Just curious...

Ok, so we all know that am cheap. I've said it over and over again. Cheap, frugal, whatever you want to call it, I just don't like spending too much money on anything. Ever. Sometimes spending more than 100 dollars in a day can give me a tiny bit of a heart attack. Seriously. And I know it's stupid. You know what's even more stupid? If I spend 100 dollars today, that is bad. But if I spend 50 dollars today and 50 dollars tomorrow that is ok. How that logic works is beyond me. I know it makes no sense, but it's really how my little brain works. Anyway, I'm veering off of what I wanted to ask in the first place...
I read a lot of blogs. A lot. Most of them are moms, scrapbookers or crafters. And what I keep seeing over and over is these ladies talking about the dress they bought at J. Crew or the jeans they got at Anthropology. And then they link to said items and the dress was $198 ON SALE and the jeans were $250 bucks. And I mean, I see this all. the. time. These ladies that are stay at home moms and have 2 or more kids.
Am I really the only one that does not shop at these stores? Or really...Am I the only one that has never and probably will never buy a pair of jeans for two hundred dollars? Actually, $75 is probably my limit and that is like the tippy top of my limit.
I know I'm not the most fashion forward person. I mean, I call myself The Queen of Casual. Name brand for me, sadly, is Gap or *gasp* Old Navy. I know. I know.
So how many of you shop regularly at these 'higher end' stores?
What is your limit on jeans? Shoes? Handbag?
Am I really THAT cheap? Is it normal to drop 150 on jeans? Am I that out of the loop?

Now and Later

hmmm...I've had this blog for almost 3 years now and I only have 275 posts to date. Clearly I am not blogging enough.
My last post I promised 'more actual blog content' but then I think it's been over a week since I said that. Sorry.
I've been working on this scrapbooking class. Me: TAV (Me: The Abridged Version) It has quite a bit of journaling involved. Which means lots and lots of typing. And since it's about me, going through the process has been.....a little overwhelming, therapeutic, and a little exhausting. But fun! I know the end product will be awesome.
Anyway, so much of my time has been spent doing that.
Pete was gone again to Alaska. Yes, if you are the keeping score type, that would be the 2nd time in a year, 3rd time in 2 years and 2nd time in a matter of 3 months. Me? I canceled my trip. My one trip alone in 3 years. It's ok. No really. I'm not bitter. Honestly. I am very glad he is home safe and sound though. I got a little worried you know, when he's buying stuff like Bear Spray and carrying a satellite phone with a direct line to the Coast Guard. But all is well now.
This Fall is turning out to be pretty busy already.
Wednesday night we went to the Cub Scouts sign up. Oh my goodness was Jake ever excited. The kid could not stop talking about it since he brought the flier home from school a week ago. He wanted to bring his fishing pole and his bow and arrow to the meeting! We were like Dude, it's just the sign ups. He was having none of it! I'm glad to see him so excited about it though. Anyway so we go to the meeting. It seems like the current den is pretty small and in fact the Tiger Cubs (Jake's group) didn't even have a leader. I was stressing for a minute thinking I was going to have to step up and be the Den Mother. That sounds bad. It's not that I didn't want to. But it just seemed like a lot when I really would have no idea what I was doing. Luckily one of the dads stepped up. I'm just really hopping that they make it as fun as it sounds. I was in Girl Scouts as a kid and we kind of had a lame troop leader, we never did the camp outs or anything, there were only 4 of us in the troop. It pretty much sucked. I'm really hoping these kids stay in it and really enjoy it.
Next week Megan goes to Gymnastics for the first time. We missed this week because of Pete's flight. We tried to make it back from the airport in time, but we were just too late. She was pretty much heartbroken for a few minutes. But since she really has no idea what it is, she got over it pretty quick. She just knew she was missing out on something. Poor thing.
The end of the month we're going to Santa Cruz for the weekend. My dad is renting a house down there for the week and we are crashing in on Friday night. I'm super excited. We haven't been to this place in a few years and it's pretty neat. The house itself is nestled away in the woods but is just a little ways from a private beach. It's so cozy and very cabin-y. The kids are going to love it.
The end of October we're going camping with my mom and Mike. This camping trip is going to be super fun! The whole campground 'dresses up' and decorates for Halloween. All the campers and RVs decorate their rigs and all the kids go trick-or-treating. They have contests and everything for the decorating and pumpkin carving. We can't wait!
AND THEN.... oh yes, there's more fun coming! For Thanksgiving we're having a giant party up in Lake Tahoe. Pete's two cousins and their families are coming out here (one from Georgia and one from Montana) and we're all renting a house in Tahoe for 3 days. There will be 24 of us total. 10 of that 24 are kids! Are we crazy? Quite possibly. Will it be fun? I sort of have visions of A Griswold Old Fashioned Family Christmas in my head. I'm hoping it won't be that disastrous. But regardless, there will be many memories made and stories to tell!
Anyhow, I think I've rambled on long enough. We have plenty to look forward to in the next few weeks!

Recent Scrapiness

Just some recent scrap pages.
More actual blog content to come soon...




* lift of Ali Edwards
*lift of Gigi Kennedy.

The fair and other things...

Things have been a little busy around here I guess. We're finally settling in to school. Megan turned 3 last week. I had a babysitting job for a day. Pete is headed out tomorrow for another trip to Alaska, I got a new laptop (!) and we went to the state fair over the weekend.
I'll start with school. We kind of had a rocky start. I think it's just taken (me especially) a little time to adjust to the change from kindergarten to first grade. Who knew it would be SO different? But it is. Being in the combo class with 2nd graders I think makes it even more so, I think. Jake's kindergarten teacher was everything you would expect at kindergarten teacher to be. She lived and breathed teaching. She LOVED what she did and it radiated from her. She was loving, nurturing, yet firm. Well the new teacher....while she is very enthusiastic, she seems.... a little lost maybe? I think it's because she taught 8th grade last year. So this is a very big change for her too. I suppose it will all work out, but it sure does seem like an adjustment.
Megan's birthday was Friday. Where did 3 years go? My baby is gone. :( It makes me sad yet happy at the same time. Does that make sense? I've finally enrolled her in a gymnastics class that starts in 2 weeks. I am so excited for her, and for me. I'm hoping that maybe we'll actually meet some little girls her own age! I'm telling you, there is an unnatural amount of boys here in this town.
Friday night we headed up to my moms so we could go to the fair on Saturday. We all got up so we could get out there early and beat the heat and the crowds. The forecast said the high would be about 97* which is hot, but not unbearable. Plus, here in CA, the hottest part of the day is around 4 or 5 o'clock. We figured we'd be fine. Boy were we ever wrong! And so was the forecast. It ended up being about 108* when we finally left at 2 o'clock. We did manage to have a little bit of fun though.

We headed out to the farm first. I love this part of the state fair. It's so beautiful the way the set up the vegetable beds and everything is so lush.


This is also where they have the farm nursery and the baby animals that were born at the fair. The day we were there the only babies they had were piglets. Really, is there anything cuter than a perfectly pink new baby pig?!


Then of course we had to go get a corn dog.



And something cold to drink.



And then Megan's favorite part of the day: The pony rides.


Jake was pretty happy about it too. Though he would never tell you he loved as much as Megan did. (Ponies are for girls, you know)


And then to the ticket booth to ride some rides.


Some of the rides at the fair were actually from Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch. The nostalgic part of me wondered why they would ever take them out of there. Like why wouldn't they just preserve the place like it is? Sort of like Graceland. And then another part of me was just kind of creeped out by it all together.



After this, we let Jake ride the go-carts and then we were outta there. It was so hot I was doing anything just to cool down. Like putting ice down the front of my shirt so I'd stop sweating. Classy, eh? :)
So that's about it. Pete is leaving tomorrow for another trip to Alaska. He's headed out to the wild tundra this time, hunting for moose. We have to leave at 4 am tomorrow to get him to the airport on time. *sigh* I'm going to miss him.

Then and Now

Or...maybe it's Now and Then. Blogger uploaded my pictures in the wrong order and I'm not gonna fuss with it! Anyhow, I've been sifting through some older photos over the weekend. A few weeks ago I signed up for a photo editing class at JessicaSprague.com And I've been having a lot of fun ever since going back and seeing what I can do with some older pics I had. But what amazed me most is how much the kids have grown in just 10 months time. Especially Megan. Wow.
Here she is just last week:
And here are two images (I couldn't pick one I liked the best!) from my September/October 2008 file:


Look how much she's grown! I mean, she was a BABY. And now look at her. Where did my baby go?! She only had enough hair for two little sprouts on top. Now she has two full pig tails with ringlets. And that little sideways sippy cup. She hasn't used a sippy cup in months and months. (except at grandma's house) How did I let her get so big?

Here's Jake last week:
And here he is about 10 months ago:

He looks pretty much the same to me. Just maybe a little more mature. I guess maybe he looks bigger all together in the top pic.
Jake turned 6 on Saturday and Megan turns 3 next week. Sometimes I sit back and wonder....how in the world did I get to this place?! But I say that in a good way. Jake asked me the other night when I was putting him to bed: "mommy? Do you wish I was 7?" I said, "no way! I want you to be just how you are right now. I want to enjoy you being 6. I want to love you each and every day just how you are. If we skip to 7, I will have missed a whole year of being your mommy. I don't ever want to do that." I'm not sure he got exactly what I was saying, but he just smiled and gave me a big hug. I really, really ♥ that boy.
School is going pretty well so far. No homework yet, but I think probably by next week that will start. I'm anxious to go to back to school night on Thursday. I've talked to the teacher several times already, but I really hope to get a better feel as to how the class will be structured being that it is a 1st / 2nd grade split class with only 9 of the kids being 1st graders. It's something that I guess is becoming more and more popular as California's Budget Crisis continues. *ugh* That's an entirely different subject. We did find out last week though, that there would be NO field trips AT ALL this year. What a bummer! Even if parents pay, even if parents volunteer to drive/carpool. No field trips what so ever. *boo Governator!*
Megan and I are still working on our scheduling. She still really needs a nap most days. So it's like....do I get her up at 6 so I can put her down for a nap at 11:30 just to yank her up again at 1:45?? Or do I just let her stay up till we pick up Jake? So far I've just been letting her stay up. But man, by the time we get home she is just SO done and ready for a nap. I guess that's probably a good thing.
So that's it for now. Off to check on Jake...he's swimming at the neighbors house.

Adjusting to school life again!

First day of first grade. Jake sitting at his new 'real' desk and checking out the goodies his new teacher left him. I love how in the background of this picture you can see the mom giving her kid a good bye kiss. So cute. :)
This year Jake is actually in a 1st/2nd grade combo class. I wasn't too sure how to feel about that. People told me: Oh that's a good thing, that means he's smart! or They would never put him in that class if they thought he couldn't handle some 2nd grade curriculum. While that all would be quite flattering, and it's not that I think he's not smart, (he is) it's just that...well I don't think those are the reasons he was put there. I don't really have an answer though! :D He's actually only 1 of 2 first grade boys in the whole class. It's kind of like they hand picked the best, well behaved kids from the kindergarten class. Anyway, he seems to really be enjoying it after just two days. We'll see what happens when he starts getting homework next week! Yesterday he told me how great his teacher is and how she is sooooo nice, mommy! The brief moments I have talked to her she seemed very outgoing and high energy. I hope she stays that way. It's always easy to be enthusiastic in the beginning of the year for teachers, parents and students!

This picture seems to sum up how Megan is dealing with all this back to school stuff. Which basically means she's going a little crazy trying to adjust. She completely flipped out yesterday morning while we were trying to get out the door. Which I'm pretty sure she did the exact same thing last year too. And then yesterday she kept asking...can we go get my brudder? when is Gake coming home? And today: I miss my brudder! The time difference between just a few hours in kindergarten to 2 and a half extra hours in 1st grade is such a big deal for her. She completely gets that something is just not right. And she and I haven't quite got into a groove yet. Yesterday she went with no nap at all and by the time we picked up Jake this afternoon, she was in total meltdown mode and crying for no particular reason at all. I'm definitely going to have to find some sort of activity for her to do. The pre-school program here is kind of a joke. It's 68 dollars a week for two days for 45 minutes each. It seems ridiculously expensive to me. And what do you learn in 45 minutes? I couldn't even leave her there and do the grocery shopping in that time. As soon as I left I'd have to turn right around and go get her. So I'm thinking of finding a gymnastics class or dance class that, even though the sessions will still only be an hour or so, it's cheaper and she'll still be getting the socialization that she desperately needs and the physical activity too. I can teach her the pre-school stuff myself.
The extra time during the day is strange for me too. Yesterday I didn't quite know what to do with myself either. Today I went out and started doing some yard work. (! I know !) I really do not like yard work. I worked up quite a sweat (which I'm positive I'm allergic to sweat) pretty quickly so I told Megan to go get her swimsuit on and off we went to the pool. It was nice to just be the two of us. She and I had the entire big pool to ourselves so I pushed her in her floaty about 5 or 6 times up and down the length of the pool. I really love swimming. I have zero athletic ability and can't swim better than cat, but I still love it. I think I'll do the same thing again tomorrow. I didn't get half of the yard work done.

Ranch Life

We spent Saturday night and all day Sunday up at the ranch. I haven't talked about the ranch much lately so I thought I'd do a little photo run down of the stuff that goes on up there. Most of the building work is done and we've already had several hunters, though this is the slow time of year. Mostly because it's smokin hot and no one really likes to sit out in the woods covered in camo when it's 100 degrees. Anyway, this weekend was mostly just maintenance, feeding, fence fixing, etc...
We got there around dinner Saturday night. Usually the guys have the cupboards stocked full, but they were pretty bare this weekend. We ate too rare for my taste steak, canned peaches and super hot jalapeno laden beans. Mmmmm. Not exactly gourmet but...



We got up Saturday morning, Pete did a little work down in the cabins and Jake went hunting with his BB gun. This blue bellied lizard was his first victim. (oh yes, there were more casualties)


After lunch we headed out to the big pen (aprox. 1,000 acres fenced) to feed, and to set up a water line to a natural spring.
First Pete filled up the back of the buggy with a load of sweet potatoes. Pete gets these 'cull potatoes' from a farmer down in the valley. Twice a month he gets about 7,000 pounds of potatoes for FREE. The pigs love it. But the smell I was smelling right about now was not good, not to mention the 'potato dust' that was being thrown all over and the flies. It's a dirty, stinky job. Thank goodness I was just a passenger.


There are several places within the fenced area that are set up for hunters with tree stands, automatic grain feeders. They also put out the potatoes around these areas. It obviously lures the animals to where the hunters are, but 1,000 acres is huge, so the food needs to be spread out. We headed to several of these spots and left some potatoes.



Water is also a huge issue. It's kind of tough to tell from pictures, but the land here is very harsh.


Especially this time of year. The property basically goes straight up and down hill. There a ton of brush and oak tress. It's really rugged terrain. When this project all started 3 years ago, there was basically no water on the property at all except a small creek that only ran during the winter. Pete had a tractor guy come up and dig a pond which is about maybe 2 acres wide at its fullest point and serves as the ONLY water in the entire 1,000 acres for all the animals. It also sits at the lowest point of the property, making it quite a trek to get down to. About a year or so ago, Pete and his friends actually found a natural water spring way up on the side of a mountain. The plan is to somehow pump water out of that spring and into the creek (to keep it running year round) and get it up the hill so the animals don't have to go that far for water. Also pigs don't sweat so they need water to wallow in and keep themselves cool when it's super hot. (we actually found 3 dead sheep yesterday. We're pretty sure they were not getting enough water) Yesterday we drug a 720 foot long plastic pipe all the way to the spring. I guess the guys will be working on that project soon.
After checking the fence, hauling the water pipe and feeding the pigs in the pen, we headed over to the breeding pens.


They have 3 breeding pens set up next to the main house. Two are for pigs and one is for turkeys. Pigs are breeding inside the pen too, but these ones here are pure bread and are in a more controlled environment. Pigs can actually be somewhat cannibalistic and eat their babies. I know, gross. But it's true. So keeping these ones here gives them a better shot at surviving, especially since the conditions in the big pen can be pretty harsh.



Aren't they ugly? These are pure European pigs. They long snouts and to me they look like anteaters. They are mean too. Pete had to do a little fence mending as these guys started rooting around and tried to make a hole in the fence.



Here he is feeding the turkeys. These turkeys were not raised in my garage so therefore I like them at least 50% better than the ones I did raise. I really hated turkeys last year. And I'm still holding a turkey grudge.
Oh and one last thing...Jake's 3rd casualty of the weekend...a Blue Jay. Close your eyes if your timid or are fond of Blue Jays. He made is daddy proud.


So after all this we were all hot, tired and really stinky. We packed up and went home. We stopped in town for dinner. Luckily the Denny's in Patterson is used to ranchers coming in all dirty and stinky so we fit right in!

Hello! Well here I go again with some randomness. First this picture is of (of course) Jake and our buddy Will. Will is 2 years younger than Jake, but seriously he's such a cool little kid. He loves Jake something fierce. He's one of those kids that's just hilarious to watch. He gets SO excited about things. So excited that he can't form a rational thought, his eyes get all wiggy and he visibly shakes. Hmm I realize now that I read that back that the description sounds a little funny. But trust me, it's cute and entertaining. We're going to go hang with Will and his little sis tomorrow morning. Now with school less than a week away it seems we're totally swamped with stuff to do. Park tomorrow, a lake picnic Saturday and then another lake picnic Monday. Haircut and new shoes Tuesday. 1st day of school Wednesday. I'm feeling a little unprepared for the start of the school year. It seems like the jump from kindergarten to first grade is quite a big one. You go from 3 and half hours of school to 5. I have to prepare a lunch for him now. And then there's Megan. Do I put her down for a nap early and then wake her up when it's time to go pick up Jake? Or do I let her stay up and put her down after Jake gets home? And speaking of lunches....gah. I hated lunch when I was in school. Knowing me I'll make him a PB&J every day and knowing him he'll toss it. Because that's exactly what I did when I was a kid. As I kid I didn't care, but I'm sure my mom did. You don't want your kid to go hungry. Why am I stressing over this? I turned out fine, right? Moving on...
Also in preparation of school, Jake has been practicing his sight words, numbers, writing, etc... The other day it took him a full hour to write the numbers 1-30. And he still didn't get them right. He loses focus and then everything is just mush. Needless to say, we've now been practicing A LOT and he has made a huge improvement. Mush has now somewhat solidified like this mornings oatmeal. It just took him a minute to get going again.
Oh, here's another question....So Wednesday is the first day of school and his birthday is Saturday (the 15th). I'd like to have an actual birthday party for him this year, like you know with friends and party favors and all that fun stuff. So do I go ahead and send him to school with invites on Wednesday for a party on his actual birthday that Saturday? OR do I wait till Monday of the next week for a party on the 22nd (that Saturday)? I'm thinking the 22nd is the better date. Also, what do you do at a party for a 6 year old boy? I'm guessing Pin the Tail on the Donkey is so..... I don't know....1984?

Pouty McPouterson

This is Jake's new nickname.
Is this just a six year old boy thing? He's been so bent out of shape and pouty about the dumbest things lately. And it's not just the pouty sad face either. It's the pouty sad face plus the slumped shoulders and the turtle neck and ape arms. Are you getting the picture?
Man it's bugging me. The other day I'm telling Megan how happy I am that she's cleaning up and she's doing such a good job. And Jake says "I'm not doing a good job??" *ugh*!! It's not that I said he was doing a bad job, but he's all mad because I didn't tell HIM he's doing a good job. Do I really have to tell him every single time?? Pete says yes, I do. I mean I say it to Jake 98% of the time because he really is an excellent cleaner upper and Megan is SO NOT so I feel like when I see her actually doing something, I need to praise her for it. Then he gets all pouty because I didn't say it to him. Sometimes I'm like...really? no really? we're getting upset for this?
And it's not just the jealousy of his sister. McPouterson also comes out when the next door neighbor says the kids can't play (understandable), or when we've run out of cereal, or when I ask him to clean up his room, or when I tell him he needs to drink water instead of juice. I mean, I guess all these things would require some amount of poutage in the kid world. But do we need all the dramatics to go along with it?
I realize there is no solution to this. I'm just venting. McPouterson gets old real quick.
In other news...
This weekend a very good family friend of ours got married. Heidi is Pete's best friends sister and he's known her his entire life. It was so nice to see her totally in love and starting a new life together. She called me Wednesday last week to ask me if I would help take pictures at the wedding. Her aunt was the main photographer and I was kind of the back up. Wow, wedding photography is hard work! I was physically sore from it the next day. We won't talk about how out of shape I am...but it was mostly due to the heals I was wearing! Don't wear heals if your working a wedding! I won't be pursuing a new career anytime soon. It was really fun though. And I realized just how much I like taking pictures of people. Portraits though. I found it hardest to get those great candid shots. Maybe if I had a sneakier lens...like a big telephoto so I could hide in a corner and zoom in on people.
Anyway here is a sample of some of the shots I took. They're not the best or anything, but they're a start. I was mostly just following her aunt's lead and letting her do all the posing and such.

I think you can click on it to make it bigger.
Anyway, it was fun.
It's almost time for school around here. Jake starts next Wednesday! I think now that the pouty face is making a regular appearance I'm ready for someone else to look at it! HA! Just kidding. I'm also going to see if I can find some activity for Megan. She's going to be 3 at the end of the month and I think it's time for her to get social with kids her own age. I feel so bad for her. She really never plays with anyone her own age. There are a few kids at the pool we've met, but there seems to be an unnatural amount of BOYS here in the neighborhood! So I'm thinking of finding a ballet or gymnastics class for her.
Anyway, I guess that's it for now.
Can you believe it's August already??

Lake Tahoe

Pete and I just got back from a really nice relaxing weekend in Tahoe. It's been a while (9 years to be exact) since we've been there. You really forget how beautiful a place can be.
We stayed literally on top of the mountain. On the back side of Heavenly ski resort. It wasn't the best hotel, but the scenery made up for it.
We went without kids. It was the first time in 3 years we'd been anywhere just the two of us. We really needed that. Sometimes you forget how to just be you and not be the mom or the dad. It was great. Although, both of us the entire time were saying things like "oh Jake would love this" or "we need to come back here with the kids". Funny how that happens.
Anyway I don't seem to have a lot of words today so I'll just fill up with pictures.

First view of the lake coming down highway 50:

This is actually from the other side of the lake but it fits well for the story:

Breakfast at Heidi's Saturday morning. You can't go to Tahoe and not eat at Heidi's:

Emerald Bay:


Pete playing with his new point and shoot. That camera is awesome.

Boats on the West shore:

Clear blue water on the North shore. If I wasn't in Tahoe and surrounded by pine trees I would have sworn we were in Hawaii. The water was so crystal clear. Unbelievable.

Sunset Saturday. This pic was taken from Pete's point and shoot from inside our hotel room. It's straight out of the camera too. Blogger is not doing the colors justice.

Perfect ending to a perfect weekend.

American dreams...

hey look! I'm blogging again :D Two days in a row.
So, I've been thinking about vacations. Here we are again with 3 and a half weeks of summer left and I feel like we've done nothing. Well, we went camping but that was before school was even out! And we had a great 4th of July but...I guess I'm just looking for something more. I was reading blogs this morning and when I got to Cathy Zielske's morning post I think I got a twinge envious. She talked about her family's weekend up at some lake in Northern Minnesota. A lake house that her husband has been going to his whole life. A lake house that he has such fond memories of and surely their children will now too. She has pictures of her kid jumping off the dock, and the family playing games at the kitchen table at night, and perusing the town and playing a round of mini golf during the day.
Oh how I long for that. I really do. I want a place that we as a family go to. A place we all look forward to every summer. A place were we go and relax in the musty old furniture. And cook in the funky old kitchen. And relax on the porch and watch the sun go down and play cards till the wee hours. A place that in 20 years is still the same. See I'm rambling now, but you get the point. I'm such a sucker for traditions and nostalgia. I'm a sucker for that classic American lifestyle. I hope we can find a place like that someday. I've been to places like this a few times in my life. My stepsisters have been going to the same mountain resort for something like 28 years. They grew up going there and now they rent their own cabin. I tagged along quite a few times over the years and I loved it. We used to go to a beach house every once and a while, but haven't been in years. Is it too much I'm asking for? To have a place we call "ours"? I don't even want to own it. I just want to be able to rent it when ever I want :D ahh well...our family is still young. We'll find a tradition somewhere along the way, I'm sure.
Pete and I are thinking of doing a little get-away this weekend. Maybe up to Lake Tahoe or over to the coast. We haven't been to Tahoe since we got married. Hotels for the weekend are wicked expensive though! I think I'm willing to sacrifice for a little time away though. We'll see. We had to cancel our camping trip to Big Sur. Man, I was SO disappointed about that. But it's ok, we will definitely be going next year.
I guess that's all I got for now...
I'll post some pictures soon. Blog posts without pictures are boring. Please forgive me.

It's been a really long week. Having your kid on restriction kinda of sucks for everyone, not just the person it was meant for. It was ok though. We made the most of it. Jake still hasn't apologized to the lady across the street. It's not that we haven't tried, it's just that they haven't been home each time we've gone over there. At this point it's been well over a week and I just wonder if an apology is just kind of moot at this point. I don't know. But he probably still should apologize.
Anyway, Friday was my 3rd trip in 3 weeks up to Sacramento. It's only an hour and a half from my house, but when you go and you drive all that way and then stay there all day or all weekend and then drive back again it's just kind of tiring. Friday was good though. I met up with an old friend from high school. We hadn't seen each other since graduation 14 years ago. (i know! i'm getting old!) But it was so fun! It was just like old times. Thank you Facebook for making it all possible. Ha! Since I had the kids with me we decided to take them to see the new Ice Age movie in 3-D. It was really cute! And not bad in 3-D either. We'd seen Monsters vs. Aliens a few months ago and it just about made me sick from all the motion and those stupid glasses. Ice Age was much easier to watch.
During the week of no movies and no swimming I decided it was the perfect opportunity to get out some of my favorite kids books and read to the kids. Jake picked out Matilda by Roald Dahl. He is really loving it. He asks me to read and read and read some more. I just started it on Thursday I think and we're already 1/2 way through. The best part is when he gets all snugly next to me and puts his head down on my lap. That's not going to last forever. Read to your kids! Our next book in line is The Phantom Tollbooth. Oh I just love that one!!

*Other random bits from our life:

Megan has given herself her own nick-name. She calls herself Sissy. It's funny because I've never called her that. She just figured it out on her own I guess. Sometimes I call her Missy or Little Girl or Megs but I've never called her Sissy. She usually says "I'm not Missy I'm Megan!" But now sometimes she says "I'm not Megan, I'm Sissy!" She's a funny little thing.

Jake has become fearless in the water. That is, with one catch..... He has to wear arm floaties. In the baby pool or hot tub or anywhere he's comfortably touching the bottom he's fine. But put him where he has to tip toe or not touch and he's a dead weight. But with the arm floaties...he might as well have angels wings on. The kid jumps in, goes under and now does front flips from the side of the pool. I'm sure he'd be fine with out them, but they make him feel safe. No matter what, it sure is nice to see him actually enjoying himself and really having fun, rather than sitting around sulking like he used to. Sooner or later one of his friends is going to tease him about the floaties and he'll take 'em off.

Speaking of Jake...School starts in 3 and a half weeks! I can't believe how fast this summer has flown by. I'm so not ready. He is though. He asks me every day...how many days is it till school starts? That won't last forever either.

Anyway, I'm rambling...

Drama, drama, drama.

I'm just sick with frustration right now.
I'm mad and irritated and embarrassed. And sad.
If you've read my updates on Facebook, then you probably know what I'm talking about.
Neighbor drama. *ugh* It's awful. There are two sets of neighbors on the street that I've never really got a good vibe from. Remember the anonymous letter about my lawn care last year? I've written about the neighborhood snootiness before. Not only do I not really like the adults, but I don't really like their kids either. Of course Jake likes to play with them. He doesn't seem to mind that they tattle all the time. Or that they don't invite him to their swimming parties. He just plays with them anyway. Because that's what boys do.
So anyway rewind to Tuesday I guess. Maybe Monday I don't remember anymore. Neighbor comes knocking on the door saying he's going to have a "conference" with all the kids on the street and as a parent I'm welcome to come join the conversation. Apparently Neighbors wife got a bunch of scratches on her car and they're pissed about it. I say ok, whatever, do what you gotta do and I send Jake over to the "conference". The whole time I'm thinking...how do you know it was one of these kids? Couldn't it have happened in a parking lot somewhere? Are you sure it wasn't your punk ass tattle tail?
But whatever. I was glad they didn't single anyone out.
Jake comes home, I ask him if he did it, he says NO and I say are you sure? he says I didn't do it! and I say OK and give him the speech about respecting peoples property and to be careful and to stay away from the cars. Ok Mom.
Fast forward to Thursday. I'm walking home from the park with another neighbor, one I actually really like, and we discuss the "conference" the kids had the other day. We agree that they whole thing seems blown out of proportion and they're making a big deal out of nothing. And that their little punk ass kid is a punk. Glad to know someone else agrees with me.
Forward again to Friday. I'm outside talking to The Good Neighbor. The kids had a little tiff that morning (because of the little tattle tail across the street) and I wanted her to know that I talked to them and everything seemed straightened out.
Enter Miss Priss from across the street. Tattle Tails mom and victim of a Hate Crime on her precious car. I can see the smoke coming off her head has she approaches. (and let me just note here again...I don't like this woman. Not because of the lawn letter, I'm over that, but because she's not friendly. Oh at first she seems friendly, but it never gets past the fakeness. There's only so much fake I can handle. I'm done with fake. She comes off very snooty when you talk to her, I don't like the way she talks to the kids and I don't like how she expects all the other kids to follow her rules but her kid gets away with murder) Anyway so here she comes...my heart starts to pounding. I'm thinking Dear God, what is going on now?! Well she starts laying into me and The Good Neighbor about how her car got all scratched up again, how mad she is, how some one's gonna pay for this....blah blah blah I pretty much just shut down at that point and then how she wants to have another 'conference' with all the boys again.
*ugh*
I'm not the kind of parent that never thinks their kid does anything wrong. In fact I'm usually the one that says What did you do? But Jake and I had already talked about this. And he told me he didn't do it. And I believed him.
So I send Jake over there and I tag along behind. There are about 8 kids between the ages of 5 and 9 standing there and she is ripping them all a new one. Seriously. She goes on and on about how You better fess up! I'm going to find out who no matter what! You better hope none of your friends tattles on you! You're going to be washing my car for an entire year! That's 54 times! (ahem. there are only 52 weeks in a year, dumb@ss) I'm just standing there dumbfounded. And that was probably a good thing because if I could have got any words out of my mouth, it wouldn't have been good.
So I bring Jake back in the house. I sit him down and say:
Jake, I already asked you this before. I asked you if you scratched her car and you told me no. I believed you. I still believe you. But if you know something or need to tell me something, you need to do it now. I need you to be honest with me.
*silence*
Jake?......... .......
He takes a deep breath. Tears well up in his eyes.
Jake? ....
Well....*sniff* Well I had one of Johns Bakugans and...and I rolled it down the side of her car.
What? You did? Did you scratch it?
I guess. Maybe. I don't know. Am I going to get in trouble?
*sigh* Jake....

So at that point I just didn't know what to do. Had I become the parent oblivious to her child's behaviors? Did he really scratch the car or is he just so scared not to say something...What was I supposed to do now? I was so angry with that woman for how she spoke to all these kids, how could I possibly go over there and eat crow now? How could I go over there now when I was so sure my kid had nothing to do with this? I wasn't really mad at Jake for scratching the car. Of course it's not ok, but kids are kids and accidents are going to happen. And I really don't think he meant to do it intentionally. I was much more upset and disappointed that he had not been honest with me the first time.
Anyway, I didn't know what to do. I sent him to his room for the time being and put a call into Pete. He's at the ranch all weekend.
We were gone all day yesterday and I tried to not think about it.
So then today Jake goes out front and like white on rice Mr Neighbor comes right over to Jake and goes "Jake, did you apologize to Mrs. Neighbor?"
uhh...wha?? how does he know that Jake did anything? We never went back outside after the "conference" on Friday.
I hear this and I start to implode. I really don't want to deal with this until Pete gets home. Anyway the next thing I know Jake has high-tailed it back into the house. And its where he's gonna stay until we have a meeting with dad.
So for now he's grounded.
And he's going to go over there tomorrow to apologize.
And if she really wants a 6 year old to wash her car every week then whatever.
I guess he'll know he better not touch any one's car again.
I guess this is all part of being a kid. And growing up. And being a parent.
I think the hardest part for me is knowing that he really is a good kid. He made a mistake. An accident. And I feel like he's wearing the Scarlet Letter right now because of something being blown out of proportion. I feel like all of a sudden he's been labeled that kid.
I know in my heart of hearts he isn't that kid.

Blogging.
It's not like I don't have the time. I have the time. I guess it's just that I don't have a whole lot to say maybe? I don't know..I kind of go through these phases.
Random thought: Megan is now the age that Jake was right before she was born. That is so weird to me. How is it possible that 3 years have gone by? In some ways I'm Soooooo happy that my kids are growing up. There's no more diapers, everyone is much more self sufficient. I hardly ever use a stroller anymore. I hardly ever have to get up in the middle of the night to check on anyone. If we want to go somewhere, we don't have to stop and go home to take a nap. Although, she still really needs a nap most days. I feel like, in the last 6 months especially, that we finally can go and do family things and not worry too much that our kids are too little for certain activities. It's a good feeling. I'm looking forward to the day that Megan can actually buckle and unbuckle her car seat all by herself.
That all being said.... I can't help but get a little weepy when I look back at pictures of 3 years ago. I miss those first couple of days when all they want to do is sleep and eat and they snuggle into your chest and make those tiny little baby snorkel noises.


NO. I'm not pregnant.
Nope. I'm not planning on being pregnant either.
But YES, I do miss it a tiny bit.

Ok so here's some pictures from our 4th of July weekend. Which included lots of swimming, no naps, staying up late, lots of fireworks, and lame sparklers. I love 4th of July (have I mentioned that before??) even though they make lame sparklers in California.





Looking forward to our next family adventure...whatever that may be :)