. Because...it's that sort of what we're doing here with blogging? Blogging is like the modern day pen pall. And I remember what it felt like meeting someone for the first time who I "knew" but never really met. So yeah...tears. I cry over everything!

Happy Tuesday

Parenting.

It's a constant learning experience. And seems to have to change and adapt to new things on a daily basis. Be warned...the first part of this post is a lot of crazy venting. But Pete brought me back down to Earth in the end.....
I need some honesty here people..... Is it her? Or is it my kid? I'm not sure I know anymore. I mean, I know my kid is not the golden boy. But he IS a boy and I've never met one that is perfectly behaved all of the time. I just don't think that exists. Do you? Didn't think so. Anyway, well you all remember the car scratching incident from last summer? If not read here. Oh yes...we're dealing with HER again. *ugh* i can't help it, but i really just want to scratch her eyes out. Anyway. So Jake is outside playing with the kid across the street. Since this summer, things have been much better. Jake seems to know when he just needs to leave T alone and come home. They've never really been the best of friends. They kind of are each others last resort when no one else is home. I've been very strict with Jake though, since the car incident. I really don't want him going over there. Playing in the front yard or driveway is fine, but I'm leery about letting him go in their house. I just don't feel comfortable anymore. And it seems like every time I let him, something happens. When the boys first started playing together (when they were about 4) Jake had gone over there for about an hour, came home and everything was fine. A few hours later, the mom comes knocking on my door accusing Jake of stealing the scissors that she uses to cut her kids wild mop. UH why would he do that?? I mean, kids do weird and dumb things. So yeah, ok, maybe he might of taken them. But Jake looked at her and me like we were both crazy. He didn't even know what we were talking about. There have been several other incidents like that and then the whole car thing and I was just done with it. I did however, let Jake go play with T at his house one afternoon a few weeks ago when it was raining. I gave him the strict lecture before heading out the door to be on his best behavior, clean up his mess...yadda yadda yadda... So he comes home at his required time like everything is fine. I ask him if he cleaned up his mess, he says yeah. Then low and behold 20 minutes later, here comes the mom knocking on the door saying Jake needs to come back over and clean up the mess he and T made. Seriously? Who does that?! If they are playing here and leave a mess then Jake gets to clean it up himself. Not that I don't want the other kids to help, but I realize that sometimes it just doesn't happen. They're kids.
SO TODAY Jake and T are outside playing Light Sabers and messing around in T's garage and everything seems fine. Jake comes home about an hour or so later. I ask him what's up an he just says "oh, I'm done playing". I figure ok, he must of got sick of T. *sigh* And then guess who shows up knocking on my door five minutes later?? You guessed it. The Wenchy Mom. And she's holding a cork screw/ bottle opener thingy. Maybe she just wants a glass of wine? HARDLY. Apparently, Jake was trying to cut a box with the corkscrew in their garage.
Are you as puzzled as I am about why this is such a big deal? I mean, she was pissed. And apparently she sent Jake home because of it. I mean, it's not like the thing had a knife on it. No, he probably shouldn't have been doing that. But again....they're kids. And boys to boot. You know what I'm saying? Boys are mischievous and don't always make the smartest choices. I'm sure he was just trying to make a 'ship' or some other thing that kids like to imagine a box is.
I guess what I'm asking is...Why does my kid end up in trouble every time he goes over there? If she doesn't like the kid, or doesn't like ME, then don't let him play there. I, for one, am DONE. I'm done. I'm done trying to be nice. I'm done trying to do the right thing.I'm done feeling like the black sheep of the neighborhood. I'm done lecturing my kid every time he goes out the door. I'm done listing to all her crap. He simply will not play there again.
Side note: I just had a revelation....NO WONDER why her kid is such a freaking tattle tail. BECAUSE HIS MOM IS THE BIGGEST TATTLE TAIL ON THE BLOCK!
I KNOW Jake is not a bad kid. But you know what? He feels like he is a bad kid when he gets in trouble every 5 minutes. You tell a kid they're dumb, they'll think they're dumb. You tell a kid he's bad and he's going to think he's bad.
Anyway I guess what I'm asking here is...Is there something I'm missing as a parent? Is there something I'm not saying or not doing? I know we all don't see certain things for what they really are sometimes. We all love our children and would never think of them as 'the kid you don't want to invite over'. I personally don't think my kid is that kid. I see him as a sweet, loving, smart, sometimes back talking and whining, lovable six year old kid who is thoughtful and kind most of the time. But maybe he's not? You know it usually goes like this: the kids are horrible when ever their parents are around, but awesomely behaved when they're not. Is Jake the opposite?
Leave it to Pete to put a good perspective on it. He just got home and I told him what happened. He put it simply: They just aren't raising their boy like we're raising ours. We think its awesome if Jake makes a cool boat out of a box , and if he cuts himself, well then he'll learn.
That man just tells it like it is. You want the truth? Ask Pete ;)
I'm not really here to bash any one's parenting skills or methods. We all do things differently. And this is a learning opportunity for me too.
And I guess that's all I have to say about that.

Normal.

I'm up in the middle of the night with excruciating pain in my left ear. Oh my gosh...i don't think I've ever experienced any thing quite like this! The whole side of my head is throbbing. Ear infection?? I don't know, but I'm waiting for the pain meds to kick in so I can maybe sleep. Then I guess I need to go see the dr. in the morning. Blah.
Anyway.....besides that, we had a great weekend. Dare I say it was "normal"? What is normal anyway? Well for us, the last 3 or 4 years, our normal has been much different that what I imagine other families are like. Our normal has been: Daddy gone all weekend and mommy and kids at home doing pretty much nothing. All that has been basically because of the ranch. The business required so much of Pete's time, that he just wasn't here. Sure, we'd go up there with him occasionally, but most of the time not. I got very used to being alone Friday and Saturday nights. Sitting up by myself, crafting or watching movies or both. I know it might seem bad to say, but I got very used to him not being here. I got used to being alone.
So a couple of weeks ago, Pete decided he'd had enough. There were several events that sort of led up to it. Not only did the ranch take up a lot of his time, but it was extremely stressful for him too. The maintenance alone, would drive someone insane. (he was working a regular job 4 days a week and then doing the ranch the other 3) One good thing would happen, and then 10 bad things would follow it. It just wasn't working. It wasn't working for him, and it certainly wasn't working for our family. In order to make it work the way he thought it should be, he basically would have had to let his family go. AND HE WASN'T/ISN'T WILLING TO DO THAT. Thank God. And so.....that part of our life is basically over. It's sort of sad. Especially after all the blood, sweat and tears that went into building the place.....and the memories that were created there for our family. But it's sort of a relief too. I know it's a big weight off his shoulders. But it's still been a little hard for him to completely let it go. I should mention that he's still running a business. He's still a hunting guide and that will still occupy some of his time, but we won't be dealing with that ranch anymore and so it's kind of a win-win for him. He still gets to do what he loves, it just won't be quite as stressful and it definitely won't take up nearly as much time. I'd say that's win-win for all of us :)
Anyway, so back to "normal"..... This weekend was not anything like the normal we were used to. But it was normal in the sense that we did normal things. And it was great. Friday night Pete and I had a date! Which, i don't think we've done in years. Probably not since Megan was born. Really. We went to Olive Garden for dinner and then to the movies. Saw Avitar and it was better than I expected. AND we were out till 11pm! OMG! It was like we were kids again! ha! Saturday Pete met a friend for breakfast and ran some errands in the morning and in the afternoon we were all home, with a house full of kids (nieces were here) and we just played. Normal! AND THEN we all went out to dinner again and went to the mall (I never go to the mall!) to buy me a new set of knives for Valentines day. Probably not so normal, but we were all together as a family, hanging out.....together! AND THEN Sunday we all got up and went to church. Together! Sunday afternoon, my mom came down and spent the night with us. Not normal, but still awesome :)
So, it felt good to just be home and be together. The eating out {and may i just interject that I didn't cheat once on my diet and skipped the movie popcorn!} and movies isn't really necessary, but was a nice bonus! I'm hoping for more of these "normal" weekends to come. :)
And now I better be off to bed. It seems the pain meds have kicked in and I better get some sleep before my ear is throbbing again!

Tuesday. bullet points.

*the picture really has nothing to do with this post but they are my kids and i think they are cute :)
*i am ok. good in fact. i know my last few posts have been a leeeettle bit heavy and depressing and negative. we'll just call that The Dark Period. and it is over. nothing a little bit of sunshine couldn't fix.
*it's still been raining here. a lot. but luckily it feels a tiny bit more spring like simply because the days/hours in between the rain have been dotted with sunshine. like liquid gold, i tell ya! fog is just depressing and oppressing, man.
*i have been focused. very, very focused (obsessive almost) the last 15 days. part of the 'slap in the face reality check' i got in my last post was the scale. ugh. i finally bought a bathroom scale. i got on it. and it was not pretty. like, i almost fainted when i saw the number. i probably threw up in my mouth a little bit. it was bad. i mean, i knew things were fitting a little tight....but seeing the actual number about brought me to my knees. it did bring me to tears.
*i went straight out and joined weight watchers and bought the 30 day shred dvd. I've been hitting my points, and 'shredding it' for the past 15 days. Sometimes i do the shred dvd 2ce a day and pilates in between. i'm insane, aren't i?? i think it's called desperate.
*i've lost 6lbs so far. many, many more to go. i'm not telling how many. but i'll let you know when i get there.
*we went to a really fun super bowl party on sunday. i kinda didn't really want to go. well, i did. i just thought i wasn't going to want to stay the whole time. turns out my social anxiety lost out and i had lots of fun. and didn't want to go when the game was over. :)
*there were a couple people there that i knew of, but didn't really know personally. and i will totally admit my judging a book by it's cover. i am soooo guilty of doing that. you know how women can be. turns out things aren't always what they seem. (DUH!) and i met two really nice people.
*during the game the kids were outside playing and riding motorcycles. (it's still light here when games come on!)
*right before Christmas we were at a friends house riding motorcycles and while Jake really liked it, he was super scared to do it on his own. sunday i was sitting in the house watching the game. i knew the kids were ridding, but i had no idea what Jake was doing. (i'm a great mother!) anyway, i stepped out onto the front porch to watch and all of a sudden i see my kid blazing sown the street all by himself! i could not believe it! it looked like he'd been doing it his whole life.
*now for the past 2 days he has talked about nothing except riding motorcycles. and when is he going to get his own motorcycle? and when can he go back to auntie kim's to ride the motorcycle?
*i think we've created a monster.

And that's about it. well, there is more..but i'm thinking it may require it's own post and i need to gather my thoughts on it a little more before writing.
Happy Tuesday.

It has a pretty crummy week. I'm not even entirely sure why, but I know some of it has to do with being slapped in the face by reality more times than I'd like to admit. I got some big time wake up calls and it left me irritated, confused and well....kind of mad and sad. I found my self letting every little thing get under my skin. My poor children. They were yelled at and told to "knock it OFF" way more than they should have. It was one of those weeks where you find yourself sitting in your car in the Kinko's parking lot, slamming your hands on the steering wheel, throwing your phone to the ground and having a big ugly cry about a stupid text message. And then driving all the way home, sobbing the entire way. All while your 3 year old sits in the back seat saying "it's ok mommy, don't cry...don't be sad". And then that just makes you cry even more.
Yeah. That was me yesterday. I was a blubbering mess.
And it wasn't even because of the text message. That, I guess, is just what sent me over the edge. All the stuff....everything had just been building up all week and it finally just burst out in the middle of a dang parking lot on a Thursday afternoon.
I guess everyone needs a good cry every now and then.
I know my life could be a lot worse.
I've got it pretty good.
*sigh*
Anyway. Today is better. And tomorrow will be better than today.
I want to thank Nicole. Because her posts the last couple days have really helped put things back into prospective for me.
Today she said:
.perception and reality are two completely different things. and no matter how much you twist and manipulate the perception, the reality is always still the same. it is best to keep them as close to each other as possible.
It was just the exact thing I needed to hear.

Rainy day project

Well, i think I'm over my January blues. At least for now...the sun came out for one day last week and that made me feel better.
Now we're in for 'Storm Watch: Twenty Ten'. You know they always make such a big deal out of it when it rains here. As if it never does or something. Anyway, it's supposed to rain like heck for the next week/maybe two.
This morning we all went out to the Walmart. Why is it I always spend WAY more money when Pete comes with me? Anyway... It was storming like crazy. Big heavy raindrops, pouring and windy. Megan so desperately wanted to hold the umbrella. The dang thing just about blew her away! It was kind of funny. But I guess you had to be there.
Anyway, after lunch I decided to get the kids into a project. I got them each a paper plate and put out some acrylic paints (I chose the colors) and then cut up an old file folder into 3x4.5 inch cards. And I let them go at it with the paint.





It kept them busy for a good hour since they both had 4 cards to paint.
When they were done, Megan went down for a nap, Jake went in the garage with Pete and I started cutting some shapes with my Slice. (which, BTW, quit working right GRRRR!)
When everything was dry, and I had cut out all that I could I strung them together like this:




I'm not a huge fan of Valentine's day, but I DO like the decorations. And since Jake never brings any art work home from school, it's nice to have some kid art up around the house.
And that's what we did today.