Staying in touch with the Funny Noses

Before we say good-bye to January

2012-01-30T16:57:00.000-08:00

Yes, my blogging has been pretty sporadic as of late. January is just such an odd month. You have a perpetual hangover (metaphorically speaking) from the holiday celebrations and abundant time off from work and school. It is one of the slowest times of year for our family - we are in between sports, dance has just wrapped up a recital, work is slow and the weather is usually cold and dreary. That is precisely why I chose January to be recovering from surgery but when you add that to the mix, I am SO ready for January to be over.

Friday was a rare exception from the not so blog-worthy every day that we have been experiencing. Earlier in the week we received the honor of having a Flat Stanley visit us from a friend in North Carolina. Her name is Josie. I am really hoping to show Josie some of our desert landscape but on Friday, I decided that she should accompany the kids and I to school.

First off, Jadyn's kindergarten class was performing their teacher's college cheer (Nova Southeastern University) in front of the entire school during Friday Flag. The college cheer is part of a program called No Excuses University, which is designed to expose kids to the idea of college and college readiness at an earlier age. I was fortunate enough to be volunteering that day and was able to watch and video Jadyn and her classmates perform the cheer - really cute! Here is Josie with Jadyn and her best friend Riley before the performance:

Second of all, the school's production of Tiny Thumbelina was performing a matinee for some of the classes and both Jake and Jadyn's classes were able to attend. I had the chose of getting my volunteer duties done early or stay and watch the show first. I chose to watch the play and was so glad I did because it was really cute. Not to mention that to probably no one's surprise, Jadyn is now claiming she is going to try out for the spring production. As if kindergarten, ballet and t-ball is not enough for her. We will see how that goes, but in the meantime, here is Josie enjoying the production with Jake and some of his classmates:

We had a lot of fun family time in January - we played a lot of board games, adding Jenga to our rotation. We watched a lot of family movies, loved Dolphin Tale, the two Dairy of a Wimpy Kid movies, and give a less enthusiastic thumbs up to Mr. Popper's Penguins and Real Steel. We worked on crafty projects, baked goodies in the Easy Bake oven and I learned how to include myself in Jake's Nerf Wars (more on this in a future post). So January was not all bad but still, I am ready to move on. Good-bye January. Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.

A treasure for treasures

2012-01-26T12:21:00.000-08:00

I've been meaning to write this post for awhile now. Another item Jadyn had on her Christmas wish list was this wooden design and decorate jewelry box she saw in the Toys to Grow on catalog. She had actually wanted it since last Christmas but this year it moved up her list to #2.

I kept trying to sway her away from it because it seemed kind of pricey to me. At one point, I even showed her some other decorate your own jewelry boxes but she was not fooled. She informed me that these other jewelry boxes were made of cardboard and the one she wanted was real wood. This of course made Daddy proud. Sometimes you can get a good deal on something. And sometimes you get what you pay for.

Needless to say, she did in fact end up getting the jewelry box from Grandma Anita and Ken but due to shipping constraints, she did not actually get the jewelry box until the week after Christmas when I was in the hospital. Jadyn was willing to wait for me to get home so I could help her decorate it.

What none of us could have ever known was that the timing of the gift was perfect. I couldn't do much those first days after surgery but I could help Jadyn with her jewelry box. What we also never would have been able to guess is that this jewelry box would quickly become a family project. Daddy decided that it would probably look best if we painted it before decorating it so he pulled out the pink paint left over from Jadyn's room and carefully painted it. Once it was dry, Jadyn and I started to design it. The minute Jake heard the word pattern, he got in on the action helping us map out what was going to go where - gems, fabric flowers, ribbon and glitter glue placement was all thoroughly planned out and executed. I think the entire process took us 3 or 4 days.

I recall talking to my mom on the phone and telling her about the jewelry box. She asked if it had turned out gaudy. Or actually she might have used the word ostentatious or maybe even "over the top". At any rate, I knew what she was asking. However, the answer is not so simple. While yes, almost every inch of the jewelry box is covered by gems, fabric flowers, ribbon and glitter glue - it was not done in a haphazard manner and somehow, I know that the group effort produced a result that Jadyn will treasure for years to come. And to me, it really was worth more than the cost of the item itself.

Project 365 Week 3

2012-01-25T04:13:00.000-08:00

I can see that some weeks are going to be better than others.

Day 15 - Friday is in love with this box. Great hang-out and he loves to play in it as well:

Day 16 - We have kind of a pigeon problem. Seriously, they are the rats of the bird world. Joe blocked off access to their enclave so now they just sit on top of our outside lights. Go away!:

Day 17 - Jadyn and Cookie watching "Bob's Big Break" in 3D:

Day 18 - Me sporting my new Green Bay shirt compliments of a thoughtful friend:

Day 19 - the kids helping me with laundry (LOVE!):

Day 20 - on the way to the in-laws we saw several rainbows in between the wet weather:

Day 21 - Jadyn showing off the Valentine crafts she made with Grandma Saturday while I was getting my hair done:

Worth the Wait

2012-01-23T14:56:00.000-08:00

Last weekend (as in NOT this past weekend, yes I am behind) we got together with our good friends Cruz and Tara for dinner on Sunday night and also watched one of the football playoff games too. The kids were surprised to find they each had one more Christmas gift to open, as Cruz and Tara had to special order Jake's gift. And let me just say it was totally worth the wait for both of them -

Jadyn got something that had been pretty high on her list, Cookie the Playful Pup. In the past she always asked for the animals that "do stuff" but rarely are these the toy animals she gets super attached to. Not in this case! Cookie is really cute and has become Jadyn's best friend:

Jake got a set of woodland camis with his name on them. These are not to be confused with the desert camis he got from Cruz and Tara for his birthday, something he dresses up in several times a week. Now he gets to take his pick! Not the best quality picture but the face? Yeah, the non-smile was most definitely intentional:

Advice: Taken and Given

2012-01-18T09:15:00.001-08:00

So much going on with the Internet and the Blackout to protest SOPA and PIPA. Crazy scary bills, in which you can read a brief summary here. Through LauraC's blog post today, I learned about an alternative to the protest that was proposed on Stirrup Queen's blog. Instead of protesting the bills, why not share what is good on the Internet, what might get lost if these bills pass? I thought this was an excellent idea and it kind of ties into what I wanted to share today anyway.

So today has also been declared free advice today as it showcases the positive, the things that we gain from being able to share on the Internet, specifically for me, in relation to my blog and by reading others' blogs.

Advice Taken: LauraC advocates taking pictures of your family. It doesn't matter when or where or whether you think you stand to lose a few pounds or whether you got the kids to smile or even look at the camera. These are memories you are going to want to have captured. Her advice reminded me that I withheld what I thought was our best family picture of the year from my blog because I used it for our holiday card this year. Therefore, I realize many of you have already seen it. But I wanted to explain for a moment why I chose this photo.

When I look at this photo, it takes me back to a wonderful memory of something that we love to do as a family. When we go to the river, I am able to relax and enjoy myself and my family to a degree that can not be compared to anything else. It is my happy place. And the fact that Kuma is in the picture too, makes it even more meaningful because I consider him so much a part of our family.

Did I have reservations about using this picture for our holiday card because I am in a bathing suit and not in love with my figure or because it was not holiday themed? Only fleetingly and simply because of everything I stated above, it trumped any insecurities I had.

Advice being given: If you have a blog, do not stop at updating it or even backing it up to your computer. Do something with it! I just received a package yesterday with two of my newest blog books including every post and every picture for the years 2010 and 2011. While I love scrapbooks and agree that they are super cute, I was never good at keeping up with them. And these blog books have so many details I have written about that I never would have taken the time to put in a scrapbook. It is a combination of a memory book and a journal and I have no doubt that I will cherish them for years to come, as will the kids. They will be able to look back on these and remember all the wonderful things we did as a family, the good and the not so good of our everyday lives and get a fairly accurate picture as to who their mom really was during this time in their childhood. I can not be more happy with how they turned out.

Here are the front covers. Every year I chose a picture of the kids that is a genuine candid and has sentimental value to me. These are the pictures that I would probably never frame on the wall but love nonetheless:

For the back covers I inadvertently started a tradition that has stuck of using a picture that is taken from behind. And beautiful scenery of a fun outing doesn't hurt. 2011 was taken when we went apple picking and 2010 was from our holiday photo shoot at the Morongo Preserve:

And just to give you an idea, a typical page on the inside. So far my yearly books have ranged from 320 to 500 pages:

Finally, if you do nothing else today about the protest to SOPA and PIPA, you can take a moment to participate in this petition letting Congress know how you feel. And my apologies for the link heavy post.

Project 365 Week 2

2012-01-16T08:00:00.000-08:00

Day 8 - the family engrossed in Youtube videos on Daddy's laptop. Their new favorite? The music video for Party Rock Anthem by LMFAO.

Day 9 - Kuma working on the "leave it" command. Super proud of him. I can leave a highly desirable chew flip right at his feet and he won't go near it until I tell him it's okay. Such a good boy!:

Day 10 - Joe and I got to have a lunch date after one of my doctor's appointments. I introduced him to this Jewish deli and bakery in the low desert that is to.die.for. He loved it and is very picky about eating new places. I got to have a Monte Cristo, a personal favorite that is hard to find made to order (since I need it prepared without ham). It was delicious!:

Day 11 - Jadyn being silly trying to balance her stuffed tiger Raja on top of a board game box using her feet. Very proud to have captured this spontaneous moment:

Day 12 - my most unwilling subject Jake who did not want to be photographed cuddling up with his sister's blanket and pillow. I love the expression on his face:

Day 13 - loving my Kindle e-reader and case. I can't believe I wavered as to whether I would miss reading actual books and turning pages. This technology rocks:

Day 14 - Time for tea. Afternoon tea and yes the kids are still in their PJs. Love lazy days. This particular tea party included water, M&Ms and goldfish crackers. Yum!:

Contagious

2012-01-12T08:50:00.000-08:00

And luckily for the moment at least, I am not talking about any illnesses.

We had a wonderful winter break. Even the week of my surgery, the kids enjoyed being home and having tons of time to play and relax. It was so great that Jake in particular has had a hard time getting back into the swing of things. As both last week and this week progressed, he got increasingly grumpy, especially in the mornings. He whined asking why he had to get up early every morning and go to school. Then after school he would whine about having to do his homework. He even whined at bedtime about why he had to read and go to bed early. I mean, wasn't it obvious why he needed to go to sleep? He was SO grumpy.

Then this morning Jake woke up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. He got ready for school and then came to me in my office and announced that he had made Joe and I's bed because he wanted to be nice and helpful. He also got Jadyn's stuff ready to brush her teeth. I admit to tearing up at his unprompted thoughtfulness. My sweet Jake was back.

The entire morning was then filled with good moods and random acts of kindness toward each other. Jadyn even got Jake's backpack and filled it with his lunch bag for him. I wish all mornings could be like this.

Of course after tomorrow the kids have a 3 day weekend for MLK's birthday. I just hope we don't wake up Tuesday morning and find ourselves back to square one.

The mystery of our kids lost teeth

2012-01-11T02:00:00.000-08:00

I don't know what the deal is with our kids. Last year Jake lost his first tooth after it became so loose, it fell out when he bit into a rice cake. His second tooth fell out at school and by the time he noticed it, he didn't know when and where it fell out. Honestly, he probably ate it with his lunch. Then if you recall, he let his third loose tooth dangle there for so long, it fell out while the hygienist was cleaning his teeth during a routine appointment. Seriously!

Never to be outdone, the day after Christmas Jadyn lost her second tooth in similar fashion. In fact, I think I'm the one who noticed that it had finally fell out that morning, most likely in her sleep the night before. It had been hanging by a thread for days. Now, only two weeks later, Jake realized he has lost yet another tooth but doesn't know what happened to it. The funny thing about this one is that we didn't even realize he had another loose tooth. What is going on here?

The first time it happened to Jake, I helped him write a note to the tooth fairy explaining what happened so he didn't get missed when she made her nightly rounds. By now, I think she is fairly convinced that my kids are trying to scam her - wanting money for a hole in their mouth and no evidence of the tooth that used to live there.

I guess its a good thing I know the tooth fairy personally.

Week in Review

2012-01-09T07:00:00.000-08:00

This last week found the kids at least, back to business as usual. They went back to school and Jadyn picked up her ballet class again.

For me, it was a chance to get caught up on some projects that I would otherwise not usually have a chance to work on. Therefore, this last week I was able to sit on the couch with Joe's laptop and create not 1, not 2 but 3 years worth of blog books. That is 1100 pages of editing. And I am feeling quite accomplished to be caught up in that respect.

For Joe, it was chance to walk in my shoes. And I have to give him a shout out for what an amazing husband and father he is for working, going to school and taking on all my stay-at-home duties like cooking, cleaning and getting the kids to and from school and ballet. I don't know what I ever did to deserve him but I am one lucky gal.

Saturday was the only day we did anything noteworthy. We took the kids to the Home Depot Workshop where they built and painted savings sheds. They came out really cute. We then hopped over to Carrow's so we could celebrate Jadyn's reading award from October with her free breakfast. She was so proud!:

We then headed over to the Community Center so I could sign BOTH kids up for Little League. You heard me right. Jadyn is going to try her hand at baseball now by playing t-ball. I no longer have doubts about her playing team sports. She has already proven herself with soccer that my girly girl can also be one tough cookie. While I was filling out all the paperwork, the kids enjoyed some time at the park. The weather over the past week has been beyond amazing - sunny and near 70 degree temps.

While running errands, Jadyn used her Christmas money/allowance to buy one of the new Lego Friends sets that are geared toward girls. I don't know why they haven't launched a line like this before. It is super cute. We spent the late afternoon putting it together and playing with it. I foresee more of these sets making their way into our home in the future:

We finished off our Saturday by having some friends over for dinner, our neighbors Shami and Adriana and Cruz and Tara. It was a very nice evening.

And so I think the new year is off to a pretty decent start.

Project 365 Week 1

2012-01-08T08:05:00.000-08:00

I have a feeling I am going to miss some days BUT I also have a feeling I am going to love this project and gain a lot from it. Lots of observations already.

Day 1 - The night of New Year's Day, me still recovering and Kuma keeping me company. Forcing myself to post this picture because I am not fond of my profile:

Day 2 - Just a typical day at the Funny Noses - Jadyn stirring chocolate fondue dessert while wearing her footie pajamas and the cat mask from Halloween 2 years ago:

Day 3 - The pass we have to go through every time we want to go to "civilization" aka any store besides Wal-Mart:

Day 4 - Jadyn in one of my favorite outfits of hers, counting her green tickets from school (she earns green tickets for being extra good each day and gets a prize when she accumulates ten):

Day 5 - Friday stealing Kuma's breakfast and Kuma letting him:

Day 6 - Jadyn and her smiley face Lego creation:

Day 7 - Jake and Jadyn building Jadyn's new Lego set (more on this to come):

Observations - Jadyn is a much more willing muse than Jake. The kids are way too used to stopping and posing for me. I really really dislike my profile (oops, already said that. Have to throw it in there again to emphasis my point). We play with Legos, A LOT.

So this is the new year

2012-01-05T02:00:00.000-08:00

"So this is the new year and I don't feel any different", a line from a favorite song of mine by Death Cab for Cutie.

I also kind of feel like a broken record because I am pretty sure I have blogged about this before, maybe even quoted that song before. But am I the only one that doesn't feel that sense of renewal and starting over that everyone talks about with the new year? I feel it more when school starts in August/September. And then in January it is less about resolutions then it is tinkering with any new habits I had put in place in the fall. More resolve than resolution? I don't know if that makes sense. Put another way, in January, when we return to the every day routines after the holiday break, I like to look at the things I was already focused on accomplishing, the things I was already doing and doing them even better rather than taking on something that is completely new or foreign to me.

For example, over the last 2 years I have been meal planning. Every summer it falls to the wayside and every school year, I start it over. It again drops over the holidays and when I pick it back up in January, I am resolved to improve the system. And over the last 2 years I have become more consistent and efficient in my methods of accomplishing this.

My good friend and fellow blogger Jen brought about an interesting discussion about new year's resolutions on Facebook by resolving NOT to change anything. One reply stated it another way by suggesting to resolve to continue something you are doing that is already good, fun or healthy like "I resolve not to change my habit of reading to the kids most every night". I really like this concept.

And of course there is A LOT I cannot do right now, so my aversion to resolutions is even more pronounced. Last year I resolved to walk/run 500 miles and although I did increase my total from 250 miles in 2010 to 350 in 2011, I still fell short. It would be unwise of me to take on another fitness challenge right now when I will be very activity restricted for at least another 5 weeks.

BUT there is one thing I am taking on in the new year and that is a 365 photo project. There are so many variations on this but basically my aim is to take a picture (SLR or phone) at least once every day. My goal (and this is the connection to yesterday's funny post in case anyone was wondering) is to capture more of the every day, more candids.

You see, I am very good at taking lots of pictures on special occasions/special outings, holidays, birthdays. And usually a lot of these photos are posed. You know, "stop, stand here, say cheese!". The kids will definitely have pictures and blog posts reminding them of all the fun things we did. But what about the fun that we have in the every day moments? The moments like we had so many of this last week while all just hanging out around the house? I want to capture that too. So that is my goal in taking on this project.

And in addition to capturing it, I also want to be able to live in it. To just live in the moment and enjoy it. Being forced to take it easy made me realize even more than I already knew that this is so very, very important and something that for me, does not necessarily come naturally. But I have seen the benefits and it made me crave it even more. So I guess if anyone asked what my new year's resolution is, I might just say:

Live in the moment. I resolve to just be.

Funny Funny Noses

2012-01-04T09:39:00.001-08:00

With me recovering from my surgery last week (it went well, thank you for asking), our new year celebration was extremely low key. We smashed the gingerbread house:

Yes, safety first in our house. I let my daughter weld a hammer outside in the cold with bare feet and didn't actually realize it until I looked at this picture afterwards. Doh!

We made S'mores outside with the firepit (don't get me started on Jake's new obsession with wearing sunglasses all the time, even in the dead of night):

And the next day we stayed in our PJS and had a very lazy, lazy day (frankly I think the entire weekend was lazy but whose keeping track?). This included lots of snuggling and giggles courteous of SpongeBob, whom I fear I will never truly understand the appeal. Nevermind. It makes them happy:

And with all my posts about the holidays, I had no way of throwing in some really funny pictures I have taken over the last month or so. Like this one of Jadyn, who found a new use for all her new Pipsqeak markers:

And Jake dressed up with some of his new battle accessories including an electronic clone trooper helmet (I also have about a billion other pictures of him dressed up in all his military gear sans the new Star Wars helmet):

And then there was the day that Jadyn decided to use a black marker to make herself a kitty:

And the time the kids made an obstacle course (still one of their favorite indoor winter activities) and then wanted me to take pictures of them posing with it (anyone know how to improve the foggy/evil red eyes when using flash with the new iPhone?)

Even the pets get in on the action, willing or not. Here is Friday acting as one of Jadyn's "patients":

Yes, the Funny Noses can be well, funny.

Looking at these pictures and the last week of being home and not doing much of anything made me realize something, which in part inspired my sort of, kind of New Year's resolution. But this post is getting way too long so I will save my revelation for tomorrow.

Happy 4th blogiversary!

2011-12-29T02:00:00.000-08:00

Looking over all my posts from the last year, I really think my favorite post was my blogiversary post from last year - 3rd blogiversary

The reason I like the post so much, even now a year later is because I feel so much of the same sentiments about this last year only magnified. This year had its share of challenges - my anxiety issues returning, having one of my closest friends move away, finding out I needed surgery, trying to accept the things in life that I cannot change no matter how much I wish I could and just really living in the moment. And there were so many really great moments - getting a new dog, seeing Jadyn graduate from preschool and start Kindergarten, watching Jake continue to excel in both school and sports, holidays to celebrate and personal accomplishments for me like running both a 5K and Warrior Dash.

I am still trying to figure out who I am beyond a wife and mother and what I want from this stage in my life and beyond but one of the biggest things I did this last year was learn to rely on others and to really truly open up to people, those that I trust and know I can share my most innermost thoughts with and not be judged. I have continued to learn to just be me. I don't have to be perfect. I don't pretend to be and frankly I don't want to be. I just want to feel comfortable being me. And that was in large part what this year was about for me.

And as per the tradition, I read through all the posts from this last year and am including my personal favorites. The interesting thing I honed from this tradition is that the posts that end up being my favorites usually are not the ones that include a lot of pictures (even though there is always the exception). My favorite posts are the ones that are sentimental. They make me tear up and smile at the same time because I imagine what it will be like for my kids to read these words when they are older, possibly even having become parents themselves. I think some of these words and the moments that inspired them are the greatest gift I can and will ever give to them.

Sweet Kisses

Snuggles and struggles

On the flip side of motherhood

For days like this

Giving

And of course, I thank each and every one of you for your continued support and sharing this journey with me.

Semi Wordless Wednesday -Santa Hat Revisited

2011-12-28T02:00:00.000-08:00

Jake at 6 months

3 years

4 years

5 years

6 years

7 years

Jadyn 6 months

1 year

2 years

3 years

4 years:

5 years:

Kuma Turns ONE!

2011-12-27T02:00:00.000-08:00

I would be remiss not to mention that Christmas was Kuma's birthday! Of course we did not get him until February 18th when he was 8 weeks old and could be away from mama but he was born on Christmas. Happy first birthday Kuma. You have been a blessed addition to our family!

Our first picture of him at 5-6 weeks when we picked him out:

At 8 weeks when he came home with us:

We knew we had a water dog from early on but our trip to Whitewater in April when he was 4 months old sealed the deal:

At the river in July, at 7 months:

And now at 1 year:

Kuma may have grown a lot in the last year, but he is still a puppy and will be probably for the next year. Case in point: Santa left him a present in his stocking, which he left alone but I had left out a few gifts ON TOP of his kennel that the kids had picked out for him as well as two toy mice, one for each of the kitties. On Christmas morning we found all the toys on top of the kennel missing. He had taken them in the middle of the night and brought them in Jake's room to play with them, including both the mice for the cats, which did not survive Kuma's aggressive chewing. He has gone through a dog rope, rips anything stuffed to shreds in minutes in order to find the squeaker and eats the felt off all the tennis balls. I have tried the Kong toys and ones specifically marked for "strong chewers" but have yet to find something he both likes and can last past a few days.

But that was not my point. My point was that he is a great dog - smart, loyal and loving and as I mentioned the perfect addition to our family. The last year has been great and I look forward to many, many more with Kuma by our side.

Santa Claus Came to Town

2011-12-26T08:00:00.000-08:00

It was the day before Christmas and all through the house, all the creatures were stirring and scurrying about. We had to prepare for one last party before we could get ready for Santa's arrival.

So we gathered all the presents and we got all dressed up and we took take after take to get just the right shot:

Then we went to Aunt Leigh's and ate some tamales and let the kids play with their cousins and open more surprises.

When we got home, we were quick to prepare, ccokies, milk and letters to Santa, sat next to Jelfie our elf on the shelf. There were carrots and reindeer food for Santa's faithful pets. And tearful good-byes to our own scout elf.

One quick look at Norad, the big guy was in Wyoming. This convinced the kids that he really was coming. Then the kids were all snuggled sound in their beds while us parents wrapped presents and did all the rest.

Christmas morning came to soon, 3 a.m to be exact but with coffee and excitement it was hard to be mad. The kids declared that Santa had done great. Getting them just what they wanted they played to their hearts content. (Side note about the early waking. Joe had told the kids anytime after midnight they could get up and go through their stockings ONLY. They were not to wake us up to open gifts under the tree until at least 5 am. I happened to wake up and went to watch them and "accidentally" threw a toy grenade that "Santa" had so thoughtfully put in Jake's stocking. That pretty much woke up Joe and well, since the whole family was up, we figured we might as well get Christmas morning started right then and there.)

We made a grand breakfast including my first attempt at monkey bread (YUM), evil potatos with bacon and toast and a special Santa pancake for Jadyn.

Mommy got two beautiful Onyx and silver necklaces from the kids, a Kindle and scented lotion from Joe and a candle and movie from Santa.

Daddy got the Lego Harry Potter Knight Bus, shirts, a book, Scott Pilgrim on Blu-Ray, a Nerf Vortex gun so he can now fight with his son and from me - a boat anchor that I think was able to truly surprise him with.

Jake got MegaBlocks legos, a tank, some Magic Tree House books, PJs, a rock tumbler and some cool stocking stuffers. I think he was excited to get what he wanted:

Jadyn got the Calico Critters townhouse with accessories, an art and craft bucket, some early readers and PJs and this - Mommy Fennec the Fox from Grandpa and Grandma Funny Nose (Build a Bear) she named Desi (short for desert, which is it's natural habitat) and a baby Fennec in her stocking she named Sahara. We have seen these super cute small noctural creatures at the local zoo and they are just as cute in person:

Throughout the day we played with all our new toys and gadgets and we all took naps at some point. We then went to Cruz and Tara's for Christmas dinner, good company and a look at their beautifully decorated home.

It was truly a Christmas to remember.

Final Kick of Pre-Holiday Cheer

2011-12-25T11:19:00.000-08:00

Wednesday Jadyn worked on some rock art with Grandma Kelly and was very proud (as she should be) with how her ladybug turned out:

Later in the day, Joe and Jadyn started baking with fudge and chocolate chip cookies.

Somehow, I got caught in the flour throwing fight:

Later that evening we went for a drive to check out Minerva's Candy Cane Lane in Cathedral City. I am sure most areas have that one or maybe two neighborhoods that go all out with the lights and displays. This is ours and it was worth driving down there and walking down the block and back again to see the beautiful homes all decked out. A few of my favorites:

Friday, it was my turn to bake sugar cookies and decorate them with the kids. Our neighbor Adriana got in on the action:

This is what we ended up with up once all the baking was done.

We packed up some goody buckets and Joe and the kids delivered them to a few of our neighbors, which was quite welcomed. I am so glad we decided to make that extra effort this year. Meanwhile, I made final preparations for the holiday party we were hosting with some friends. The evening was so much fun. The food was delicious, the company delightful and if you ever want to know how to get a great picture of 9 kids, make them pose BEFORE having them do their gift exchange. Easy-peasy!:

The kids and I:

And the ladies, my neighbor Shami, Solinda, me, Teresa and Maria. It's funny that with the exception of my neighbor we all met while doing PTA at Jake's old school before we moved and even though now TWO of us have moved to Yucca a few towns over, this group of ladies have been a constant in my life ever since our initial time together several years ago.

Finally, our pre-holiday cheer would not be complete without a look at what Jelfie has been up to. The kids woke up Friday to a Lego traffic jam compliments of our scout elf:

They woke up Christmas Eve day with him trying to smash our gingerbread house, another fun tradition we started about 3 years ago compliments of LauraC. Jelfie left them a very nice note saying that he had enjoyed his time here, was sorry he would miss the smashing of the gingerbread and looked forward to coming back next year. Joe wasn't too happy that the sneaky elf had gotten into his tools without asking for permission first:

And so with all the pre-holiday activities stuffed into the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve, we readied ourselves for the big holiday.

It was bound to happen sooner or later

2011-12-22T00:09:00.000-08:00

We have been incredibly fortunate in the illness department since school started in late August, especially considering Jadyn was being introduced to a new germ pool with her starting kindergarten. But atlas, Thursday night Jake started with the tell-tale signs of a cold and by the night of Jadyn's recital, he was clearly not feeling well. Luckily he was able to make it to school Friday for the "day before Christmas break" festivities.

Sunday we had plans to all go to Grandma Anita's to learn how to make her world-famous and most delicious fudge but not wanting to spread germs to her especially, Joe took Jadyn while I opted to stay home with Jake. And that turned out just fine as I was able to spend some very rare quality time with my favorite little guy. And so it was not very surprising when later that night, I started not feeling so great. Actually, I was glad to just get it and get it over with. I couldn't and can't afford to be sick next week with my upcoming surgery.

The unfortunate part of me getting sick was that we were expecting company. My mom and her husband George arrived Monday evening for their visit and we also had my Grandmother and three Aunts - Clara, Cindy and Phyllis over too. We had a nice visit but by the end of the evening, I was wiped out.

Despite not feeling 100%, we did manage to take a trip to the park to feed the ducks and see the turtles as well as go to see Arthur Christmas (cute Christmas movie!). Here are the kids and I at the park:

I also managed to have Joe take pictures of the kids and I in our casual holiday attire. I have to laugh too because Kuma just spontaneously decided to join us and actually sat and cooperated like he totally understood what was going on. Originally, I wasn't even going to try and have him in the picture!

So no surprise that while Jake and I are feeling better, poor Jadyn is now sick. I am pretty sure that she will be on the mend soon and we will all be better right on time (or maybe that is just wishful thinking) for a weekend of holiday gatherings and of course Santa's big visit, but I think we will all be sad to say good-bye to Jelfie. Waking up to his daily antics and/or hiding spots has been a big hit this season.

Here he is after gathering some holiday bears for a late night game of Candyland:

So here is to the last big push of holiday cheer and to hopefully getting and staying healthy!

Like an old Pro

2011-12-19T10:07:00.001-08:00

Jadyn had her winter recital this past weekend. She so enjoys getting to wear her costume, having me do her hair, letting her wear a little makeup and spraying glitter all over. She wasn't nervous in the least.

Jadyn has actually learned a TON this last semester in ballet now that she has moved up past pre-ballet. In the interest of being honest, I do think the routine was a little too hard for the group of girls and it didn't look very polished (not that you would necessarily expect it to at her age range) but they spent A LOT of the time on stage looking sideways at their instructor who was performing the routine out of view in the wings. Still, they were all absolutely adorable and Jadyn's stage presence and lack of nerves just blows my mind. She was born to perform!

Here she is before leaving on recital night, posing by herself and with me:

Here are the pictures I took the night of dress rehearsal. There is no flash photography the actual night of the recital so I don't have pictures of the night of the performance. I videotaped it instead but I was fairly far back and it's not worth posting:

Group photo:

Entering the stage:

And after the recital with her congratulatory flowers. She was so excited and proud:

Wild Lights 2011

2011-12-17T09:57:00.000-08:00

For the past several winters we have made visiting the Wild Lights at The Living Desert (zoo and botanical gardens) a yearly tradition. To see the grounds, including its G scale model train all lit up with thousands of strands of lights can put just about anyone in the Christmas spirit. Throw in the opportunity to roast marshmallows, sip hot cocoa, visit Santa and listen to carolers and it adds up to a perfect evening of holiday fun.

Except this year, I realized on our drive down, I forgot the camera. To me, this was almost pure devastation. But I took a deep breath, shook it off and resolved not to let it ruin our fun. In fact, I decided it might be a good idea to take the night off and not be trying to capture every moment with the perfect picture.

We met our good friends Cruz and Tara for dinner at Outback before heading over and thankfully, they had their camera and well my phone DOES have a camera too. So all was not lost and you know what? I had the most fun I can remember from recent visits. I was relaxed and just taking it all in, reveling in the kids boundless energy and frequent giggling. It was a night that truly lived up to my expectations. And I can't ask for anything more.

Family in the tunnel of lights:

The kids in the tunnel:

A view of the lights along the walkway:

Example of one of the displays:

Jake riding the carosuel:

Jadyn on the carousel:

Playing on the hay castle/maze (Joe said he should have just bought a bunch of hay bales instead of a play structure for the yard):

Big smiles and rosy cheeks:

Riding the trackless train:

School Notes

2011-12-16T12:40:00.000-08:00

1. Joe. He is done! He completed all his requirements for his bachelor's degree in Information Technology. Conferral will be in February. He has been working full-time and sometimes going to school full-time for longer than I can remember. I am so proud of all the work he has put into achieving this accomplishment.

2. Jake. After getting a low mark in reading at the beginning of the year because of his comprehension skills, he managed to raise his score and earn the Star Reading Award for the 1st trimester. This means he is reading at or above grade level. His teacher was very impressed at how much he improved in such a short amount of time. This has been a good lesson for me as a parent to make sure my kids are not only reading the words but understanding what they are reading. Jake is currently reading the Bad Kitty series to Jadyn and I at night and it has been hilarious. He actually begs to read extra chapters to see what is going to happen. Here he is with his award. Not the best picture but it does the job of capturing the moment I suppose:

As for holiday activities in class, not as much as they get older sadly but he did write a cute letter to Santa and make a beautiful poinsetta flower. They were going to be doing a reindeer craft and make reindeer sandwiches for their class holiday party today.

3. Jadyn - finally got her award for student of the month in academics for her achievement in reading. We will be heading to Carrow's for her free breakfast over the break.

Her kindy teacher is amazing and had tons of super cute holiday activities for the kids this week. On Tuesday, which is my regular day to volunteer, she had me help the kids decorate gingerbread cookies and she read them the story of the gingerbread man. Well, while the kids were at lunch, her teacher hid the decorated gingerbread cookies in another room and put up footprints and signs around the school. When the kids returned to class and saw the table empty, I had two students personally accuse ME of eating all 24 cookies, which was pretty funny. The class followed the footprints and read the signs, "No! No! I won't come back. I'd rather run than be your snack" until we eventually found them and brought them back to class to enjoy.

Today, they had a Polar Express breakfast and the kids were allowed to wear their PJs and bring their favorite stuffed animals and blankets to school. After eating, they all got to snuggle up and watch the movie with hot cocoa of course, ending the day before break with a literary exchange. Jadyn with some classmates. Apparently lady bug pillow pets are a HOT item right now:

Finally both kids got to pass out the snowman soup kits we made for all their classmates, especially fitting for Jadyn's class since they had just enjoyed a cup of hot cocoa in class.

So now the kids are out of school for 2 weeks. We have a lot planned for next week leading up to Christmas. I have so much spirit this year, I don't know who is more excited, me or the kids!

Giving

2011-12-15T11:40:00.000-08:00

As a secular family, we celebrate Christmas as a cultural holiday. For me Christmas is a time when we really focus on spending quality time with family and friends, letting them know how much they mean to us and how grateful we are for all that we have in our lives. It also means reaching out to those that are less fortunate and giving to them as well, making the bleak days of winter a little brighter. It is also a time to celebrate the innocence of childhood, the magic and joy of a season that would otherwise be filled with cold dreary days and longer (and even colder) nights. It is a time to carry on traditions as well as make new ones, ones that will be carried on through the years and bring back fond memories.

I do not dismiss that Christmas is an important religious holiday to Christians. And to that end, I do explain that to my children and teach them about it. I want them to be exposed to all different religions, particularly Christianity since it is so prominent in our society. I want to be respectful of other beliefs and teach my kids to do the same. But I personally don't feel that celebrating Christmas in a secular fashion is disrespectful and if anyone disagrees with me, then I'm sorry but they are not being very respectful of my beliefs in return for the same courtesy.

But that was not the point of this post. The point was that the Advent calendar has done a remarkable job of keeping me accountable and as a family, we were able to do quite a few acts of service over the last few weeks and I hope that I taught my kids that the best part of Christmas is not the gifts Santa leaves for them but the ones that they can give to others, both those we know and also and maybe even more importantly, those we don't.

Last week we focused on those we don't know. We donated blankets and towels to the animal shelter to keep the dogs and cats warm during the winter, we picked out toys and dropped them off at the toy drive at the fire station, we left canned food out for the mail carrier to distribute to those in need and purchased more non-perishables to drop off at TLC's Stuff the Bus for local families who might not otherwise get to have a a nice dinner this holiday. Lastly, we treated ourselves to Starbucks and just because, we paid for the order of the person behind us.

This week we focused on those we do know. The kids helped me stuff, seal and affix labels for holiday cards, made crafty gifts and cards for their teachers, bus drivers and grandparents, helped put together "snowman soup" kits for all their classmates and picked out gifts for good friends. They also helped wrap gifts for family members and each picked out a Christmas/birthday gift for the dog. Next week we will finish things off with a day of baking, taking plates of goodies to some of the neighbors.

I am not writing about all this to give myself a pat on the back or brag about all the great things I did with my kids the last few weeks. In fact I am rather embarrassed. Because although I have thought about donating and volunteering and instilling that in the kids many times, it is quite rare for me to make a concerted effort to make it a regular part of our lives. Why should it only happen around the holidays?

I don't want to dismiss the things I have done because I do volunteer quite a bit of my time for the organizations my children are involved in - school, sports, ballet. And we do frequently donate items, money and when we can, time to the local animal shelter. But that is not good enough for me. Not anymore.

Because I think the greatest gift I have gotten this Christmas is a deeper understanding of the values that I want to teach my children, of the person I want to be. And while to some's disappointment that may include a further cemented decision to remain a secular family, I don't think anyone can be disappointed with my decision that I want to give more and teach my kids to do the same, not only at Christmas but all year long.

My Jewel

2011-12-12T21:37:00.000-08:00

I was so good last spring, not posting any pictures of Jadyn in her ballet costume until after the recital. Well, this time around? I just can't find that kind of self-restraint. The recital is entitled "Jewels in Winter" and each performance is representing a different gem or jewel. Jadyn's class got amethyst, which just happens to be my birthstone and one of my very favorite colors, purple.

So here she is at her studio dress rehearsal last Thursday. We still have the stage dress rehearsal and photo shoot on Thursday and then the recital on Saturday. I was just thankful I remembered how to get her hair in a ballet bun!

A peek into life with a Scout Elf

2011-12-12T10:36:00.000-08:00

Most of the antics that Jelfie has been up to are total rip-offs from Laura's Mommy Journal but since she got most of her ideas off the internet, she is just basically saving me the work of researching ideas. And, the kids have pretty much loved it. The first thing they do when they wake up is look for Jelfie.

I try to tie Jelfie's hiding spot each day with the note in the Advent calendar. Somedays, there is just not a way to do it and other days, it's easy-peasy.

Jelfie got caught playing Xbox and eating Cheez-its (note for the day was an extra 30 minutes of video game time after dinner):

Then there was the day the kids got 2011 Keepsake nutcrackers. Jelfie decided to snuggle under a blanket with them:

Jelfie also took a marshmallow bath and left the kids some color tablets for their bath that day (they shower during the week for time's sake but get to take a bath once on the weekends):

This was a day I couldn't think of anything related so Jelfie was playing with Jake's toy dinosaur and got a little scared:

And what appears to be an obligatory elf snow angel, this one with sugar. You have NO idea how hard it was to leave this mess in my kitchen overnight (just kidding, well a little anyway):

Then there was the day that we were watching the Niles kids and their youngest Sariah is only 2.5. Jadyn was afraid she wouldn't understand that she couldn't touch Jelfie or he would lose his magic so she asked Jelfie that night to hide somewhere he couldn't be reached. It was so cute listening to her talk to him and explain herself:

Today the kids are going to top/decorate their own ice cream sundaes and guess who was missing the North Pole and decided to hide in the freezer? Jelife of course!:

So we are enjoying having Jelfie around. Only 13 more days until Christmas! Can you believe it?

So why all this holiday cheer?

2011-12-08T02:00:00.000-08:00

We sure have been cramming in an awful lot in a short amount of time and there is a reason for it.

The kids have winter break to include the week before and after Christmas. We usually have two weeks to enjoy the holiday and participate in plenty of winter activities. This year, however, is different.

Two days after Christmas I am going in for surgery. I won't go into details on my blog (anyone is free to email me privately for more information) but I will just say that it is gynecological in nature and does not involve anything life-threatening. It will require 6 weeks of recovery though and the first 2 weeks are going to require a lot of downtime on my part. We chose a time when the kids had the least amount on their schedule and both Joe and I would be slow at work, making it easier to take time off. I will only be in the hospital 1 or 2 days and then home to recuperate. While I am nervous, I am also eager to have it taken care of. I am also really bummed that I won't be able to walk or run for awhile and the running may take much longer to get back to.

So if you suddenly find me blogging. tweeting and facebooking less, you will know why. But I don't expect to be out of the loop for long. In the meantime, I am really making the most of Christmas and everything that comes with it because I don't think we will be doing much come New Year's Eve (not that we are huge party types anyway). Your thoughts are appreciated.

Kitty, its cold outside.

2011-12-07T02:00:00.000-08:00

And apparently its pretty cold inside too.

You know its cold when your cat uses the tree skirt for a blanket and yes her body is underneath the tree skirt. She wedged her way in between buttons along the back closure:

Now that's more like it

2011-12-06T02:00:00.000-08:00

Remember this? Jake's Fall school picture:

And remember how I had him retake it, you know on "make-up" day?

Well here is the second go around. Much more what I like to see. My handsome little man.

Getting into the holiday spirit

2011-12-05T15:00:00.000-08:00

This weekend was jam-packed with activities geared toward the holiday spirit. Saturday morning we woke up bright and early and went to the Home Depot Kids Workshop to make gifts for the grandparents.

We then drove to Upland to visit Grandpa and Grandma Funny Nose as I had a hair appointment (I have been getting my hair done by the same gal for as long as Joe and I have been together, 15 years now!). Finally, since we were nearby, we decided to check out the Winter Wonderland event at Bass Pro. We love going to Bass Pro anytime of year but the fact that they had a special area set up with holiday activities just gave us all the more reason.

And then we arrived at 4:30pm to be offered a pass to see Santa at 7 p.m.! Frankly there wasn't enough to see and do that was going to keep us busy for 2 1/2 hours but the kids were excited to check out some of the offerings and of course, they wanted to see Santa too. And so we made the best of it. We raced slot cars around a track, shot laser guns and soft foam archery, rode on a wildlife carousel, completed a coloring page, ate popcorn and cookies and browsed the entire store several times. I have some complaints about how things were run but it would seem petty to complain about a free event. Just don't count on us making it an annual thing. I do have to say, we got to see Santa 15 minutes earlier than our allotted time. We were in and out with our photo fairly quickly and the kids ultimately left happy.

We ended our long day with dinner at well else but Ruby's and called it a day.

Sunday was much more relaxed, in fact the kids never got out of their PJs but we still had plenty of holiday activities to accomplish. The kids painted their projects from the Home Depot. We discovered Jelfie in the kids bathroom where he had sweetly attempted to wrap a gingerbread kit with toilet paper and so later that day we decorated the gingerbread house, which has become a yearly tradition. The kids kept eating the "frost" as they called it. I don't know where their sweet tooth comes from (I say innocently as I divert my eyes and look away). I think the house gets better and better looking every year if I do say so myself.

Was the weekend perfect? Of course not. But it was filled with fun holiday activities and I know that in the end, that is what we will all remember.

Taking accountability to a new level

2011-12-04T08:49:00.000-08:00

I mentioned that putting notes in the Advent calendar was going to keep me accountable for all the fun holiday activities I wanted to do with the kids and that was never more true than on Thursday, the very FIRST day of the calendar.

The kids had been asking for me to either buy ice cream at the store or take them for frozen yogurt quite a bit recently. I tried to explain to them that it wasn't really a regular cold-weather treat as it may have been during the warmer summer (and for us) fall months. So I got the brilliant idea to treat them to frozen yogurt as dessert on the first day of the Advent calendar.

What I didn't count on was that Thursday would be the exact day we would go from mild weather in the 60's to cold, windy and rainy weather - they were actually predicting the possibility of snow (we saw some flurries that day but nothing stuck). That night after dinner, I left it up to them and surprise, surprise - they still wanted to go out for frozen yogurt. So here they are enjoying their fro-yo in the freezing, rainy, windy weather while I ran into the Starbucks next store for a more normal winter treat - my new favorite holiday drink - a caramel brulee latte.

The next morning they found Jelfie in our candy basket, having eaten part of a peppermint patty.

This has turned out to be so much fun. They giggled, they talked to him about how funny he was and they were super extra careful not to touch him when it was time to get their own treat (to pack in their school lunches). While they were at school Jelfie moved to a more central location, inside Daddy's stocking. I am wondering for you Elf on the Shelf veterans what you do with your elf after the kids have seen his antics for the day? Do you keep him where he is or move him because we read the book and the kids know they can't touch him or he will lose his magic so I have to be careful that if I do move him, it is not in their presence.

I won't be posting pics of Jelfie's antics daily, maybe only the ones that are really clever (which means not many as I am not known to be clever, LOL!). Until then I remain, faithfully accountable.

The newest tradition

2011-12-02T02:00:00.000-08:00

I have a lot of friends who have done the Elf on the Shelf over the last several years. I thought it was a cute idea but I just never did it. I can't pinpoint exactly why. I just didn't. But recently it has come to my attention that this special magical scout elf sent to help Santa keep tabs on all the naughty and nice things the kids do right before the holiday can be known to get into a bit of mischief himself. And that sold me as it seemed like something the kids would really get a kick out of.

So, Wednesday night, the last day in November, I read the accompanying book that comes with the Elf on the Shelf to the kids. They were super excited. We had some arguments over naming him - Jadyn wanted to name him Mr. Elf. Jake wanted to name him Mike. I pointed out that since all of our names started with J, maybe his should too and the next thing you know we had Jerfie Jelf the elf, although it has already been shortened to Jelfie.

When the kids woke up on Thursday morning, the first day of December, I thought they wouldn't know what to do first - look in the #1 door of the Advent calendar? Search for Jelfie? But no, instead they immediately started watching Daddy who had made it to some special level on Harry Potter Legos Years 5-7 for Xbox. So much for that.

But with a little prompting, they remembered what was special about this particular morning. They found their chocolate coins and note for the day in the calender and then found Jelfie chilling on the shelf above in front of the poinsettia. The first thing Jadyn said, "He looks like a toy!".

Leave it to Daddy to save the day explaining that Jelfie was like Buzz or Woody in Toy Story. He may look like a toy when we are around but he comes to life when no one is looking. This seemed to work. The rest of the morning both kids giggled on several occasions at the thought of being secretly watched by their own personal scout elf.

Jelfie also brought with him a letter from Santa. It explained that he had sent Jelfie to help him, that he was impressed and proud of the kids behavior so far this year, that he had sent a list of ideas for the notes in the calendar to help mom and dad out and to remind the kids that he would be bringing them exactly four presents this year - something they want, something they need, something they wear and something they read. The kids were quite intriqued that Santa had taken the time to write them a note reiterating what Mommy, Daddy and the Elf book had already been telling them.

So now for the next 24 days, Jelfie will be found each morning in a unique location, sometimes getting himself into mischief. Let the antics begin!

Holiday Traditions, Funny Nose Style

2011-12-01T10:09:00.000-08:00

Every year as the kids get older we build on holiday family traditions. Of course the kids are going to be excited about Santa visiting and getting presents. This is only natural. But what I really want them to take away from the holiday season is that it is also about spending quality time with family and friends, doing things together that are unique to the season and giving to others, both those we know and love and also those less fortunate than us.

Last year I purchased a super cute gingerbread house Advent calendar.

I loved the concept of counting down to Christmas Day with little tokens and treats. The problem is the doors on this particular Advent calendar (and I think most for that matter) are so small, it is really hard to find things to fit in the tiny spaces. I scoured the internet for ideas and the best one I found was to leave little notes in the spaces. So, each day the kids will open the door to find a note. The note will include something fun and special we will do that day AND something that can also be fun and special but directly benefits someone other than themselves. The best thing about this is that most of the items are things we have done or were going to do anyway. This just keeps me super accountable. Here are some of the items so far. I still have about 6 days where I have to come up with something. I also managed to include a small candy, coin or sticker to include with each note.

Day 1: Help Mommy get holiday cards ready to go out (i.e. stuff envelopes, affix labels and stamps, seal closed). Going out for frozen yogurt dessert after dinner.

Day 2: Gather non-perishable items to leave out for our mail carrier Saturday morning to give to those in need. As a special treat, they get to sleep in Mom and Dad's bed that night.

Day 3: Going to Home Depot Workshop to make gifts for the grandparents. Afterward we are going to Bass Pro's Winter Wonderland.

Day 4: Drop off old blankets and towels to the animal shelter for the dogs and cats who will need them over the colder winter months. Later that day, we will make our yearly gingerbread house.

Other fun items include days where each child gets to choose a holiday movie for family movie night, their choice of board game on family game night, an extra half hour of video game time and their choice of holiday book at bedtime. I also have holiday crafts planned for two additional days and included outings like our annual visit to the Wild Lights at the zoo.

Other fun items benefiting others include baking cookies to give to the neighbors, making Snowman Soup to give out to classmates before the school break, making handmade cards for their teachers to give with their gifts, dropping off toys for the Toys for Tots drive, dropping off food for the TLC Christmas dinner program, dropping off items from the wish list for the local humane society (different from town animal shelter) and going to spend time and cuddle with the cats at the third animal shelter in our area.

Finally, around the halfway point of the calendar (I think I put it on the 10th), the kids' note will include a map to a small gift for each of them.

I think this is all going to be the start of a fun tradition. Tomorrow I am going to introduce you to another new tradition for us. His name is Jerfie Jelf the Elf, or Jelfie for short. You need only visit Laura's Mommy Journal to guess what this new tradition will be and while you are there, read her post about taking the stuff out of Christmas. Because although my words may not have been quite so eloquent, my goal is the same.

Really decking the halls

2011-11-30T22:19:00.001-08:00

It has become tradition to spend the long 3 day weekend after Thanksgiving prepping the house for Christmas. Friday I took down all of the boxes and this is the one of the best parts of the whole experience, going through all of our decorations, sentimental mementos and crafts from years past, some things long forgotten since last year, and marveling over them as newly discovered treasures.

The first thing Jadyn wanted was for Jake to read her a Christmas themed book, which of course he obliged:

We then decided to introduce Kuma to the holidays by torturing him with reindeer antlers. Never fear however; that is as far as I will go when it comes to "dressing up" my pets for the holidays:

I spent most of Friday setting out all the indoor decorations. We usually leave the tree for last. It usually gets its' own special day. Looking at the blog from last year, I realized that I posted fall decorations but not any of my Christmas ones, except of course for our THREE trees, a tradition that will remain in effect this year.

Here is our mantel:

My favorite area to decorate, the entryway console table:

And the dining room:

And I know this may seem silly, to show you a picture of Kuma's kennel but this special stocking has been passed down to him from Utah, who received it as a gift from the vet staff after his first knee surgery:

Saturday we put both the kids trees up and that night our family tree while watching our favorite holiday movie, The Polar Express. It was a great way to start off the holiday season.

One of our family traditions is of course that the kids have their own trees with special ornaments. But we have some new traditions we are expanding on from last year and starting this year. But that will just have to wait for another post.

A week to give thanks for

2011-11-28T08:16:00.000-08:00

We had a great Thanksgiving break. It's kind of hard to believe that it is already over and now it's going to be December! The kids are back to school for 3 more weeks and then it's Winter break. Before we know it, Christmas will be upon us. But before I jump ahead to holiday preparations, let me give Thanksgiving its deserved moment in the spotlight.

Last Monday we had a wonderful play date with the Davis family and the kids got to make foam glittery turkey crafts. Tuesday we had the Beyer family over for a visit and Rose helped me make the stuffing that was such a huge hit at last year's Thanksgiving dinner. Wednesday Joe and the kids made cookies to bring along. In between all that, we watched some movies, played some board games (we recently added the old classic Sorry to our collection) and video games. We borrowed Just Dance 3 and FINALLY there is a video game I love and can play with the kids and actually beat them. It's a hoot. One day I will bravely post a video of me and the kids dancing. I say brave because I feel like I should look much better dancing than I actually do. I mean I spent 2 years on dance team in high school. At any rate, it's a lot of fun.

Thanksgiving Thursday was a very pleasant day - filled with good food with lots of family and plenty to give thanks for. Here is the requisite family picture and another one of just the kids:

What I love about Thanksgiving is the focus on being thankful for what you have and last year I introduced the kids to the thankful tree. This year I challenged them to not only include items from last year but to try and think of other things to be thankful for that we may not have included last year. Some of the items on the tree included being alive, earth, friends, family, pets, nature, our home, a nice-sized yard to play in, Dad's job, our health along with the Xbox and Wii (guess who's contribution that was?)

The rest of the weekend was spent mostly preparing for the holidays - setting up the decorations and tree(s). But I will save the details of that for another post. We did take a break Saturday to go see Puss in Boots, which was good. I think Joe and the kids liked it more than I did but it was still a fun outing. I snapped this picture of the kids with the Chipmunks because yes, apparently they are coming out with yet another movie.

Thanksgiving break was a good combination of fun, relaxation and productivity. Now bring on Christmas. I am really looking forward to to it.

For Days Like This

2011-11-23T23:17:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for days like this and for all that it represents.

I am thankful to have the opportunity to spend quality time with my two beautiful children.

I am thankful for the beautiful weather, the changing seasons and the chance to be out and enjoy nature.

I am thankful that although it meant he couldn't be with us on this day, Joe has a job that he likes and is good at and that furthermore,he provides so much for us.

I am thankful that we are all in relative good health.

I am thankful that my children get along so well.

I am thankful that they can be goofy and silly and make me laugh almost daily.

I am thankful for a daughter who wears her heart on her sleeve, even if that means she can be overly emotional at times.

I am thankful for a son who is helpful and sweet and sensitive to the needs of others.

I am thankful for a house we have made our home and for pets who can be an integral part of our family .

I am thankful for those serving our country and their families, making sacrifices daily so that we can live free and be protected from harm.

Although I am grateful for all these things on a daily basis, I think Thanksgiving is the perfect time to not only be thankful but to really celebrate it.

And I am especially thankful for all my family and friends near and far and I wish each and every one of you a very Happy Thanksgiving.

It seemed like a good idea

2011-11-20T21:31:00.000-08:00

Last Monday Joe had the day off. Mondays are generally my ONE day during the week that I don't have scheduled commitments while the kids are at school. I usually go grocery shopping, clean and organize for the week. BUT, since Joe was off we decided to check out a new trail someone had told me about that is not in the national park (translation: Kuma can come with us). It was a nice 3.2 mile loop.

Here was the view after a little uphill hike. Further down and to the left of the more obvious housing development where all the green trees are is our neighborhood:

Saturday morning I did not wake up early enough to take Kuma to the dog park so I got the brilliant idea to take the kids with us to go back on the trail we did Monday. Originially, we thought we would go up a way and then turn around and go back. The kids were really enjoying it, looking for cool and unusual rocks along the way and laughing at Kuma's antics as he enjoyed the freedom of running along the trail. At one point, Joe and I decided that we had come far enough that they could probably complete the same loop we had done earlier in the week.

So here we are at the "height" of our hike meaning we were enjoying nature, being outside, spending time as a family and having fun:

Then Jadyn got tired. Totally understandable and expected. No problem. Daddy can easily carry her on his shoulders. How cute are they?

But then it became constant whining from both about being tired, wanting to take breaks, needing water, being hungry, having sand in their shoes, etc. etc. etc. In an effort to keep us going, Joe finally attempted to carry them both. That is about 80 pounds of wiggling kids he is carrying:

I on the other hand could do little but forge ahead of them, making it up the last hill and getting to the car so I could come back down and get them. I probably only managed to get about a third to a half mile ahead.

It was still a nice hike and I don't think anyone regrets going. We just have to remember not to push our luck when it comes to the kids limits. As Joe was trying to carry both kids he looked at me, smiled and said, "Who's idea was this anyway?"

And how nice is it to have a decent camera on board my phone so I can capture these pictures without lugging around my SLR. Am I enjoying my iPhone? Why yes I am.

Style Sense

2011-11-18T03:00:00.000-08:00

Jake has been taking a more active roll in his attire these days. I still lay out his clothes for him the night before but he has been adding accessories that almost everyday include a hat, sunglasses and gloves. I think it is endearing:

Jadyn and I have continued to just have so much fun together with clothes. The night before we pick out her clothes, decide what shoes look best with it, how she is going to wear her hair and what hair accessories will complete the look. I have been having a lot of luck at the Gymboree outlet because frankly now that she is in little girls sizes, my usual favorites such as Target and Old Navy seem to forget that they are LITTLE girls. Jadyn was particularly pleased with this little ensemble we put together:

Also note that the PIGTAILS are back!!! All of a sudden, she is willing to wear them again, although she insists they be lower then I used to have them. Fine with me. I love her in piggy tails.

Magoomba Update

2011-11-17T09:27:00.001-08:00

Updates on random items that have previously been mentioned on the blog.

This past Saturday was the last soccer game of the season, which also meant end of the season parties for both kids' teams. Jadyn had hers at McDonalds (the weather was cold, not a lot of options in our town). The kids had fun in the playland and Jadyn received her trophy. I made flip photo books with pictures I had taken of the team throughout the season to present to both coaches. Here is Jadyn is with Coach Malerie. If she looks familiar its because Ms. Malerie was a teacher at the kids' preschool (excuse the random people in the background. It was chaotic and I just wanted to get a shot to preserve the memory):

Tuesday Jake had the dreaded dentist appointment to fill his first cavity and have a tooth extracted to hopefully make room so his permanent teeth can come in straighter than they currently are. Jake was nervous. I was nervous. But in the end, it all went rather smoothly. Here he is leaving the office biting on gauze to control the oozing:

We then went to Wal-mart for him to pick out a small Lego toy (Star Wars Clone Wars in case you were wondering) and for frozen yogurt after the numbness started wearing off.

Coincidentally, Jake had his end of season soccer party that evening at Pizza Hut and wasn't the least bit affected by his earlier trip to the dentist. Jake received a trophy (Bobble head ones of all things) and again we presented the coach with a flip photo book with pictures from the season. Here is the team (minus only one player) showing off their trophies:

Finally, on Monday Jadyn's weekly newsletter included the recipients of October's Student of the Month awards and Jadyn received the Academics award for achievement in reading. I am so proud of her and after seeing Jake get awards for the last 2 years, not to mention just last month, she was super excited. As soon as we get her award (the school had run out), we will be making another trip to Carrow's for her free breakfast and to celebrate her accomplishment. Unfortunately, I do not have a picture to share since the school cut down on awards ceremonies due to time constraints (which was actually fine with me because I think once a month assemblies was a little much).

That's all for now. Gotta get my work done and rest up. Midnight showing of Breaking Dawn Part I tonight with a great group of gals. My expectations are so low for this movie (seeing as how they have butchered all the books in their adaptations and this book wasn't even that good), I might just end up pleasantly surprised.

Knott's Berry Farm Version 2.0

2011-11-14T23:03:00.000-08:00

Two years ago I blogged about a trip our family took to a Southern California amusement park called Knott's Berry Farm and how much it had changed from when I used to go as a child. One of the reasons we had gone was because from November 1st through Thanksgiving they offer a promotion where Veterans and one guest get in free, making it a rather inexpensive outing for our family. We meant to go again last year but never found the time.

We got the opportunity to go last week and boy oh boy was it fun. I know it's a total ripoff of Disneyland in so many ways - just replace Mickey Mouse with Snoopy and Charlie Brown (not that I am knocking the Peanuts gang. Their holiday specials are tradition in this household). But when you can go for practically nothing, when it's a light weekday crowd, when the lines are almost nonexistent, when the kids are old/tall enough to go on many of the rides by themselves, well that just adds up to a good time for all.

And Jadyn is such an adventurer. I took her on a pretty intense roller coaster in Camp Snoopy - she loved it. I then showed her some of the bigger roller coasters, ones she is years away from being able to ride and had she been given the chance, she was willing and ready. Jake isn't as into the roller coasters but he did finally go on that same roller coaster on our second go round of the rides. They also did the dragon swing and the Hat Dance (tea cups) and while the kids loved it, I realized I no longer have the stomach I used to for rides that spin and continually sway up and down.

You know its a successful trip when the whole family willingly poses with Snoopy!

And check out all these genuine smiles and silly posing:

Yearly tradition? On our fall family fun to do list? Absolutely! And for extra fun click on the Knott's Berry Farm link in the first paragraph of the post for a fun comparison of how much the kids have grown over the last 2 years. Always.blows.my.mind.

Who knew we had two cats?

2011-11-10T02:00:00.000-08:00

During the mild months of spring and fall and even the scorching heat of summer, the cats spend A LOT of time outdoors. Some may argue about the risks of having indoor/outdoor cats and we have had our incidents of the hunter becoming the prey and injuries because of our decision. But, I have always allowed our cats the choice to go outside and they enjoy it so very much.

However, last week our weather cooled considerably, going from the 80's to the low 60's and even lower at some points with added wind and rain. And off topic, I wasn't too happy that we seemed to have missed out on the low 70's/high 60's that is a favorite for me in fall. But apparently, this change in weather has decreased the amount of time the cats spend outside, basically they go out to do their business and maybe for a short jaunt during the right time of day. Otherwise they are inside, which means they play inside as well as want more attention and cuddle time too. It's like all of a sudden we have two new cats in addition to the dog. I found a majority of my pictures from this last week were 1) involving the cats and 2) taken with my new iPhone camera. Still getting used to it but nice when I don't want to drag out or lug around my SLR.

So glad we got Kuma a dog bed, which he never uses but the cats seem to find it a cozy place to cuddle up for a midday nap:

Friday begging for fresh sink water from the kids during their pre-bedtime teeth brushing:

And Friday again, zonked out next to Jadyn while she watches her post-school day cartoon:

Quickly, the only other news from last week was that on Thursday Jadyn got to wear her Halloween costume to ballet. Kind of fun:

And our school had their fall festival that same night. The kids had a blast and I was glad they moved it indoors, although I wish I would have known because I was bundled up to be outside and ended up sweating during my assigned time working the 2nd grade ring toss game. What can you do?

We finished the weekend by watching a lot of sequels - Cars 2, Spy kids 2 and X-Men 2. We also were very productive, getting lots of pre-holiday toy/junk purging and planning done. The kids went through their rooms and picked out stuff to donate, I ordered our holiday cards and made a list of the winter clothing items the kids still need. I also got a good list going for my holiday shopping. Can't believe it will be here before we know it.

Jadyn after going through her plethora of dress-up clothes and accessories. She specifcally asked to have her picture taken so I could share it with my friends:

Wound up and winding down

2011-11-09T03:00:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday was the 2nd to the last game of the season. Between daylight savings and the weather cooling down, I will be glad not to be sitting at the field for practice 4 evenings a week, but honestly, I am a little sad that the season is ending because I love soccer and I love watching the kids play. And Saturday Jake was ON FIRE scoring 3 goals and playing some awesome defense.

At one point during the game, the coach yelled out to Jake something to the effect of, "Someone sure did have their Wheaties for breakfast this morning!". Not understanding the reference, Jake stopped and looked at him replying, "No, I had bacon and toast."

It has also been a joy to see Jadyn get more and more aggressive on the field. I even had a parent from another team remark at how well she played during the game. She seems especially unafraid when playing goalie. Maybe she will take after me - I played goalie for several years during my "soccer career". At any rate, it doesn't look like she will be choosing between soccer and ballet anytime soon. And next year she will move up a division and no longer play co-ed, which I look forward to.

As you can see from the pictures, the matching "team spirit" hair color has somehow become a weekly ritual, almost part of their uniforms. To that end, I am kind of glad next week is their last game.

School Pictures

2011-11-08T09:00:00.000-08:00

School pictures were at the beginning of October. We got them back a few weeks ago. I thought Jadyn's turned out fairly cute:

But Jake's? I don't know why other people have such hard time getting a decent smile out of him. I know he is going through that awkward "cheese" phase but did they really think this was acceptable?

I knew it was bad when I asked Joe if he thought it was worthy of having it retaken on the designated day and he agreed.

So, retake day is this week. I had told Jake that I was going to have him retake his picture, that while it was an okay picture I know he can look much more handsome (I was trying not to make him feel bad).

Jake came home from school yesterday and said, "They are letting me retake my picture this week but I have to wear make-up or something like that," he scrunched up his face in a sort of grin (similar to his school picture actually) looking truly confused and frankly so was I. And then I realized where the confusion came in. His teacher had said they were having "make-up pictures" as in to make up for those who had missed them or needed them retaken. I cracked up at Jake thinking he was going to have to wear make-up for the picture. That is just too cute - classic Funny Nose!

Reversal of Fortune

2011-11-04T12:11:00.000-07:00

I mentioned that the kids had their 6 month dentist cleanings and check-ups last Friday before all those fun Halloween activities. In the past, Jadyn has never had a check-up without the discovery of a new cavity. She just doesn't have good teeth. I have actually lost count but I think she has a total of 5 or so fillings now. Yikes I know!

Well, she has gotten so used to having cavities filled that when she came out of the room from getting her teeth cleaned she wanted to know why her mouth didn't feel funny - as in numb. She could hardly fathom the idea of going in just to have her teeth cleaned and checked. And I am happy to report that she is cavity free!!!!

Jake on the other hand was not so lucky. He has his first cavity. Cue the boos. On top of that his 4 permanent bottom teeth are coming in crowded and crooked. To hopefully help make more room and have them come in a little straighter, the dentist is recommending he have his bicuspids extracted. We are going to have the one tooth pulled when they fill his cavity, since that whole side will already be numb. As for the other side, we will wait and see. I feel so bad because while Jadyn has gotten used to the whole process, this is going to be a totally new experience for Jake and while the dentist said the extraction was "not a big deal", I have heard from other people that you are pretty sore afterwards. I am planning a special treat for him after that visit - it will happen in a week and half. Wish us luck.

The funny part of the dentist visit came when Jake was getting his teeth cleaned and the hygienist mentioned how loose one of his teeth was. I told her he always waits until they literally fall out. While we were talking about it she said, "Oops! It just fell out while I was cleaning it". Hey at least he got a visit from the tooth fairy out of the deal.

Tricks and Treats Version 2011

2011-11-01T09:36:00.000-07:00

The festivities started Friday night with a treat when we did the annual Flashlight Scramble. This is our third year participating in this fun and fast event where they turn the lights off on the community center field at 7 p.m. and just as the name implies the kids use their flashlights and scramble for candy and small trinkets. I love to see the bigger kids be so respectful and careful of the younger kids and I love that the entire event takes less than 10 minutes. Here are Jake and Jadyn with our neighbor, Adriana:

Saturday morning was a trick, as the kids both had soccer games. We got into the Halloween spirit by adding a little extra color to their uniforms. I can't believe we only have 2 more games left in the season!:

Saturday night was another treat when we got together with our gang of friends from 29 Palms by participating in a Trunk or Treat event at the Niles family's church. And the most surefire way to get a genuine smile out of Jake is getting him together with his best pal Sam:

Mama Kitty with her kids, the Marine and Berry Butterfly:

Here is Jadyn with the flower fairy, Sam's sister Sariah:

Sunday we went to visit Grandma Anita and had the kids dress in their costumes and "trick or treat" at her house. We hope we lifted her spirits as she is still recovering from a recent stroke and subsequent surgery.

That night was a trick when we belatedly carved our pumpkins. The kids each got to pick one design for carving (we have fallen into set roles where I scoop out the guts and Joe helps the kids carve, although we did make the kids each do one scoop of guts. They were not fans). Then the kids each did their own Potato Head pumpkin as well.

Here is Jake doing some carving:

And the kids posing with the end result of our work. What a treat:

No costumes at school so it was a trick to have both kids wear Halloween-themed t-shirts. Jadyn's has a black cat and Jake's has a zombie. Both so fitting of their personalities and what they are into right now. Kuma posed for the picture too. No costume for him though:

Monday, Halloween night we ended with some tricks and treats when we headed on base to Cruz and Tara's house. They really outdid themselves with the house decorations and special effects. We are talking falling spiders, creepy skeletons and monsters sitting up from their graves, a broom that moves on its own, fog machines and scary music. They got multiple compliments that they were THE house to visit in the neighborhood.

Here is Jadyn demonstrating how "scary" the decorations were:

And Jake reporting for duty:

He made it his mission to scare people by clapping, therefore making the creepy guy pop out of the grave. His uniform helped camouflage him as it got dark AND he himself scared several people, adults included because they thought Jake was part of the decorations until he moved. All of a sudden you would hear Jake giggle and you just knew he got someone really good:

Cruz dressed up as Chewbacca so yes that is me getting fresh with Cruz, ahem I mean Chewy. Don't worry. Joe was aware. He took the picture after all:

Jadyn and Adriana (our neighbor) had more fun passing out candy then when we finally pulled the kids away from their duties to go trick or treating themselves. We could hardly get them to do the houses in the cul-de-sac across the way before they wanted to head back to Cruz and Tara's:

Jadyn also got in on the scaring action when she would clap to activate a falling spider. She was having a blast:

All of us after two straight hours of trick or treaters. It was a super fun Halloween night:

Scarecrow Day

2011-10-31T09:11:00.000-07:00

Friday was the last day of Red Ribbon Week and all the kids were asked to wear red so they could take one big school photo. But Jadyn and all the other kindergartners also had something else special planned for this pre-Halloween Friday - a tradition known as Scarecrow Day. Imagine 120 kindergartners all dressed to various degrees of detail as cute little scarecrows parading through all the other upper grade classrooms. It was cute. It was fun. It was exhausting!

Here is my lil scarecrow:

With her bestie Riley:

Her class full of scarecrows:

Parading through the school:

With chaperone mom:

Twin Day

2011-10-28T02:00:00.000-07:00

Day 4 of Red Ribbon Week was twin day. The funny thing is I know quite a few people with twins and they usually avoid dressing their kids alike but for the kids and their best buds at school, this was all about matching clothes and having fun!

Jadyn with her "twin" Riley:

And Jake with his "twin" buddy Kyle:

Hope everyone has a fun and safe pre-Halloween weekend. We are headed to the dentist after school today (great scheduling on my part huh? The dentist right before Halloween). We have a lot of fun Halloween activities planned this weekend on top of early morning soccer games. Enjoy!

Red Ribbon Week - The First Three Days

2011-10-27T10:50:00.000-07:00

It's Red Ribbon Week at school - the week where the kids are taught to stay drug-free. The festivities include a kick-off assembly, a demonstration by the drug sniffing K9 unit aboard the Marine Base and a special dress theme for each day. I usually have a really hard time getting Jake to participate but so far I am 2 out 3. I'll take it!

Day One - Show off your favorite sports team. Jake wore his old Grasshopper t-ball jersey and hat and they are a real minor league baseball team in Greensboro, North Carolina. Jadyn wore an Angels t-shirt:

Day Two - Career Day, dress up in what you want to be when you grow up. Jake wore his Marine Corps uniform (also his Halloween costume this year). Jadyn dressed up like an art teacher and we had fun splattering all that paint:

Day Three - Wacky Day! Jake lost interest and wouldn't let me spray color in his hair. Jadyn went pretty wacky. She reminds me of Punky Brewster for some reason:

Stay tuned. There are still two more days left. Both of these themes will have to be photographed at school, where I am currently living it would seem because it is also the week of the book fair and I love me a good book fair! So I have two days in the book fair and my two days in the classroom, which makes Thursday my only day not volunteering and I will be there anyway to take pictures. Go figure!

Misadventures in Cooking

2011-10-26T02:00:00.000-07:00

If you are friends with me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter, you may have heard how I accidentally set the microwave to 22:20 minutes instead of the necessary 2:20 minutes to heat up my delicious and nutritious lean pocket for lunch (note the sarcasm here). I went to change out of my yoga clothes and smelled something burning. I came out of my closet through the master bedroom to a house full of smoke and a paper plate and lean pocket on fire in the microwave. It had been 8 minutes. No harm, no foul. Except that my house still smells like the inside of a fire pit.

I was suddenly reminded that I am no cook. I have come a long way over the years. The running joke when Joe and I got married was that I could ruin boiling water for raman noodles (putting them on the stove and then forgetting about it until the water had completely boiled away). However, that said I can put together enough meals now to feed my family. I still don't enjoy it. I don't have the patience or passion for it. And I still have the occasional mishap.

The one that gets the best laugh happened almost a year ago. My friend Rose had taught me how to make chicken pot pie from (almost) scratch. I was so proud that I decided to make the dish for my mom and her husband when they were visiting over the holidays. It was a big deal in that yes, I had a recipe to follow, but it did not have exact measurements for ingredients. I followed along carefully and got to the part where you add flour one tablespoon at a time to thicken up the sauce but for some reason the sauce just wasn't thickening the way it had the previous time I had made it. I kept adding tablespoon after tablespoon, I honestly don't know how many I put in there before I finally gave up. The chicken pot pie tasted fine that night, but it was kind of runny. Not the complete and utter success I wanted it to be.

It was almost 2 full days later when I was looking at the canisters on our countertop marked sugar and flour and a lightbulb went off in my head. When we moved into this house, I had purchased these said canisters that were pre-marked for sugar and flour. I loved how they looked in our kitchen. However, we only use flour when Joe bakes so instead of using the flour canister FOR flour, we keep non-dairy creamer in there because it is something used more frequently. Can you see where this was going?

Not thinking, that night I was making chicken pot pie, I used the flour canister knowing but not realizing it at that moment that there was not flour in there but instead non-dairy creamer. No wonder the sauce wasn't thickening up! Thank goodness it didn't completely ruin the pot pie by altering the flavor too much because like I said, I have NO clue how many tablespoons I put in there trying to get the sauce to thicken. And Rose is now afraid to give me anymore of her recipes.

So back to the lean pocket incident. It happened on Thursday. By Saturday, even after airing out the house for two days and cleaning out the microwave, lighting candles and spraying who knows how much of various kinds of air freshners and fabric refreshers, the house just still reeked of smoke. So while I was at the fall festival with the kids, Joe took the microwave out from above the stove and thoroughly cleaned it. He wiped down all the walls and baseboards in the kitchen, dining room and main living area, as well as steam cleaned the carpets. When I got home I wiped down all the countertops, cabinets and mopped the tile. It took all this and FINALLY, I think the smell has disappated, although it does still smell a little when we use the microwave. What an ordeal it turned into!

I would like to think that something like this will never happen again, that I will always be diligent and careful but the fact of the matter is, as far as I may have come, I am still no cook. I mean who ruins a lean pocket in the microwave? And honestly, I will never live down putting non-dairy creamer in my chicken pot pie.

Halloween Costume Preview

2011-10-25T02:35:00.000-07:00

After soccer games on Saturday we had the perfect opportunity to try out this year's Halloween costumes, participate in some fun activities at a fellow elementary school's fall festival and hang out with some great friends - The Davis Family.

First a photo op at home with my little strawberry butterfly and Jr. Marine (Jake had to do an "action" shot):

At the fall festival, the kids got to trick or treat at several of the classrooms, go through a hay maze, play a bean bag toss, sit on a tractor pulled hay ride (it broke down, what can you do?), eat yummy brats and chips, go through their very first haunted house, which neither of my kids were too scared by (Jadyn surprised me) and finally, bounce to their little hearts' content in a bounce house, all with former preschool classmates and current soccer teammates Chris and Stephanie and their little brother Landon. Even if it was a little too warm for a "fall" festival, a good time was still had by all.

Magoomba and MeMe

2011-10-24T12:20:00.001-07:00

Haven't blogged much. Been busy yes but I could have blogged should their have been anything really blog-worthy. To give you an idea of how much our lives have been "lather, rinse repeat" I didn't take a single picture from October 11th until this past Saturday. For me, that is virtually unheard of. There have been a few highlights from the past couple of weeks, so here they are:

1) First of all for the "lather, rinse repeat" - kids school Mon-Fri, soccer practice every night Mon-Thurs, family move night Friday, soccer games Saturday morning, relax and errands rest of the weekend. For Joe add work and school. For me add work, volunteering in both kids classrooms, walks and visits to the dog park with Kuma, doctor appointments and yoga on Thursdays.

2) Last Saturday Grandpa and Grandma Funny Nose came out to watch the kids soccer games. Afterwards, we tried a somewhat new restaurant the next town over called Willie Boy's. It is saloon, BBQ type place. Atmosphere was pretty cool. Food was just okay. Visit with family was great.

3) Last week, the kids school started a new number system for pick-up. After two days, Jake caved in and decided to try the bus home as the new system was rather chaotic. I am very happy he was finally willing to give the bus a try because it is a lot less stressful and time consuming on me. Now I can just head to the bus stop at 1pm to get Jadyn and 3 pm to get Jake and not deal with sitting in line for 30+ minutes or the traffic or the people who choose to ignore the rules. And the kids both get to ride the bus with their best friends. Win-win for everyone!

4) In other school news, Jake's teacher sent home a progress report and we have discovered that Jake is still lagging behind a little bit in reading comprehension and for those with only younger children - I at least was not aware that while first grade has a big focus on learning to read more and more words, second grade's big focus is comprehension so it is a good idea to make sure not only that they can read the words and the stories but that they understand what they are reading. We are currently supplementing Jake's homework with a reading comprehension workbook and may have to look into what about the particular test they use seems to be tripping it up. However, I am confident he will pull those scores back up in no time.

5) Now for the meme - my TV schedule is slowly but surely thinning out. After having several of my shows either end or get canceled last year, I also decided to drop Private Practice (needs to go away) like I did Desperate Housewives last year. I also gave American Horror Story a shot since I love, love love Ryan Murphy (Nip/Tuck and Glee) but it is all dark and no dark humor and not really my cup of tea right now. So that leaves Monday: Gossip Girl and HIMYM, Tuesday: Glee, New Girl and Ringer, Wednesday: catch up from Tuesday, Thursday: BEST DAY with Vampire Diaries and Grey's Anatomy, Friday: Fringe (Peter's finally BACK!) and Sunday: Amazing Race.

6) Books - Currently reading the Maze Runner trilogy, on book #2 of #3, The Scorch Trials then Death Cure. THEN, I want to re-read Matched before the highly-anticipated sequel, Crossed comes out November 1st. Also, contemplating re-reading Breaking Dawn before I go to a midnight showing of Part 1 on November 17th. Not expecting much from the movie since I didn't really like the book but I have to stick with tradition and with the group of ladies I have going, it is sure to be fun!

7) Music: iTune adds for the month (most are ones I wanted last month but held off on): Mutemath: Blood Pressure, Young the Giant: Cough Syrup, Grouplove: Colours, Hello: Martin Solveig & Dragonette, Red Hot Chili Peppers: Rain Dance Maggie, Coldplay: Every Teardrop is a Waterfall, Beastie Boys:Don't Play No Game that I Can't Win, Foster the People: Helena Beat

8) Speaking of iTunes, I am due for my phone upgrade with Verizon who now has iPhone. Perfect timing with the new 4s coming out. Joe ordered me one (thanks babe!) and it should be arriving this week. Looking for app recommendations and any cool features on the new phone I must know about. Super excited!

9) We have new tenants in our rental. Yippeee!

10) Tons of blogging material this week - Red Ribbon Week and book fair at school (I am mucho busy volunteering on top of my days in the classroom), and Halloween activities this weekend. Plus, later this week hear how we spend this past weekend and a costume preview. So stay tuned.

Star Students

2011-10-18T13:57:00.000-07:00

Last week Jadyn got to to be the start student for her class. It is a chance for each student to feel special for the week and share things about themselves. Her particular teacher chooses the star student by simply going in alphabetical order

Jadyn was very excited and eagerly came home that day and immediately started to fill it out, color and paste pictures to make the star student poster her own. Here she is the next day showing it off before I took her to school:

I was fortunate enough to be volunteering on the day that she got to get up in the front of the class and share her poster. She was just a little soft-spoken but did very well in front of the class.

Most importantly, I wanted to share some of the things she included on the poster because I thought it was a good snapshot of Jadyn and things that are important to her now. It might be fun to compare it in years to come.

Some of her favorite things to do: Play soccer, dance, swim and bake cookies with her Daddy.

Two of her special friends are Riley (from school) and Adriana (our neighbor).

She is happiest when she is dancing.

Her favorite place is the river.

Her family lives in a house with pigeons on top (don't ask, unfortunately it is true) and includes Mom, Dad, brother, Kuma, Jazz and Friday.

Now prepare for your heart to melt - If she could have anything in the world it would be for all cats and dogs to find homes and families to love them.

In class she got to answer one additional question of what she might want to be when she grows up. Her answer was an art teacher. At the beginning of the year it was a soccer coach. Both interesting choices. That's my girl!

In other news Jake won the academics award in his class for the month of September for his handwriting. I have had more than one parent comment on how neat he writes and how funny that the neatest handwriter in the class is in fact, not a girl. He won a certificate and a free meal at Carrow's, which will be going to soon for breakfast so we can celebrate his achievement. Go Jake!

Pumpkin Patch 2011

2011-10-12T15:42:00.000-07:00

With the weather still mild for this time of year and the forecast calling for record-breaking heat later in the week, when we found out Jake's Tuesday night soccer practice had been canceled, we took advantage of the opportunity to make a weekday (read: MUCH less crowded) visit to our favorite pumpkin patch.

Now that the kids are older, pictures are much easier. I tell them we are going to take some pictures first and the quicker they cooperate, the sooner we can get to the more fun activities. However, it was still pretty sunny when we got there so we diverted from our original plan. First up was the hay castle:

Followed by Jake's favorite, the corn maze. It is not as simple as going in and finding your way out. In order to earn the prize you have to find 4 stations hidden throughout the maze and stamp them before proceeding to the exit. Jake is really good at figuring these things out and I love watching him analyze the situation. He found 3 out of the 4 stations and we celebrated our victory by showing off the orange bracelets we won:

We quickly traipsed through the actual pumpkin patch. I think we came earlier in the season than usual because the patch seemed full of ripe orange pumpkins to choose from:

The kids then explored the ride area, each picking out a few bounce house/obstacle course type attractions. Jadyn rode a horse:

And after a little convincing, Jake rode a mini-quad and loved it just as we suspected he would:

Finally, what we, .... um I, came for. Some great posed Halloween/Fall photos!

Although I really do enjoy getting the photos, I think the corn maze is a personal favorite for me as well. And it is outings like this (finished off with dinner at Ruby's) that easily makes fall one of my favorite times of the year.

Is there such a thing as TOO much green?

2011-10-11T11:54:00.001-07:00

Because if so, we might want to alert the green police. Last year Jake's team did green hair color and face paint for their soccer game the day prior to Halloween. Jake has been asking me for green hair color to show his team spirit since this new season started. He is not usually one to do something that would draw attention to himself so I thought it would be a good idea to let him to do it. The green we picked out was very GREEN.

I don't know what I was doing wrong with my camera during the game but all the pictures turned out kind of blurry. Maybe it was all that green or just simple operator error (more likely).

At any rate that is Jake with the bright green hair defending his goal and he kept the color in the rest of the day through a trip to Grandpa and Grandma's and Sam's Club. He also scored the only goal for his team that day. At any rate, he had fun with it and that's what counts.

A for Apple, A for Effort

2011-10-10T10:23:00.000-07:00

Three years ago we went to Oak Glen, the closest place for us to go apple picking. I have very fond memories of my Grandmother taking me there every fall as a child. Well, our experience wasn't exactly how I remembered it as it has become such a tradition for so many that it is jammed packed with people, not to mention early fall does not always produce the most "fall-like" weather here in So Cal and it was pretty hot.

Well this year we were finally ready to give it another shot. Jadyn was VERY excited to go apple picking since she has been doing a unit on apples at school. I researched which orchard to go to based on our best chances of getting to pick apples as Oak Glen has light crops this year due to a late spring frost. Ultimately our best bet would be to go on a Saturday but the kids have soccer games so we left early to get there right as they opened Sunday morning. And unfortunately, the orchard had been picked out on Saturday so we were not able to actually pick apples. However, I do believe we made the most of our time there and it was a beautiful ranch/farm.

We spent a majority of our time hiking on the nature trails but we did take a few requisite pictures of the kids in the apple orchard and Jadyn "pretending" to pick an apple.

We also got to sample some delicious apple cider, which we ended up purchasing and we traipsed through their pumpkin patch as well, although for us that will be a separate outing soon to come.

Jadyn still really wants to pick apples and I may attempt to take the kids back at some point so she can have that experience but we'll just have to see. We may not have gotten to do what we came for but I have to say it was still a nice fall family outing.

It's a Party in the USA (yes I am referencing a Miley Cyrus song, so what?)

2011-10-06T02:00:00.000-07:00

It seems like lately even after a long day of school, soccer and ballet the kids still have the energy for a pre-bedtime Funny Nose dance party. The other night the kids really sweetened the deal by coming out of their rooms dressed up and ready to shake it:

Then Joe took it to another level by breaking out leftover glow sticks, turning out all the lights and putting on a techno mix. Yep, the kids and I were glowsticking. It was a rave Funny Nose style.

And speaking of dance, I have to tell you about the epic fail that was the decision to let Jadyn take hip/hop on top of her other activities. WAY TOO MUCH! Every week she has shown a steady decline in her ability to make it through 2 hours of dance on Thursdays culminating last week when she forgot her stuffed animal cat that she wanted to do the lullaby dance with at ballet. Cue 2 hours of whining, crying, disrupting the class, me taking her out of the studio for a stern talking to, thinking I had gotten through to her and then lather, rinse, repeat. Let's just say now that September is over, no more hip/hop for now.

At least no official hip/hop class. Because the impromptu dance parties are here to stay.

Just Because

2011-10-05T02:00:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday night we were watching "Top Shot" a reality show with some of the nation's best marksmen competing against each other. The kids were being silly during the drawn out suspense of the group competition:

And the silliness just continued to cuteness:

And ridiculousness:

And to keep it real, it continued past the point where I asked them to settle down repeatedly as it was close to bedtime. While Jake listened, Jadyn and I ended up in an epic battle after repeated warnings lead me to send her to bed early. Sometimes things can turn really quick but I am still glad I captured the good before the moment went sour.

Mama Taxi Gets Demoted

2011-10-04T02:00:00.000-07:00

Our school district just realized after a year and half of "charging" bus fees that they were only recouping 4% of the cost of transportation so they decided to rescind the fees. So, in order to help cut down on my multiple trips to the school, Jadyn started riding the bus home this week. She was super excited and only slightly nervous. Friday we met the driver and then followed the bus to the bus stop so she could see where to get off and was even more excited to see her boy friend (she was very specific) Dylan who also gets off at the same stop.

So today, I was at the bus stop waiting for her. It happened so quick. I saw the bus pull up and Jadyn smiling in the window sitting next to Dylan. I had hoped to get a better picture but she was concentrating very hard on not falling down the stairs as she got out. She loved it and I love the saved trip to the school.

For now, I will continue to pick up Jake. He is very nervous to ride the bus and it would be much different for him as he would be with all the kids grade 1st-6th whereas Jadyn is on the bus with only other kindergartners.

Having them take the bus TO school makes little sense as I have to be at the school twice a week to volunteer in each of their classrooms and once a week, I pass right by their school on the way to yoga.

So for now mama taxi is taking a demotion, giving up one of three trips to the school 5 days a week, although in all fairness it hadn't been quite that bad as I had been carpooling with another kindy mom who also decided to put her daughter on the bus. But still, it's time and gas saved and just another sign that the kids are growing up TOO fast.

Weekend Recap

2011-10-02T21:14:00.001-07:00

Another busy, busy Fall week!

Friday - I chaperoned Jake's 2nd grade field trip to the Gem and Mineral Show in neighboring Joshua Tree. Jake was super excited about this field trip especially and enjoyed purchasing some small pieces of pyrite (Fool's Gold). That night Cruz and Tara treated our family to dinner at Kobe, a teppanyaki style Japanese steakhouse where they prepare the food in front of you. It was both entertaining and delicious. We all enjoyed the Japanese garden and koi pond before entering the restaurant. It brings back fond memories of our time in Okinawa.

Saturday - the kids had soccer games at the same time again. Afterwards, we jetted over to Home Depot because we did not want to miss this month's project, a very cool fire rescue helicopter. In addition to the project, they had the fire department on hand where the kids got to climb in and pretend to drive the firetruck, as well as getting balloons and having their face painted.

After such an eventful morning, we spent the rest of the afternoon and evening playing, building Legos and having a Transformers marathon culminating in watching the newest installment, Transformers 3, which just came out on DVD. The funniest part is that Jadyn really wanted to watch the latest one since she fell asleep when we saw it at the drive-in. Well, guess who fell asleep about 1/3 of the way through the movie? That's right, Jadyn!

Sunday, Jake and I took Joe and Jadyn back to the Gem and Mineral show so they could see all the cool stuff they had on display and we purchased some additional rocks for the kids to start building a collection. Here they are proudly showing off their sorting abilities:

We finished off the weekend with more Lego building, watching football and chores, getting ready for yet another busy week ahead, which should include some cooler weather. We shall see. I can't believe it is already October!

County Fair

2011-09-29T10:38:00.000-07:00

The biggest difference that has occurred since we first started taking the kids to the annual county fair 4 years ago (starting in 2007 and missing 2009) is the focus. For the first 3 years the focus was on looking at the farm animals, the miniature train, the garden and flower pavilion and letting the kids run around. Now while we still do all of those things, the focus is on rides, rides, rides!

It is for that reason that we took advantage of McDonald's Wednesdays where admission and a wristband for unlimited rides is only $20, not to mention a portion of the proceeds going to the Ronald McDonald House Charities. Win-Win.

However, we started our day off with the educational part of the fair and on top of getting to see and pet various farm animals and their babies, they have an interactive area where the kids got to really see where our food comes from. They planted "seeds", milked a "cow", gathered eggs from a hen coop, picked vegetables and fruit and were given "money" for their work, which they then got to use to go "shopping" at a grocery store where all of these products are available and made into the food we eat. They loved it!

Mama with her two baby goats:

Jake "milking" the cow. Jadyn said it was disgusting:

Picking fruit:

Grocery shopping with their "earnings":

Other educational exhibits included the Kids America Science building and Jurassic Planet with the mechanical dinosaurs:

But what they really loved were the rides. Jadyn is the little thrill seeker, not shying away from any of the fast, high or dizzy-inducing rides she was tall enough to ride. Jake did some of these rides as well but favored the fun house/obstacle course type rides.

I was very saddened to learn that after 45 years, the yellow no-lane giant slide that I remember going down as a child had been retired last year. At least the kids and I had been on it before as it was very nostalgic for me. They did however, have a new "Euro" style giant slide that was pretty fun. I think you can tell by our hair that we were going pretty fast:

Not a fan of the Ferris wheel but atlas, I had the extra wristband to accompany the kids on the rides requiring an adult be with them:

The day was not perfect. It was pretty hot. We got separated at one point when I mistakenly thought Jake said they were going to get a drink when what he actually said was that they were going to the trains (I blame old age). Jadyn and I were left without my phone, water or snacks as Joe and Jake had them in the backpack. All ended well when were finally reunited, albeit a little cranky from the misunderstanding.

We ended the day with dinner at Ruby's and the fond memories of another fun-filled family day. Not to mention this picture of Farmer Jake with his 1st prize winning cow Jadyn.

Not Wasting Any Time

2011-09-28T02:00:00.000-07:00

Last night at dinner, the family brainstormed our Fall fun to-do list. On in included the usual suspects of our favorite fall activities:

- visit the pumpkin patch

- apple picking in Oak Glen (had a late freeze last winter, might be tricky)

- county fair

- visit someplace with the changing colors/falling leaves/leave collecting

- nature walk at the preserve

- hike/scramble at least 2 of our usual and one new trail up in the national park

- visit Civic Center park in Palm Desert

- help the kids to finally learn how to ride their bikes without training wheels

- watch a local high school football game

- carve pumpkins

- flashlight scramble Halloween weekend

And to make sure we get everything on our list done, we are wasting no time as we let the kids take a mental health day from school and our headed to the county fair - much less crowded and cheaper than a weekend and I know they will learn more with everything they see and do at the fair then they would at that one day at school. So off we go!

Play Dates for Everyone

2011-09-27T02:00:00.000-07:00

When your weekdays are busy, your weekends become a little more low key. Friday night we were all so tired we didn't even have a movie night, opting catch up on some DVRed shows instead (right now the whole family is watching Top Shot).

Saturday morning the kids had soccer games at the same time. I joked that I could really use Hermione's time turner so I could be in two places at once because I hate missing the chance to watch the kids play. At any rate, I watched Jadyn's first half where she really shone at goalie and then headed over to Jake's game. He has already scored one goal and scored another while I was there, not to mention taking a ball to the gut in an amazing save during his time as goalie.

Saturday night we went to a movie in the park to see "Mars Needs Moms" with a friend and her two girls. It was really fun.

Sunday, Jake had his friend Kyle over, then the neighbor Adrianna came over to play with both kids and THEN, we had the neighbors over for dinner. They have a Doberman that is about 2 months older than Kuma and the two dogs have been caught digging under the fence trying to get to each other. We have taken them for walks together and they seem to get along so we decided to have Duke over for a play date. The dogs had a blast. They ran and played like only puppies can and thoroughly wore each other. They are a good match as far as energy level.

So here they are after wearing each other down. See those tongues? Kuma is now 9 months old and about 60 pounds. His growth should be starting to slow down and his head and paws are in proportion with each other, which is another sign that while he is not completely full grown, he is pretty close. It's amazing how quickly they change and grow over that first year:

So this weekend, we all got to have play dates - even the dog!

Going, going, gone

2011-09-26T09:12:00.000-07:00

I think we discovered Jadyn's loose tooth on Tuesday or Wednesday. She was SO excited. Her best friend from school Riley has already lost teeth and Jake has been working on losing another one over the last couple of weeks. However, it was precisely BECAUSE Jake is just now losing teeth and that both kids didn't get their first baby teeth until 10 or 11 months that I had been telling Jadyn it would probably be another year before she started losing her teeth. Well on this one, I was wrong.

And Jadyn was determined. She put so much focus and energy into wiggling the tooth with her fingers and tongue that lo and behold on Friday, while she was outside in the yard playing with Riley, the darn thing fell out.

She came running inside hysterical because her mouth was bleeding a little. I don't think Jake's have bled because he just waits until they are hanging on by a thread and they are pretty much already out by the time they are 100% free. An apple slice sealed the deal for Jadyn's tooth. Her friend Riley kept trying to reassure her that a little blood was normal. Once Jadyn calmed down, she was pretty excited, although later that day she did mention "missing her loose tooth".

We tucked the said tooth under her pillow at bedtime and she excitedly woke the next morning to find the tooth fairy had left her three dollar bills, a special payout because it was her first lost tooth.

If I were into betting, I would wager that this tooth was a fluke and she won't lose anymore for awhile. Then again you can already see the new tooth cropping up behind where the old one was and it's not like I haven't obviously been wrong before so we shall see.

Meanwhile, we have given the tooth fairy special instructions to be prepared since it would appear that she will be making visits to both children concurrently. It could get quite expensive.

Things I love Right Now

2011-09-22T12:08:00.000-07:00

1. Walking Kuma every morning in the cooler crisper weather.

2. Coming home from walking Kuma and having Jake make Joe and I's bed just to be nice (sweetest thing ever!).

3) The 90 minute Gentle Flow Yoga class I found on Thursday mornings.

4) Really good book to movie adaptations - Everyone must read The Help and then go see the movie.

5) Fall TV - to include Vampire Diaries, Grey's Anatomy, Glee, The New Girl (best new show!), How I Met your Mother and Amazing Race.

6) New YA dystopian series - Divergent is the best one since Hunger Games. Also, finding older and new dystopian novels/series to read since I clearly like the genre (about to read The Maze Runner and the Suzanne Collins recommended 11th Plague).

7) Not having to go in for jury duty

8) Finding out Jadyn has her first loose tooth when Jake barely lost his first one last spring and has only lost 2 since then. Tooth fairy is going to be visiting this house a lot in the near future.

9) Jadyn asking me to take pictures of her on days she really likes her outfit for school or simply snuggling with one of the pets.

10) The routine of school days where late afternoons look like this:

Homework time followed by dinner and then soccer or dance. Same stuff, different day but busy, busy, busy!

The Last Swim

2011-09-19T06:21:00.000-07:00

Although it is and still will be in the 90's for several more weeks, the overnight low is dipping low enough that even with the solar cover, the pool was getting a tad bit chilly. We might have been able to squeeze a few more swims out of the pool, but it was becoming counterproductive to expend the energy of running the filter and keeping it clean.

Yesterday the kids went in, knowing it would be their last swim for the season. They only lasted about 10-15 minutes before getting out because they were cold. I truly prefer to know when it will be there last time in the pool and took the opportunity to make it a "Kodak" moment.

As I was getting ready to come in from outside myself, I found the kids snuggling like this to keep warm after getting out. This was completely NOT posed and makes me love it all the more:

Just another sign that summer is over and Fall is right around the corner.

New Balance

2011-09-15T02:05:00.000-07:00

And no I am not talking about the brand of running shoes but about the new balance I am trying to strike in my life with both kids in school 5 days a week.

But first, an update on the dance debate since so many of you took the time to write such thoughtful comments. (THANKS!) To answer some questions, the one activity at a time rule was basically just something I had loosely planned on, not anything that I had ever sat down and discussed with the kids. Jake has never expressed interest in doing anything other than soccer and baseball, which do not conflict so we have never denied him the chance to do any activity he was interested in. After Jadyn did the two classes last week, I asked her if she could only pick one, which would she chose and she actually chose hip-hop over ballet. This is not surprising to me because it is a) new to her and b) very upbeat. I don't really want her to give up on ballet as long as she enjoys it because should she decide to pursue dance further down the line, ballet is going to give her the technical foundation she will need. As for her sticking to commitments, she knows she has committed to her soccer team and has every intention of seeing that through. As far as ballet or hip-hop is concerned, those are paid on a monthly basis so if we let her do both classes for a month and it is too much, her commitment would only be for that month. Finally, if the class was not going to fit into our family's schedule, I never would have let her observe or participate in it in the first place. It just so happens that it does fit into our schedule fairly well as long as she has the energy to take back-to-back classes, which she proved at least last week that she could.

It is for those reasons, that after speaking to her again, Joe and I decided to let her add hip-hop to her existing schedule. She knows that if at any time the addition starts to affect school, sleep, behavior or other activities, she will have to drop the class and revisit adding it again once soccer is completely over. We shall see how it goes.

As for me, I am focusing on getting as much accomplished as possible while the kids are school and Joe is at work, particularly work files, cleaning, laundry, working out, errands and appointments. The more I get done while they are gone, the less time I have to do it while they are home, which should give me more quality time with the family. Of course, I will still probably almost always have work on the weekends but if I can free up the weeknights and do more of the cleaning and laundry during the week, that extra time will add up. So while I thought I wasn't going to have enough to do, when I really looked at my priorities, I found I have MORE than enough to keep me busy and that doesn't even include the days I volunteer in their classrooms, which I can't wait to start doing.

So for now it's back to work!

One last trip

2011-09-14T02:00:00.000-07:00

On Sunday we took the boat out for one last river trip. We didn't make as many trips this year as we have in summers past but with the exception of the first trip, which was unmitigated disaster, all of our other trips were filled with full fun days on the water.

I have to admit, it felt a little odd. We missed all the 10th anniversary 9/11 tributes and opening day of NFL games BUT it really was our last chance to go and since Joe had to work over Labor Day weekend, we had to take advantage when we could. Also, we had been unable to bring along our friend Cruz all summer and we all wanted to make at least one trip with him as well.

And we couldn't have asked for a better day. A little more cloudy and cooler than other trips but still plenty warm. The water wasn't too cold yet and their was hardly anyone else on the water, which was low enough that we had our sandbar and stayed there all day as the water slowly rose and eventually, the beach disappeared.

The kids and I at the end of our boat ride to the sandbar:

This was Kuma's 4th trip to the river and he seems to get more adventurous every time. He ran up and down the strip of beach, splashing into the water with wild abandon and then swimming when it got too deep. He played fetch with sticks, rolled around in the sand and explored a "cave" among the tall reeds finally becoming tired out and deciding to sunbath on the bow of the boat. Does this look like one happy dog or what?:

The kids searched for unique rocks and shells (or as Jadyn calls them, shelves) in the water and along the beach, practiced their swimming skills and followed Kuma into his "cave", laughing at his antics. I think the only time they were not in the water was when they stopped to eat lunch.

Playing with Kuma:

A hug pose for the camera:

Jadyn giving her "baby rock egg" a sand bath:

My goal for the trip, other than to have a nice relaxing time (which I did) was to get a decent family picture of us. I told Joe if we got a good enough one, I would even use it on our holiday card (because we all know how much Joe LOVES family photo shoots). I am pretty darn satisfied with one in particular so I am not going to share it since I am 99.999% sure I am going to use it for our holiday card this year, but here is the other one I liked (thanks Cruz!):

Oh, and how can I thank Cruz for taking THE picture? By sharing this one of him looking like an old man trying to navigate the rocky bottom of this portion of the shore. Nevermind that he has a brace on his knee and has "sensitive" feet. Ignore the fact that he swam with the kids all day and put up with Kuma jumping on his back in the water on several occasions.We still enjoyed giving him a hard time for it:

Although Fall doesn't officially start until September 23rd, with school and soccer in full swing, this last trip to the river marked the end of summer for us. And what a fun summer it was.

Dance and Debating

2011-09-13T02:05:00.000-07:00

As if the first week of soccer games wasn't enough to keep us busy, the dance studio Jadyn attends started their fall session. Jadyn has moved up to the next level - from pre-ballet to Ballet 1A. I think taking the summer off was the BEST idea. She was so excited to go back and see her friend Kimberly and start a new class.

Before leaving:

At the bar in class with Kimberly:

Now for the debate part. After ballet, I let Jadyn "observe" the newly added clean and screened hip hop class. It took her all of 5 minutes before she asked if she get out there and participate, which I told her she could. Every class allows for one free trial class anyway. As the class continued I don't think she ever stopped smiling. She kept creeping closer and closer to the front of the class and was quite smitten with the very energetic male teacher. The idea in my mind was that maybe once soccer was over, she could add the hip hop class to ballet but of course, she wants to do it now.

I am already breaking the rules I had tentatively had in my head - one activity at a time for each child. Last year, I told her I would let her do both soccer and ballet because honestly, I didn't think she would like soccer. But she did and wanted to play again this year. I didn't want her to have to give up ballet because she likes that too, so I let her do both again this year. At some point she will have to chose between team sports and dance but I want it to be her decision. The only reason I am considering letting her take the hip hop class now and not wait until soccer is over is because a) I am worried if we wait, the class will fill up and their won't be a spot for her and b) if the hip hop class participates in the winter recital, waiting until November or December to join the class will make it harder for her to catch up in time for the show. Not to mention that she is in school only half day and she has been adamant that she can do both dance classes and soccer. She proved at least last week that she could. Joe's opinion, which also weighs in quite heavily is that it going to be too much for her.

So hence the debate. I would love to her other's opinions about what ground rules or experiences they have for their kids or had as themselves growing up.

Back in Action

2011-09-12T05:56:00.000-07:00

After weeks of practice, the kids were super excited for opening ceremonies and the first weekend of soccer games. Growing up, their were no opening ceremonies for soccer and not all leagues do it. I went last year, not knowing what to expect. My only experience is opening and closing ceremonies for Little League. Wrapped in tradition yes but sorry to say, very boring.

For soccer, it is a very fun evening that is essentially a chance for the league to fundraise. They have a banner contest for all the teams, snack and craft items for sell and little games for the kids to play like ring toss, basketball hoop throwing, coin plinko, etc. The kids love it. You get a candy for trying and a small prize (think dollar store) if you win. I brought my camera but was so busy socializing and watching the kids have fun that the only picture I took was this one of Jadyn so she could see the product of her patiently waiting to have her face painted:

Saturday morning, both my little athletes all dressed in their uniforms. Recall what I said about Jadyn's "glowing the dark" and Jake being head to toe green?:

Jake's game was first and he played very strong. His league is still considered noncompetitive but everyone keeps score anyway. Unfortunately, the other team was only able to score one goal and it was against their own team. Jake scored a whooping 3 goals. In one game! This is after not scoring any goals last season since he seemed content to hang back and play defense. Not this year. I think the final score was 12-0. I am not even sure.

Jadyn's game was immediately following and although she came very close on several occasions, she didn't quite score but it was fun to see her play more aggressively then last year and really get involved in the action:

I think it's going to be a great season.

Phone Photo Friday

2011-09-09T02:00:00.000-07:00

Forgot to include these pictures in the last post. The kids are painting their memo boards at the Home Depot workshop:

Anyone want to guess the significance of the following picture? That's right folks, I am out in the light of day and while I do have on eyeliner and lip gloss, otherwise I have on no makeup. I had just finished up my appointment with the new dermatologist I have been working with. I have always been VERY self-conscious about my skin. I think most people have.no.idea. I do not go anywhere without makeup including the river, the beach, even just to workout. Anyway, I have seen major improvements in the hyperpigmentation I have been struggling with for the past 2+years. I really wish I had drummed up the courage to take a before picture so people could see how much it has improved. Even still, I can't believe I am sharing this picture. Eek!

So follow my lead. This weekend take a chance to step outside your comfort zone. You may find yourself pleasantly surprised with where it takes you.

Marley & Me

2011-09-08T12:30:00.000-07:00

I am going to talk about the movie Marley and Me in just a moment and if you haven't seen the movie be forewarned, there will be spoilers. But before I get to that, just a quick rundown of our Labor Day Weekend.

Joe had to work both Saturday and Monday so that was big fat boo. Friday night we got back into the family movie night groove with Marley and Me. Saturday while Joe was at work, I took the kids to the Home Depot Workshop and I got to go out to dinner with the girls and Sunday we went to Cruz and Tara's for a BBQ. We had the Niles kids over for a few hours on Monday and then after dinner went as a family for frozen yogurt. Nothing too exciting but it was nice not to have a full schedule since ballet and soccer games will be added into the mix starting this week.

Now, for the movie review. The kids had been asking to see this movie because of recent advertisements for a straight to DVD prequel of sorts called Marley and Me: The Puppy Years. I remember when this movie first came out in 2008 and hearing that although it was being marketed as a family film, it dealt with some pretty heavy subjects. So I went online and did some research and was prepared to answer questions if they should arise when we watched this movie. And they did. Jadyn asked questions about what happened to their baby when Jennifer Aniston's character, Jennifer has a miscarriage. I was very satisfied with how that conversation went. At the end of the movie, Owen Wilson's character, John has to make the decision to put down Marley after he had gotten to live a long and happy life with their family. I thought this would be an appropriate topic to discuss. After all, we had to have both our elderly dogs euthanized over the last year and I thought seeing this movie might help the kids understand the process a little better. And I think it did. The kids really enjoyed Marley's antics throughout the movie. I would say it can be appropriate for children if you are ready and willing to discuss the topics of conversation that most surely will arise from the more serious parts of the movie.

And I have debated whether to share this and have decided to do so without too many details because I feel that at Jake's age, to go too in-depth would be a betrayal of his trust. However, I love Jake's sensitivity and compassionate side and both now and in the future, I want him to know how much I do love that about him and how proud it makes me as a mother. Suffice to say this movie really struck a nerve with Jake and was somewhat upsetting to him, necessitating an additional conversation and extra cuddle time before bed.

Marley & Me is a great movie and a great reminder of how much pets can enrich our lives. However, it is also a reminder that their life spans are much shorter than us humans and that is simply part of the deal. We love them and give them the best possible life and in return they love us unconditionally and spend their life being devoted and loyal to their family. I can't think of anything better than that.

Why I am no longer going to spend money buying Jadyn toys

2011-09-05T10:53:00.000-07:00

She uses her wild imagination (which I love) to get attached to the oddest things. Some of current favorite possessions are:

Snaily - she found this rock at one of Jake's soccer games and deemed it a snail. The leaf is it's bed, the stick standing up is his boat and the other sticks are it's favorite birthday presents from a recent party it had:

Her "puppies". Jadyn has I don't know how many stuffed animals (probably her favorite real toys) but she saw these pieces of Kuma's training collar and decided they were puppies. She carries them around in a special basket:

Her "cell phone". Again she probably has at least 3 toy cell phones that light up, make ringing noises and even speak back to her, but she found this cardboard inset from the box Joe's latest phone came in and decided it was her phone. She even sets it on the counter where I keep my phone:

Finally, okay this is technically a toy. Jake's Legos. He made her a mouse city. The mice are the little teeny tiny circular Legos that serve as headlights for vehicles and such:

Jadyn has never got into collected or playing with one or two particular things the way Jake constantly plays with his hot wheel and Nascar diecasts and now his army men. She always wants toys she sees on TV but she seldom plays with her Littlest Pet Shops or Zoobles, although she plays with those a little more frequently then her other toys. However she is constantly role playing and using her imagination to turn ordinary objects into something much more elaborate and that is why I am no longer going to spend money on toys for her. I can just take her to the park and help her find some interesting rocks and sticks.

On the flip side of motherhood

2011-09-03T02:00:00.000-07:00

I never want my blog to come across as me trying to gloat about my parenting skills or show off all the fun things we have done or brag about what wonderful children we have while glossing over anything that might be unpleasant. We are not perfect. I am not perfect. Far from it and that is fine with me. I want my blog to be a realistic glimpse into our lives.

When I wrote the last post about feeling like a rock star mom, it was precisely because there are so many times where I feel I fall short. But I don't dwell on that either. While I know I am not perfect, I am not trying to be either. I am just trying to do my best just as I expect from my kids.

So here are some of my "less than perfect" mommy confessions:

1) I am not crafty or culinary in nature. My kids Halloween costumes and birthday cakes are store bought (or made by others).

2) I sometimes let the kids watch an extra cartoon or spend more time playing video games because I am on the computer. While sometimes I am genuinely trying to get work done, more often than not I am just talking to friends on Facebook or Twitter or trying to finish up a blog post.

3) I sometimes skip reading with them at night because we are running behind schedule from watching an episode of Billy the Exterminator or our newest favorite, Top Shot.

4) I lose my patience and yell much more often than I would like, although I also apologize for it when I am out of line.

5) I sometimes let them have junk food for a snack because I don't have the energy to argue with them about why they should be choosing a fresh fruit instead.

6) Little Caesar's $5 Hot and Ready pizzas, at least once a week, sometimes twice during the summer.

7) I sometimes have to lie about having seen a dance move or soccer play during practice because I was too busy talking to my friends.

8) I need a lot of Mommy alone time and girls nights.

9) When I am really struggling with my anxiety, I have a hard time concentrating. I forget what the kids said they wanted for breakfast and have to ask a second or third time.

10) I sometimes encourage them to color with crayons instead of playing with paint or Play-Doh because I don't feel like cleaning up the mess.

So there you have 10 "I am most definitely a less than perfect" Mommy confessions. It feels good to get that off my chest. Anyone want to share some of theirs?

I felt like a rock star mom, and speaking of which...

2011-09-01T21:00:00.000-07:00

Poor Jadyn. Her possessions seem to be the recent target of Kuma's inappropriate puppy chewing. Yes, believe it or not, our "not so little" boy is far from being a perfect angel. It's one thing when the kids leave something out where they know he can get to it or they choose not to pay attention to what he is chewing on. However, two days ago Jadyn lost a brand new Little Pet shop doggy that Kuma grabbed off a table and then today, I took her headband off to brush her hair and left it within Kuma's reach and before I knew it, the headband had been ripped to shreds. And, it should come to no surprise that Jadyn can be pretty sensitive and overly dramatic in situations like this.

For the Little Pet Shop, I was able to find and reattach his ear with super glue. When I showed it to her and it was clear the ear was no longer perfect, I told her that it would be the ideal pet to have visit her Pet Shop Vet Clinic to be seen for his injury. This brightened her outlook immediately and I felt like a rock star mom for thinking so quickly on my toes. It doesn't happen often.

For the headband, she was pretty upset. She was really looking forward to wearing this particular headband to school. Another moment of quick thinking, I grabbed one of the super thin headbands I use when I wash my face or workout and attached one of her MANY bows to it and viola! Instant new headband. Then Jadyn and I started excitedly talking about how many possibilities this opened up - to just attach her bows to the headband, especially since she no longer wants to wear her hair in pigtails. Another rock star mom moment.

And speaking of rock stars, that is the name that was finally picked for Jadyn's coed soccer team - The Rock Stars. I think it fits perfectly with their bright fluorescent yellow/green with royal blue uniforms. I will save showing off a picture of that until her first game next week. But here she is ready for practice:

Jake is the same primary color as last year - kelly green and so his coach chose a name to reflect our desert home and the uniform color. Therefore this year Jake will be the Green Mojaves, a snake native to our locale. Here Jake is at practice tonight wearing his uniform from last year. This year's uniform is a lot more, well green:

His first game is also next Saturday. Can't wait!

Now this is Random

2011-08-30T21:23:00.000-07:00

The absence from my blog over the last several days is twofold. For one, we have been getting back into the groove of school with the addition of evening soccer practices and increased tempos for both Joe and I at work. Two, other than that there is not much to report. We didn't do much over the weekend because we wanted to all have to chance to just kind of hang out, although on Saturday the kids and I did go to a really fun birthday party at the home of some close friends.

However, having said that, I have been meaning to mention a few random things.

A few weeks ago Joe and I were having a conversation about what movies and TV programs are acceptable for the kids to watch. Let's just say that Joe is a little more lax in this department. Well, leave it to "Ms. Ears" to have somehow honed in on the conversation. A few days later, Joe and the kids were watching Billy the Exterminator and Jadyn asked Joe, "Daddy, is this show appropriate for children?"

And in a related note, Billy the Exterminator is now the kids newest favorite show.

But influence is a two-way street. Awhile ago I mentioned that the kids have really been getting into top 40 music and we had recently acquired the first of what I fear will be many Kids Bop CDs. The kids will beg and beg and beg for us to put it on in the car so we can all rock out.

Well guess who (and its not me) now regularly pops in the kids CD to listen to their version of Taio Cruz's Dynamite without being asked by the kids?

And finally, you have to love the way kids minds work. I regularly talk to the kids about leaving lights on and wasting electricity. Well, a few weeks ago we were at my in-laws house and Jake was flipping the lights over the stairs on and off when Jadyn scolded him by saying, "Stop it Jake! You are wasting lightricity!".

Oh, and I wanted to clarify, for whatever it may be worth. Jadyn does have 30 kids in her class for kindergarten. The average allowable class size for the district is 31 for her grade. This is not ideal to me AT ALL. However, on the plus side, because she has a disabled student in her class, the teacher does have an instructional aide and that can make a huge difference.

That's all for now and I suspect it may be all you hear from me this week, in which case - Have a nice long Labor Day Weekend!

Entertainment Meme

2011-08-27T06:29:00.000-07:00

I FINALLY watched the last few movies nominated for an Academy Award. It used to be my goal to watch all the movies before the Oscars but that was a) before having kids and b) before they changed the field from 5 to 10 nominees. Now here it is the end of August and I have just now finally watched all 10 films. Here is my own personal subjective order to which I would rank the movies:

1. The Social Network - still my favorite movie of the year.

2. The King's Speech - and no doubt that Colin Firth deserved his Best Actor nod.

3. Black Swan

4. 127 Hours

5. The Kids are Alright

6.The Fighter

7. Toy Story 3

8. Inception

9. Winter's Bone - not a fan of the movie but loved Jennifer Lawrence. No doubt she will make a great Katniss in the Hunger Games movies

10. True Grit - not a fan of westerns, but my issues with this movie went further than that. Still Haylee Steinfield did an amazing job with great support from Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon. I would have given Haylee the best supporting actress award.

Two movies I would recommend, not only because they are good but their recognition for acting was well deserved - Blue Valentine with Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams and The Town with Ben Affleck and Jeremy Renner.

Please feel free to chime in with your opinions.

That's Just How We Roll

2011-08-26T09:51:00.000-07:00

So the kids are adjusting to getting up every morning and being at school. The kids also have soccer practice in the evenings. The result of course is that the kids are little more tired than normal. This is to be expected. But to top it all off, after a fairly mild summer (for us), the temps have been in the 100's this week, as in 107 when I picked up Jake from school at 3pm and still 98 when we left his soccer practice at 7pm.

Soooo, despite the fact that we should have been sticking to our bedtime routine, relaxing and making sure the kids were in bed on time, if not early, we decided to do something totally wild and crazy and spontaneous. We went for an evening swim. Yes, we are such rule breakers. That's just how we roll.

Forgive my ill-fitting bathing suit:

But, oh did it feel oh so good. I'll let you know if it was worth it when I see how tired the kids are this afternoon.

And it finally hits me

2011-08-25T13:45:00.000-07:00

How big and grown up and independent the kids are becoming.

I have to admit to feeling a little heartless that I wasn't more emotional about Jadyn starting Kindergarten yesterday. Then last night at dinner, BOTH kids requested that I drive through the drop off lane and let them out instead of walking them to their classrooms for their second day of school. Now for Jake this is no surprise but for Jadyn? Well it took me a little off guard. Jake had already been instructed to walk with Jadyn through the entrance to the school and to her playground area (the kindergartners are mostly segregated from the rest of the school) before preceding to drop off his backpack and play on his playground and I knew I could trust him to see that Jadyn got where she needed to go. But as I gave them hugs and watched them get out of the car and start walking, I saw that they were holding hands. It was so precious and for me such a proud moment that Jake would take his job so seriously. I whipped out my phone and took a picture through my front windshield. It was the best I could do to preserve the memory:

However, I must also confess that I am not so naive to think that Jake and Jadyn will always be this close. Of course I hope they will but I know that over the years their dynamic with each other may shift and change. I am prepared for this possibility. I know that my brother and I played very well together as kids but were pretty much nonstop at each other's throats from Jr High through high school. Maybe Jake and Jadyn will be different. After all they are big brother/little sister instead of big sister/little brother but no matter what happens I will take comfort in knowing that through our young adulthood and on, my brother Tony and I have remained fairly close. And in the end, I have that same hope for my kids.

Back to and First Day of School

2011-08-24T13:47:00.000-07:00

Last night we had a back to school night so everyone could find out who their teachers were, meet them and see their classrooms. I was thankful for this opportunity as last year they only did it for those starting Kindergarten.

Here are Jake and Jadyn before leaving for the event:

And with Mommy who can't believe I now have a 2nd grader and Kindergartner, although I am incredibly excited to finally have them both at the same school:

In front the of the school marquee:

Checking out her desk. Her teacher gave each of the students a lei and had the classroom decorated in a tropical/island/sea creature theme :

I loved this area for reading:

I really like Jadyn's teacher. She has a few classmates that she already knows from preschool and other activities. I was not happy to learn that they already have 30 kids enrolled in her class and the other 2 classes are near this same capacity. I don't know how much higher the class size can get, but I have a feeling they are going to have to make some changes when the final class sizes are assessed at the 10 day mark. This worries me because I don't want Jadyn to get comfortable and then have her schedule. classroom or teacher disrupted but I am going to try and not worry and see what happens.

We then visited Jake's classroom. I also really like his teacher. He has a few friends from his class last year and the teacher had him do a treasure hunt to help familiarize himself with the room. Here he is at his desk. I love this picture!

This morning we got up and went through the morning routine with no problems. I really think that Jadyn being in preschool the last 2 years made the transition to this school year pretty seamless.

Here they are ready for the their first day of school. Jadyn insisted on wearing her lei and wanted to know how her teacher knew to give her a pink one that matched her first day of school outfit perfectly:

I dropped Jake off on his playground. He really wanted to find his friends so I was lucky to even get a hug. Then I took Jadyn to her playground. She was a little timid at first but by the time the bell rang and she went to line up with the teacher, we hugged and that was it. No wavering or signs of being nervous. And I wasn't too emotional about it, just more proud of my little girl and kind of reflective of how big she has gotten.

Bye Jadyn! Have a great first day of school. Actually, I know you will:

And so it begins

2011-08-23T07:24:00.000-07:00

As of tomorrow, I will officially have TWO school-aged children.

Many of friends have been writing about the emotional aspect of having their child start kindergarten and trust me I get it. However, in many cases for them it is the their first child and maybe even their only child (or maybe even twins) so it is all very new. But for me, I have already been through this with Jake when he started kindergarten and not to take away from the hugeness of this experience or milestone for Jadyn but I guess it makes me at least less anxious about it. I am emotional in the sense that it strikes me how fast time has gone by. How it seems like just yesterday I was holding this beautiful baby girl in my arms and waiting for her first smile and now I am getting ready to send this spunky little 5-year old to elementary school.

While Jake gets to be the one to experience everything first, Jadyn is the one to experience everything last and that can be emotional as a mom as well. I remember being particularly emotional when she weaned from nursing but most of those lasts were celebrations as infanthood was not particularly my favorite stage. Yeah, no more diapers. Yeah, no more middle of the night wakings. Yeah, no more gross baby food.

While this milestone is a little more bittersweet, I think it makes a difference that Jadyn was never really babied just because she was the youngest in the family. I think it makes a difference that I know how ready she is and how well she will do both academically and socially. I think it makes a difference that my relationship with Jadyn works much better when we get breaks from each other. I think we are all ready.

And speaking of ready, I feel kind of jipped in the school shopping department (one of my favorite things ever!). California school are not allowed to require supplies as they provide everything the students need with exception of a backpack. Most schools, grades or teachers will have a suggested donation list of supplies and so I picked a few items off of those lists to donate to each of the kids classrooms. Then, to top it off, it will stay warm here usually through October, so while I do start stocking up on jeans and sweaters when they go on sale, the kids will mostly be in their spring/summer clothes for the first few months of school. This means the only real back to school shopping I get to do are shoes, socks, underwear, new toothbrushes and the aforementioned backpacks and lunch bags. I love the way Jake and Jadyn's choices are a clear reflection of what they are most interested in right now:

Only after I made these purchases did I find out that Jadyn's Kindergarten teachers have requested that students DO NOT bring backpacks to school. Urgh! I know they probably have a good reason but really? It was like the one thing I was able to get her.

Anyway, with summertime (for us) officially over and school starting tomorrow, I wanted to give a final tally of how we did on our summer fun to-do list. I am pretty proud of all that we accomplished in the "fun" department:

- swim in our pool as much as possible DONE

- go to the spa pools DONE

- swim lessons DONE, DONE and DONE

- go to the beach DONE

- go to the river with Kuma DONE

- attend a baseball game DONE

- stay in a hotel DONE

- go to the library to check out books and participate in the summer reading program DONE

- read books DONE

- go the park (Sunburst, Community, Knott Sky) DONE

- See Cars 2 and the final Harry Potter film in the theater DONE

- concert in the park DONE

- play hide and seek DONE

- play with bubbles DONE

- play with the water table - missed this one

- watch all the Star Wars movies again for family movie night(s) DONE

- play board games more often - not as good with this one

- have friends over to play and spend the night DONE

- see fireworks DONE

- BBQ as much as possible - not as good with this one

- visit the kittens at the shelter DONE and DONE

And here is a glance at our Fall schedule:

Monday - school for Jake and Jadyn, Jadyn soccer

Tuesday - school for Jake and Jadyn, Jake soccer

Wednesday - school for Jake and Jadyn, Jadyn soccer

Thursday - school for Jake and Jadyn, Jadyn ballet (starting Sept 8th), Jake soccer

Friday - school for Jake and Jadyn, family movie night

Saturday - soccer games for Jake and Jadyn (starting Sept 1oth)

Sunday - RELAX, catch up

I can't wait to get started on our Fall Fun to-do list and the personal projects I have planned with the extra time I will have when the kids are in school. I love summer, but what I love about back to school and fall is the sense of order to it. This is usually my most productive time of year. For me, I make more changes now then with New Year's resolutions. And so it begins.....

Falling out of Summer

2011-08-21T21:42:00.000-07:00

Last year around this time I could not wait for school to start. I needed the kids to have that structure. I needed to have us all back into a routine. This year I did much better in keeping enough structure in our summer that I didn't feel that same urge. Although I am excited for school to start and all that it means with Jadyn entering Kindergarten, we really used up our summer to the very end.

On Friday, the kids went to get back to school haircuts. We were then able to have a lunch play date with the Niles family and go to the shelter to visit and play with the kittens. You may recall, we did these very same things all on the Friday before school started last year and ended up bringing this little guy home:

That's right, although he does not have an exact birthday, Friday is now 1 year old.

Friday night we went to the drive-in with Cruz and Tara to see Captain America and Crazy, Stupid Love. First of all, let me just say that going to the drive-in is nostalgia at its finest and it becomes such an occasion compared to if we just went to a regular theater. We outfitted the back of the Tahoe with blankets and pillows, got the kids in their PJs, picked out snacks and grabbed a pizza on the way AND even better, we got to bring Kuma with us. I think he would much rather lay down in the open air with his people then be a kennel for 4+ hours while we go to the movies.

Anyway, we had a good time. Captain America left much to be desired but Crazy, Stupid Love, which I had really wanted to see was even better than I expected and it is not strictly a chick flick either because Joe and Cruz were laughing quite a bit. I highly recommend it.

Saturday was Joe and I's 13th wedding anniversary. I could get very mushy with how I feel about having spent the last 15 years with Joe, 13 of them as his wife but suffice to say, I am very, very lucky to have found my "game changer". I can't imagine my life without him. And to celebrate we went to his parents house where I was able to get some alone time to do some shopping and get my hair done and then Joe and I went out to dinner. I cannot thank Grandpa and Grandma Funny Nose enough, not only for watching the kids but for watching Kuma as well.

Photo courtesy of Jake:

Speaking of which, Kuma is almost 8 months now. He loves to play fetch with soccer balls over any other type or size of ball. Look how much he has grown:

When we got back from dinner, Aunt Leigh had stopped by to let Jake and Jadyn play with their cousins Aidan and Lilly. Doesn't this look like one happy bunch? (And notice the preview of Jadyn's shorter hair style):

And so that pretty much officially ends our summer. The first day of school is not until Wednesday but we are trying to take it easy, get everything ready and get back on the schedule necessary to make the transition as easy as possible. But when you fall out of one season, it sometimes means you have to stumble into the next, and so we will just have to see how it goes. However, when it comes to this summer? No regrets.

From the beach to the river

2011-08-20T06:17:00.000-07:00

Wednesday of our mini-vacation we decided to forgo a return trip to the beach and head home. We took the kids to John's Incredible Pizza for lunch and to play some games (it's like a Chuck E. Cheese but bigger and nicer).

Thursday morning we woke up bright and early to pick Kuma up from the petsitter and then headed out to the river. But wait. Before you think, oh no. Not other post about another river trip. This one was different. Instead of heading to Big River south of Parker where we usually launch, we went toward Needles south of Laughlin where Joe's parents and his dad's cousin, wife and friends had been all week and met up with them. We drove the boat down into Topock Gorge to a place called Devil's Elbow at the north end of Havasu.

The rock formations and cliffs that form this stretch of the river make for gorgeous scenery and bring back fond memories of my first river trips with my best friend Lisa growing up. We found a lovely stretch of beach to day camp that provided the open water on one side and a sort of pond on the other side. The kids had a blast as the water off from the main strip was warmer and they spend a good deal of time trying to catch little fish with nothing but a sand sifter and a bucket. Kuma kept busy running up and down the beach trying to catch birds. Neither the kids nor the puppy were successful but it didn't take away from the fun of the day.

It was nice to have a chance to go to this part of the river. However, we were reminded of why we usually stay away from busier and bigger parts of the river like this - because the bigger boats create some pretty big waves that our little boat then has to get over. Jake particularly didn't seem to care for this aspect and I have to say it is not my favorite either. Luckily, with it being a random Thursday it only occurred a handful of times and it was worth getting to spend the time with family at such a beautiful strip of the river.

Our Beach Day

2011-08-19T04:47:00.000-07:00

While Joe would be perfectly happy spending all of our free time during the summer at the river, I need to go to the beach at least once. I love, love, love the beach. Yes we lived there for 3 years and I never fully took advantage but nothing can beat the sound of waves crashing on the shore, the smell of the ocean air or the feeling of fine cool sand under your feet. The problem with the beach (and I felt this way when we lived there too) is that it doesn't quite get as warm as I prefer as often as I prefer. However, when you are looking for a reprieve from the sometimes stifling summer heat of the desert, sometimes an overcast day at the beach can be a welcome change.And that is exactly how we spent our Wednesday. (yes I doctored the blue sky in the above picture. I couldn't help myself)

Every year the kids grow more and more fearless of the water, tackling the waves and venturing further and further out into the water. It always strikes me, the indication that my babies are growing up.

They started off running from the water on the shore:

But that quickly progressed as they adjusted to the ocean water:

And as they got braver and braver and deeper and deeper:

They inevitably crashed with a wave or two:

But they got right back up with a smile on their face and kept going, eventually to pose for these pictures:

Even after they had enough of the water, we stayed and played in the sand, all four of us building (or at least attempting to) a sandcastle. It was very relaxing and much enjoyed family time.

And what better way to wash away the extra sand then going for a swim in the hotel pool after spending hours at the beach?

We capped off the day with dinner at one of my favorite restaurants that we haven't been to in ages, The Old Spaghetti Factory. The food was delicious and Jake surprised me by eating some of a plain salad (yes, Jake ate a vegetable besides carrots) and gobbling up their famous spumoni ice cream for dessert. The perfect end to a great day. I only wish we had gotten down to the beach more than once this summer.

Our Maybe Too Ambitious First Day of Mini-Vacation

2011-08-18T05:24:00.000-07:00

After a very kickback weekend spent almost entirely at home, Monday morning we set off toward the beach for a mini-vacation. The first stop was taking Kuma to the pet sitters for the first time. It was hard to leave him but I know he will have a great time playing with the other dogs.

We then drove to Santa Ana and took the kids to the Discovery Science Center. I took the kids to this museum last summer and it was a huge hit. However, they have a lot of temporary exhibits and I have to say, a lot of the displays that made Jake in particular want to go back this year had changed (think marble runs and ball mazes). And the museum was busy. But still, the kids had fun.

After grabbing a late lunch and throwing in some back to school shopping, we headed over to Angel stadium to catch a game. This was one of the things that was on our summer fun to do list and I really, really wanted to go since we were going to be in the area. And again, while we still had fun, by the time the game started, the kids were pretty wiped out and there was no way they were going to make it through the whole game. Our plans for the day may have been just a little too ambitious.

I guess its a good thing that the only item on our agenda for the next day was to spend some time relaxing and playing in the water at the beach.

Another fun-filled action packed summer day

2011-08-15T02:00:00.000-07:00

After the last day of swim lessons, we headed down to the local children's museum in the low desert. This was a top item on Jadyn's summer to-do list because they have so many pretend play stations. We invited Kimberly and her mom Jackie because they had never been before.

First stop was the rope maze, which all the kids enjoyed:

Jake then moved onto the ball roller coaster:

He could probably spend all day there so we left him there while taking the girls to be veterinaries:

Go grocery shopping:

Make their own pizzas:

Play dress up in a variety of adult costumes and uniforms:

And paint a VW bug that has who knows how many coats of paint on it from being painted over and over again.

Then Jake decided he wanted to go grocery shopping, so we headed over to that section of the museum again where I learned that Jake really enjoys being a cashier. Maybe a future vocation?

After leaving the museum we came home for a brief rest before heading back out for Jake's soccer practice. We then went to check out race night at our newly reopened ABA sponsered BMX track. For those that don't know, my brother was BIG into BMX racing as a kid and I took a brief turn at it myself (hard to believe I know). Anyway, the kids enjoyed watching the race as I took a trip down memory lane.

After leaving, it was decided that Joe and Jadyn wanted ice cream at home and Jake and I opted for frozen yogurt so I got the very rare opportunity to spend some quality time along with him while we sat on the outside patio enjoying our treat. The perfect way to end such a fun-filled day.

This week we are vacation down by the beach for a few days. We are also going to do some more fun stuff, which should basically complete our summer to-do list. I can't believe the kids start school in just over a week!

Show me the Mommy - Sweet Edition

2011-08-12T02:00:00.000-07:00

The kids attended a birthday party for their friend Lilly this week. Lilly went to preschool with Jake and was in his first grade class this last year. She had her birthday at a local candy shop that recently started hosting parties. It was pretty cool. The kids got to make sugar sand art, candy bracelets, decorate their own ice cream sundaes, play games and watch the birthday girl spin cotton candy. Yes they left the party on a complete sugar high but that is the norm for any birthday party right?

Jake working hard on his sugar sand art:

Jadyn so proud of her gummy lifesaver bracelet:

But what really made me smile was when I realized that Jadyn had decorated her sand art bottle by using stickers to spell out Mom and then gave it to me as a gift. She also decorated her sand art picture frame and spelled out Dad to give to Joe. Jadyn is so thoughtful like that. Just one of the many things I love about her, that she can be so sweet!

Swim Lessons 2011

2011-08-11T02:00:00.000-07:00

We have made a lot progress with swim lessons this summer.

Jake is now swimming both the forward and background crawl the entire length of the Olympic sized pool:

Jadyn is close to doing the backward crawl the required 10 yards to move up to the next level. She already mastered the forward crawl for that distance:

She also FINALLY jumped off the diving board all by herself into the 12 feet deep water with her life jacket (last session she had to be dropped in by her instructor):

Jake jumped off the diving board into the 12 feet deep water with NO life jacket and retrieved a dive stick at the bottom of the pool:

But despite everything they may have learned, they enjoyed being in the pool 4 days a week for 6 weeks of their summer and THAT is the most important thing of all. I am glad that even though swimming is not my thing, my kids are becoming little fish.

Wordless Wednesday - Eek! Yuck! Gross! First Sun Spider Sighting of the Season.

2011-08-10T02:00:00.000-07:00

I've Created a Monster

2011-08-09T07:43:00.000-07:00

And that is not necessarily a bad thing.

With the high summer temps and the kids with me 99% of the time, I can't really go for walks or runs unless I do it early in the morning before Joe leaves for work. Yes we have a treadmill but I just don't get the same enjoyment and relaxation out of it. Not to the mention the fact that we now have a puppy with a lot (and I mean A LOT) of energy to expend. And so I started getting up and taking him for walks at 6:30 in the morning. The problem is that as soon as I wake up, his nose is stuck to my calves and he is whining and excited and ready to go. He really loves his walks. Some days I can't even get him to eat his breakfast because he is so excited to go. One day last week, Joe had to drive to Scottsdale and left at 4:30am, which meant we had to skip our morning walk. Not only was Kuma disappointed but he also let me know by getting into anything and everything all morning.

But this isn't necessarily a bad thing because it forces me to get some exercise in during the warm summer months. Yes it means I haven't been running but I have always loved walking. And I am going to back track here a little because I feel that my blog has been a little stale lately. Yes, I have kept up to date with all of our fun summer activities. But I also want this blog to be a real reflection of our lives and life is not always sunshine and roses, swim lessons and soccer practice.

For the past couple of months I have been dealing with a relapse in my anxiety issues from a few years ago. I don't know what triggered it but I do know that I am working very hard to get it under control. A lot of people who I have talked to about my anxiety assume it stems from me being stressed, overwhelmed, trying to take on too much, etc. etc. But let me assure you that this is not the case. It runs much deeper than that and I am looking much deeper to get to the bottom of it. In the meantime, keeping myself and the kids busy and partaking in relaxing activities like daily walks through desert terrain with my puppy is just what the doctor ordered.

Here is a picture of the landscape we encounter while on our walks. This field is across the street from our neighborhood. I much prefer being on the trails made from quad riders then on streets. For one, it is much more relaxing to be surrounded by native plants, quails, rabbits and ground squirrels then walking past houses on streets. And second of all, I would much rather deal with the occasional skittish coyote then loose dogs in neighborhoods that may attack.

And so my morning walks with Kuma will continue to be an integral part of my morning routine and my way to relax and exercise for now. As I said, I may have created a monster but that is not necessarily a bad thing.