Internet Back! Time for catch up.... on thing 2

This year we have been trying out some sports for the kids.
My favorite so far has been Swimming but I have to admit that soccer is growning on me.

There is a new app and I am addicted to it!

SO for about a week I decided to rid myself of my cell phone and then I found this Iphone app that makes your world beautiful and vintage all at the same time! It is called Hipstamatic and it is an awesome glorious thing. I can't wait to play around some more every day with the new and different lenses filters and flashes that give you all different options. I should have gotten another Blackberry lol.

My neighbor just told me to shut up I can hear her from here :) she is stoked the new Crackberry is already in stores. But really can she find this on there if soooooo I could be a cr@ck baby again too :)

so I can't really stop Crocheting.

Those are just the billed hats!

FOURTH OF JULY

This year we went to see the fireworks at Uncle Dave's house. Uncle K was called by all other names but his own by my three children. I guess we don't see them near enough! It was so good to catch up a bit and see the old paddle boat in action. The kids had a blast. And Gabe because he can swim was down with getting back into the canoe maybe next time :)

There are so many items of business to report on

First there is the job hunting going on right now for the Band. He has his paper and now it is time to put it to good use and get a career started :)
Here is another Nursery picture and I will be loading up some more this evening :)

Then there is my three year old who is taking off on his bike in this video!! yes this is the Fish and you will hear his real name used please ignore it lol.

Swim Lessons

This summer we are trying things different there is a new parenting book on my night stand that is helping cope with the heat, and boredom and crazies of the season. We are swimming!! Well Thing 1 and two are taking lessons. Last year was a bit sketchy when I had all three in the pool at once and tried to keep eveyone's head above water. Thing 2 can tell you some scarry stories so that ended the three "untrained swimming episodes". I am pretty sure we'll be entering the water with a little more confidence this year. And yes, even with all the protective arm floaties I am pretty sure my crew could discover a new method of drowning.

So here we are on the mini swim darts "swim team" which is incredible! I can't wait to see how the next six weeks developes. They love it. I mean... LOVE. IT. You can hear them a block away squealing about what moves they did, and if I had witnessed the spectacular sight of them on a swim noodle. I think I am addicted to this age they are right now. I just want them to always have this much excitement for the things they are doing in life.

The coaching staff caught on really quick to the needs of my Thing 1 and has a "younger male" coach of maybe thirteen assigned to reign him in. I love the fact that I can hear across the two pools and at the top of the bleachers my child's name being called as he is jumping endlessly in the water. Of the 1/2 hour of instruction there is maybe five solid minutes that he is above water listening :) He is more and more like his mother everyday.

Little Boy room Pictures

When I printed these the color came out all crazy. The snake (originally orange) came out all red. They are in the local Baby Shop right now but we'll see if they actually sell :) I can't believe how fun these are. I will have to see what is next maybe a jungle theme :)

I am working on some pictures for my house right now but these are a fun start :)

The last day of Instruction. Mixed emotions.

This post will probably be enormous in length. So bring on the emotional spattering that comes with an extra long post. I am sitting in my car as I wait for my little five year old, Thing two, to go to preschool. She is five and right around the time of her birth was when my Band and I decided it was time for him to finish his education.

The aquiring of an education for me is something of an issue for myself personally. But to watch some one do it with ease and grace has been something wonderful to take part in.

For the past five years there has been struggles, sickness, stress beyond stress, poverty, rice, crazy schedules, pasta, garage sale finds, second hand land, diapers, puppies, beach trips, roller blades, Ebay-ing, baby bracelets, crocheting, digital photography, and did I mention more pasta. I wouldn't a want my kids to endure what I have had to. Only, it has taught me how to survive on a very restricted budget, believe in the impossible, surmount insurmountable odds, and humility. Those are lessons I could have probably learned in a less-intensive-live-action environment, but what would have been the fun in that? So many people have helped us along the way. So many angels have been our companions telling us to keep going and don't loose sight of the goal.

We have known that this day was comming only it's arrival today has been somewhat of a shock. It is like when you finally go into labor and you realize you are taking home a person. A person you just named, and you don't know if she'll end up liking her name. All of this work hasn't been for nothing.

Now it is on to the next step. The horizon is bright because you have a paper that in some cities only 13% of the population have (you know who you are :). This is a tricky next step that is requiring a lot of faith on my part. The reserves of faith have been slower these days to be replenished than I'd like.


Now as I gaze up at a cap and gown that has been hanging in my room for the past two nights I am very aware that this is just a temporary phase and soon I will be looking back at this time with fond memories. That is until he goes to grad. school hahahha. That is a post for another day.

Market of the Farmers on Wed. Nights

It just doesn't get better than this. Summer in this small town means going to the farmers market and playing on the bounce houses, and park structure and merry-go-chuck your-guts.

I have been meaning to get out and do stuff with the kids and this was a last minute all day decision. I meant to go all day but didn't leave til the "last minute". They did great and we even had some fun going on the carousel when they call for the last ride was free!! That is the only way I was going to get all three on there at the same time with our budget these days.

No Blades since JR high.... They are BACK

Posting has been difficult I am dragging lately and I blame one thing. TIME CHANGE! I have been always an early riser and lately I can't get my head off the pillow before 6:50 and man it is cramping my style. I have been walking with the dog but I need another round of boot camp to get me back in shape.

I recently made a purchase of Rollerblades and tested them out yesterday. I am thirty three and Rollerblades are not something I envisioned for myself as a form of exercise. However, the dog can get a better workout and I need some firm gluts LOL. I just don't trust the better butt idea of just wearing shoes. Sorry Reebok I ain't buying it. The Band says I will only be on them four times and then they will go on Craig's list. He maybe right. I am determined to wear them five times just to assure that he is wrong. I am envisioning a fall and thus need some wrist gaurds and a butt pad. I think a pillow tied with some nylon rope maybe the answer. I will post the link to the Craig's List listing if they do :)

Exercise is good for my brain but what else is good is getting a good night away from all my fam and spending it getting sushi with the girls. I have loved the places we end up chowing on the most addicting substance since the Cournel put chicken in a bucket. I am ready for another hit this evening.

Over Load??? or Threshold ?

Ok Here is the newest addition to the crazy household. We now have a new baby and I am going to use her real name. MOOBIE yes we have a female dog named after m@n b00bs and I am always yelling "MOOBS get over here. "At first I thought to myself what have I done? This thing has been on newborn status and isn't sleeping through the night yet!! About two weeks in as she chewed all things that were available. My house instantly became spotless. I had to pinch my self many times when I would wake up and see clean carpets and no messes. It was like I never had a problem getting the kids to clean up after themselves and they are so happy to make sure the toys are not destroyed by the pup. She has been a heaven sent in the area of clean house keeping. Then there is the whole exercise thing. She has been awesome and has made sure my daily dose of biking, rollerblading, or running is in for the day. I can't wait til there are two 45 min. walks/ jogs a day. She is really the best thing that has happened to our family since the kids lol.

Moobie has a neighborhood boyfriend that loves to just play and romp all the time and they are the best of friends. We have turned our little community into a private mini dog park.

The kids love playing and seeing her all the time. Every morning they are there waking the poor dear up and telling her how "adowabble" she is. The Fish who used to get mouthed all the time now is so used to getting chew on all day. She puts up with so much crap seriously we couldn't have chosen a better dog.

Instincts are hard to kick

I was at Thing 1's class this morning. Drop off gets kinda crazy. You have to put things in baskets, and then make sure there are coats and backpacks hung up. Oh and there is reading the letters on the blackboard. Well we have some seriously awesome parents/kids in his class.

I was shuffleing through all the chaos and one of the mothers asked me if she had "pink" on her face. I looked up from trying to get the fish pointed towards the door and out of the pattern blocks. And then I saw the mother's face. Sure enough, she totally had a smudge of some type of pink substance on her jaw line. Before I could stop I had already produced the famous.

Thumb, Lick and..... milimeters from her soft supple skin I froze!!! Started to giggle switched hands and with a SPIT free hand removed said smudge. I couldn't stop laughing. She instantly recognized the universal cleanser trick and laughed too. I am so glad she thought it was funny, considering I almost vicariously Licked her.

I realized I had become one of "those Moms" I have no control when it comes to messy faces. I instantly bought tons of hand sanitizer. If I am going to lick my hands and can't control when or where the instinct kicks in I better have 99.9% germ free hands. :) At least it has a light citrus scent.

Passion for flowers and crochet!

Does this phase of my life scream 80 year old lady or what? I am totally into these soooo soft hats for babies and can't stop crocheting these things! I just want so many for myself but I haven't found the right color for me :)

ABC the Bacholor

Is anyone as hooked on this season as I am. I like how he calls out these space cadet's and makes them explain themselves! This is a good season and I wrote off the Bachelor long ago as a show I would actually watch consistently.

I am so hooked on crocheting right now I can't put down my hook! I am working on three projects and love the results!

I will post pics tomorrow. But if you follow this blog you know that isn't generally the case.

The new giveaway over at DMC !

I am excited because these are our bracelets :) So excited! Hope you win!!
Here is the link

And the BLog is comming up I swear lol.

Reading Dracula

Ok I really think there are so many books I need to look into further :)

Dracula has been hard at first to get into but is really getting good!

Can't wait to see how this is going to play out!!

When Stress runs high....

There are some tell signs that stress is on and thick. I am not sure why now is a tougher time to handle than any other time of stress but it is weighing on me. The tells for stress for me are....
-Uncontrolled crying fits.
-Anger bursts.
-and when things get really bad....
The desire for a small rollie cute 8-9 week old puppy.

It is bad when there is a place to find such cute and adorable things. Not so much for sale as a "rehoming"fee.
This time it is really bad. I am ready to go on a computer/everything fast to get away for awhile and just relax. It is like my own form of puppy porn. It started when I was very young. If it isn't puppies it would be something else. I just wish it was Gourmet food or something that my kids could use.

And I need to run.... like I have never run before.
My timed mile was 12 minutes and I am going to time again this weekend. I just need some really big stress relief.

Busy Busy tis the season!

This week we...
-Orgainzed next Book Swap!
-Started reading Dracula (thanks Lani for the push)
-Hung Fliers for davis.momscircuit.com
-Started actually working hard on the Blog for MomsCircuit.com
-Tree lighting down town was so fun with the choir and treats and sleigh rides.
-Helped in Thing 1's class, we did Pumpkin bread, and I played drop the sicks to see what side they would land on (probability thing).
-Timed my mile. :) Did I mention how much I love running? Hee Hee
-ordered thing 1's new glasses Phew!
-designed coupon for Davis.MomsCircuit.com for downtown store that is on the new blog that will be ready soon :).
- Looking for ideas for my hand made CHRISTMAS CARDS!
- Realized there would be no Zhu Zhu Pets under the tree this year... Ok I am over it ;)
- Discovered these are kinda cute.
-Found out where my brother is going on his Mission. :)

Stress around this holiday season is incredible. I can't believe how crazy this year has been. Breathe just breathe.

Setting goals for long term achievements.

This is not my strong point. I am the care taker of three small children. I put out fires a lot of my day.Things that are planned are a lot of times don't happen because of one reason or another. But I really like being in physical shape and I like the energy and the amount of work I get accomplished when I am in shape.
The past two weeks I have been sick. Just sick and sleepy with this cold congestion crap. Everytime I spend time recovering I always get the itch to exercise. So the goal now is to cut my mile time down. I will start very slowly. And work my way to whittle down my time. Outside in the cold is my first obstacle I must overcome. Then there is the motive to listen to new music. And then there is my dislike of running I have to get over.

I plan on running. Becoming a runner. A good runner. I used to be a runner. Now I am a walk runner. I love to walk. Maybe I will be a walker..... I also like bikes..... Man I have ADD.

The Halloween Post

Ok it is a bit behind but last weekend was a total blast. We went to the church's Trunk or Treat, Went to an awesome Halloween party, road the last run on the Spookie Train in Old Sac. Then wrapped it all up with some trick or treating in the old neighborhood. Man I want to do it all over again.
Can't wait to see what this holiday season brings! Hope less candy!

Foreign Service Anyone?

Ok the Band passed the exam. What exam you ask the Foreign Service Officer Exam. Well the initial exam. He now has go through the narrative and then oral interview. We are so excited this is his dream job. Seriously I am scared to the point of nervous giddy laughter. We'll see what happens.

YEAH BAND!!

Never thought I would type this....

This afternoon I was looking out the back windshield to check if it was safe to make a lane change on the freeway. I couldn't believe what I saw. A frog. (yeah It was hard for me to beleive my eyes too) was trying to scale the back window! I was freaking out and then asked the kids if the frog was on the inside or outside. They started shrieking and I knew it was on the inside. The sound of excitement mixed with terror ensued. I knew I needed to clean the van but really? Seriously? A fully grown frog??? WHAT the WHAT?

We got home and we unloaded EV-E-RY thing which included four jackets of Thing 1 that I had been looking for :)

Could not, still cannot Believe a frog was in my VAN!

Woot woot for do it your self hair!

Ok there are things that I must confess. I don't know which I love more the long flowing hair or the beautiful short sassy hair. I like the sassy for now.

Damage report... A++ Ode to thing 2

Some times the list works to work it out.

-The fish last night jumped on Thing 1's bed and fell on the foot of the bed. Split his eyebrow right open. No stitches just glued shut.
- Thing 2 just cut her hair. Let's just say it is Business in the front and party in the back. I have to deal with it after school tomorrow.
-We all woke up with soar throats..... Yeah
Rough day. I think we will be good but I didn't take a chance kept everyone home. I am really excited to see the sun tomorrow it was not so good not being in our regular routine:( I am kicking everyone into gear tomorrow.

We are going to have a do over.

Yard Sale finds!

Can I say .......... 5 dollars? Sure it was probably a little more expensive at wally's (hee Hee) when she bought it but I like 5 dollars.

Back to work!

This week we have the GRAND Opening of the new Website MomsCircuit.com this is the Davis one that is set up right now if you have requests to start one in your area.... tough! Ha Ha just kidding we are working on it. Meanwhile come check out the happenings around our neck of the woods. It would be really nice if you have been some of these places or seen some of these events to rate them.

I will be designing Wordpress and Blogger templates soon so you can keep an eye out for those. I am going to put up there more designs for the covers of the planners so there is a selection.

I have been Gathering ideas for the news letters and what is happening around town but I am going to need some ideas on what to write about.

Hopefully we will have a widget and some I-cal attachment features soon for the site so the events that you want can go right on to your calendar ;)
We'll see how this flies and then I am sure I will be doing more crazy projects.

Book or Recipe by it's cover..... Don't judge!

Ok so a couple weeks ago I am thumbing through the Cookbooks I have and I have some Country cooking book that had some "misc" recipes in the back. I love these kinds I could read these all day long. But one caught my eye

Peanut Butter Banana Toasted sandwiches.

Come on. Are you kidding me? Mashed banana in Peanut butter?? I have had some crazy combos like
Salt on Mangos
Cereal and Yogurt
Crepes and Yogurt
cottage cheese and Ruffles potato chips
I mean I am willing to give anything pretty much ago.... ask R.G. I downed some nasty sesame seed sweet ball of pooh yesterday.

The Banana and Peanut butter sounded to me like someone pulled it off of the Oscar the grouch menu. Something like "Pickles and Ice cream"

So I had to give it a whirl.

LOVED IT! Made my kids eat it and they TOTALLY LOVED IT.

So here it is. Peanut butter mixed with two mashed bananas to taste.... sandwhich them like toasted cheesers and grill them on each side. Eat hot steamy mess and LOVE IT TOO! I dare you.

Two brothers

Yesterday morning around 4:30am I woke up to some light peering through my door. The normal dark house is not usually lit up so well at that hour. I slowly made my way down the stairs. I then hear some clanging and banging of our fisherprice train set. I look and the two boys are already getting the tracks laid and the trains moving.

I am too tired to be really upset. So I gently tell them to go back to sleep.
Thing 1 instantly turns to the FISH and in a direct tone says,

"I told you this was a bad idea!" We had two cranky boys to deal with yesterday.

If it Sounds Gross.....

It could be but try it anyways. Here is where I am going with this. I love food and yesterday I went with a friend to a SUSHI BUFFET. I thought it was just a normal sushi place. I am glad I didn't research it before hand and just went. So glad we did! Thanks R.G. I need some more adventures in my life.

Any one want to RACE?

On Labor Day this year I ran a 5k It was so much fun!
Here are some of our crazy shots. :) the after ones are the best who knows what was going through my head!

Surprise!!

We had a surprise birthday party for our friend B.W. and we had so much fun getting there and setting the whole thing up.
Here are some of the shots from the party. Thanks I.W. for setting this up we had a total blast!

Thing 1 Humor

I have to post about Thing 1's humor lately. Couple years ago it was the art of the nonsense joke. Where you just got the cue to laugh from his own fierce laughter.
This week we have been introduced to "practical jokester Thing 1"

"Hey Mom! I have Poo on my arm" he yells from the bathroom. This was such a disgustingly gross image that entered my mind so I armed myself with baby wipes . Then he showed me his "muddied" arm. It was peanut butter. FUNNY...... to him..... Me I still used the wipes for the peanut butter.

Earlier .......
I am getting out of the shower and started dressing. I think I had one item of clothing on. All of a sudden I hear foot steps on the stairs. My door is the one at the top of the stairs. So I call out...."oh Who is there" and I hear a quick answer "It's me George"

You would think that simple phrase would have no effect.... WRONG with that simple phrase I have never moved across my laundry filled bedroom so swiftly. I was a lighting bolt. I can't even remember crossing the room I was just there shutting the door. FAST.

"George" is our neighbor. You know, you have a "George" in your neighborhood too. The one that knocks on your door CON.st.ant.ly at the same time everyday to see if Thing 1 (or your child) can play. He has been known to not understand "boundaries" being only six I can cut him some slack. Let's be honest, I am still working on that.... I just didn't want to blind our fine youth we have in our neighbor hood :)