Shopping Till We're Dropping

Yesterday I played hooky from work and went shopping. On Monday, the mom of the little girl I'm a 1:1 aide to, said that she would not be at school on Tuesday. I then asked our teacher if it would be ok to take a personal day and go shopping and she said to go for it.

Then, bad influence that I am, I asked Sis to play hooky and go with me. She of course jumped on the chance too.

I would feel a bit guilty, but I was seriously stressing out about when I would be able to shop at all with both my work schedules and especially because we have quite a few extra parties scheduled for this month as well at the restaurant. I truly don't have any days off (Sundays I don't usually work, but going to church for 3 hours puts a dent in my day).

I left the house yesterday at 8:30 am and returned at 8pm. A. Long. Day. But productive and worth it. For me, I have to travel for an hour and a half to get to a major shopping area so it's even more of an endeavor (I'm not like you spoiled city people!).

We did encounter a couple cashiers who had never heard of our town, and when told how far we had to drive they wondered aloud at how much money they would save if they lived where we did and couldn't shop all the time. (I really doubt they'd last a week up here, personally.)

Sis is so good at keeping me on track (well especially when I almost missed the turn to the city we wanted to go and headed somewhere else entirely!) and she's also good at giving me opinions and finding cool stuff and also finding my dang car in the parking lot. We really had a lot of fun.

Sis shopped for her Christmas gifts but will have to wait for them and open them on Christmas morning. I would've had to give her gift cards had she not picked out what she wanted and that's not near as much fun.

We had to laugh, when at one store while waiting for the clerk to bring back a pair of boots for Sis to try on, another clerk (a young tattooed man who looked very hip) asked if we had been helped. When we said we had, he replied with a very exuberrant, "SICK!!!!" Not, "Ok, cool." or ,"Good deal." but "SICK!!!!" Too funny! We chuckled about that the rest of the day.

I returned home tired, but a lot less stressed about the prospect of Christmas. Now maybe I can actually enjoy the season for a change!

The Shorts Are In The Mailbox, The Pies Are In The Trunk, And The Godiva Chocolates Are.....Digesting

Ever since my mom died, our Thanksgiving tradition involves us buying the turkey and all the trimmings, travelling to my Dad's house and having my husband cook for everyone, since he is basically the only one left with the skills (and motivation) to do so.

This year, the 18 lb bird, two ice chests, grocery bags, luggage for 5 people (including Barbies and special pillows), 2 adults, 3 girls (ok Sis is legally an adult, but she's still one of my girls), and our overweight pit bull, piled into the only reliable car we currently own, my Honda Civic. (At this point just envision a can of sardines and you'll get the picture.)

Shortly after we arrive, Husband starts freaking out (I'm not exaggerating) because he forgot to pack a pair of shorts to cook in, and he is certain he will succumb to heat stroke on Thanksgiving whilst slaving over a hot stove if he doesn't have ventilation on his legs. I can tell he's going to drag me all over the city shopping for shorts at this late hour if I don't figure out a solution pretty quickly. I call my sister, and her husband has a pair that should fit fine, however, they are leaving for the evening so they decide to put them in their mailbox for us to pick up at our convenience.

I'm at the point of not wanting to go out at all, even for this little errand, so we call Cam who's in that general area of town, and give him the cryptic message, "The eagle has landed. The shorts are in the mailbox. This is your mission should you choose to accept it." Well, ok, it wasn't that dramatic, but he was very confused at first by our request to travel to his aunt and uncle's house and retrieve clothing from their mailbox.

So, after all my kiddos arrive, I tell them I have to make apple pies for Thanksgiving the following day. Everyone is excited about this and they all pitch in to peel and slice apples for me. My big contribution is unrolling the refrigerated pie crusts into the pie plates and dumping the prepared apples into them. (Whew! Somehow I managed THAT tough task!)

We discover that my dad, known pie hound, has already cut into the pumpkin pie that my sister purchased and (foolishly) left at his house, and I now fear for the apple pies that I'm baking. Sure enough, as soon as the pies are out of the oven he starts hounding me for a slice. I'm not happy about slicing into one of these beauties, but I'm certainly not going to deny my 80 year old dad this little indulgence. However, to protect the uncut one, and insure there is some apple pie for Thanksgiving, I decide the best action to take is to hide the pies. My dad can be quite persistent when it comes to something like this, so I try to think of somewhere safe that he wouldn't think to look...yes, the trunk of his own car. Genius!

At any rate, the pies survived until AFTER the Thanksgiving feast for EVERYONE to enjoy,

my sister arrived despite falling and smashing her face on a brick planter the night before, Nat didn't starve despite the fact that the bird wasn't ready and had to go back into the oven for another hour (!), Mike stayed cool, calm and collected (thanks to borrowed shorts and lots of wine), and I did indeed share the Godiva chocolates (I hid those too) even though I tried to let on that they had already been consumed. All in all, a great Thanksgiving!

Really Cool, Awesome, Fun, Ramblin's (for me anyway)

Today I took the girls to Walmart and got them each a new dress (and then a new school outfit too, cause I'm a pushover like that) because they have a special church program on Sunday. It was just cool that I had the money to do that. I love that I have a decent job. I mean it's not enough to live off of or anything, but it is enough that I can spend a little money on the kids without my stomach turning into a knot. Fun!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And speaking of money, and spending it...Over the last couple months I've been making payments to a lady for a kayak and I finally got to bring it home on Monday. It was really a great deal. It's virtually new (she used it twice in the 2 years since she bought it) and the price included a cart to pull it on, and then she gave me a brand new life jacket and tie downs and stuff. Awesome!

The funny thing is I hate the water. I'm very cat like in that respect. I actually have more of an unnatural fear of water, really, and I don't like swimming either. I think that's because I'm very sensitive to cold, and swimming involves immersing myself in water that is not nearly warm enough by my standards! At any rate, I bought a boat, of all things! Go figure!

I tried kayaking this summer and fell in love with it. It's peaceful, and the boats are light weight and very manuverable. I really love that the little girls, neither one who weighs more than 60 pounds, can help me load and unload it, then can get in it and paddle around with no problem. Really cool for them!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I think it's funny that Nat can say "library" and "Valentine's" just fine (and I hear adults say "liberry" and "Valentime's"), but still mispronounces "chapter" as "chafter".

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And Miss Moo won best costume at school for her ghost bride:

Oh and speaking of ghosts... last night I turned off the front porch light, then sat down at the computer, and a few minutes later I turned around and looked and sure enough, the light was back on. And the switch was still in the off position. Hmmmm....But no, it didn't freak me out. It's just kind of funny.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That's it for my cool, awesome, fun and PUZZLING ramblings...

Preschool Surprises

Working at a preschool, special ed or not, is always fun and full of surprises. (Some surprises involve bodily fluids and are not that fun, but still...)

Here are just a couple cute quotes from our kids:

Little boy picking his nose....
Teacher: "You need to get a kleenex."
Little Boy: "No I don't, I've got my finger right here."
That's little boy logic for you.

The preschool has a new teacher this year and when last year's teacher dropped by, one of the little boys ran up to her and said, "Teacher! You're here! I thought I lost you." So cute!

And let's just say we have one little boy that aims high when he sits on the potty chair. Last week he hit an unsuspecting teacher square in the chest from across the bathroom. Luckily she had a sense of humor and a clean sweatshirt in her car!

It Just Slipped By Me

I do what I can to spread the joy and put a smile on people's faces, even at my own expense and such was the case today.

Let me preface this by saying I've been inordinately tired this week: sick girls up in the middle of the night with coughing fits and earaches, working a double shift last night (school then restaurant), and feeling like I may be coming down with whatever crud the kids have been infecting the house with for the last week and a half. (That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!)

So, I'm walking into work at the school this morning and I'm passing all the parents who have just dropped their kids off and are heading back to their cars. I notice one gal in particular who looks like she just rolled out of bed a few minutes ago and is shuffling along in her slippers.

Here were my exact thoughts:

She looks tired...
...just like me...yawn...
...hmmm...I have some slippers just like that...
...they make that same shuffling sound...
...kind of like the sound my feet are making right now...yawn...
...wow, my feet feel especially comfy this morning...
---looking down---
HOLY FLIP! I'M STILL WEARING MY SLIPPERS!

Yes, I made a lot of people happy today by embarrassing myself at work. Like I said, I am not above sacrificing my own comfort level if it will give someone something to chuckle about for the rest of the day. Yes, today I made a lot of people smile. And it was worth it. (At least that's what I'm telling myself.)

Poor, Neglected Blog

I don't know why I've been out of the posting mood lately, but I have. I think Facebook is taking up a lot of my computer time. Facebook is so cool though. I've gotten in touch with all my good friends from childhood there. It's fun to know what they're doing day to day, and to see pictures of their families.

In other news I'm pretty sure the girls had "hog fever" ('cause we're not supposed to call it Swine Flu anymore, right?) Wow, what a nasty virus! Nat was hit the hardest and was down for a good 5 days. Both girls are still hacking and coughing. Yuck.

The cats were very supportive of Nat during her convalescence, however. They never left her side. They stayed next to her and comforted her through her fever and coughing and made sure to keep her cozy during her naps. Pretty heroic, in my opinion. (Or maybe cats just love nothing better than a warm body on the couch covered in a fleece blanket to nap on. Nah, not MY cats!)

Miss Moo has proved herself to be a true mountain girl. The other day she built a fire in the woodstove completely on her own! She knew just how to start it with the smaller pieces, open the dampers, and then add the larger wood as it got going. That's the first lesson in mountain life---keeping yourself warm. She passed. And now she can keep her mama warm too!

In other mountain life news, I still get a kick out of walking through our neighborhood and seeing all the bear sign. I've lived up here for almost 20 years and I've never seen so much bear activity in one place. We lived in far more remote areas and would see an occasional bear, but not have bears be a part of our everyday life like in this neighborhood. The difference being, when this neighborhood was built in the '30s there was a man who was a wannabe Johnny Appleseed and he planted apple trees everywhere around here. And where there's easy food, there's going to be lots of bears. The streets and alleyways here are just littered with piles of bear droppings and I just find it kind of humorous I guess that that is now a part of our normal daily life.

I recently performed at a festival in Richmond. It was pretty cool because it was in a huge auditorium and it just was neat to be on a stage that big (I don't have pictures of us performing just yet though). It did have real honest to goodness dressing rooms too. Usually the so-called dressing room is a large bathroom or supply closet, and all the performers have to share it, but here there was a dressing room for everyone. My friend and I thought the coolest thing was that there were stars on the doors, so we couldn't help taking our pictures in front of them so we could brag that we got the "star treatment"!

Madly Scientific

With Moo gone to a birthday party, I had Nat all to myself. We just recently got a slimy science kit from Scholastic, so she wanted to do an experiment.

First we put a layer of corn syrup (colored red),

then some blobs of baking soda, then a layer of water, and finally a layer of oil. Just that was pretty cool, then we started with the fun stuff, adding vinegar (colored blue).

First just dropping some and watching it turn into blobs between the water and oil, then pushing through to the baking soda for bubbling action. It was really neat to play with.

We're going to do it again when Moo gets home. It was cool to hear Nat say, "I'm smart!" and "I like science!" All through school science was boring for me, but we only did book learning. I think hands on experiments definitely make the difference!

And for my sister, an obligatory kitten picture:

Special Blessings

Working with special needs kids has kind of made me more aware of special needs adults in our community.

We have a man at our church who is special needs. He's my age but I think we all think of him as a "young man". He goes to Sunday school with the teenagers even though he functions a bit lower than that.

Every so often it's his turn to bless the sacrament. His mom prints out the words for him to read and I think everyone in the congregation pays special attention to each and every word, each of us praying with him and praying for him, that he gets it exactly right and doesn't have to do it again.

It's hard to describe the special spirit that he brings to the routine of blessing the bread and water, but it is definitely felt as one hears his voice saying the prayer and struggling to say it just right, or seeing him with his limited motor skills breaking the bread.

It has happened that he has done the blessing on fast and testimony Sunday a few times and invariably, his special spirit inspires people to come up and bear their testimony. That's exactly what happened this Sunday. As soon as the time was turned over for testimonies, a gentleman in the back, who happened to be visiting our ward, popped up and strode to the podium. He said that this special man inspired him to get up, and that he rarely bears his testimony, let alone comes to church these days, but that he could not stay in his chair. He went on to bear a beautiful testimony of the gospel.

It's amazing how these special souls who walk among us touch others, especially if we open ourselves up to their unique spirits. I often wonder as I work with the 3 and 4 year olds at my job, what their future holds. I do know that they teach me more than I teach them, and for that I am grateful.

Cuties, Kitties, Cousins and Booties

Our little cousins came to visit on Sunday and we were so thrilled to see them. Since they moved we don't get to see them on a regular basis and we MISS them!

Nat and Em went immediately to Nat's room and that's the last we saw of them until dinner time. They love playing Barbies and Nat also has a fashion studio toy that includes scraps of fabrics and a little dress manikin that they love to play with. Nat and Em love to design dresses or other girly things (they generally use tape to fasten everything together). They have decided that they will become designers together in the future and guess what they call themselves? The Cousigners, as in cousin-designers. They came up with that themselves. I think they're brilliant.

Moo spent all her time with little Zachy. He was tickling us with his booty-shaking skills and I finally caught it on video. Just too cute and I chuckle every time I see this:

We picked blackberries off our bush and later had them over ice cream. I can't even tell you how good that was!

Lastly, a little kitten goodness:

"Old" Friends

I have a good friend at work. We met this past winter when she started working at the restaurant bussing tables like me. Usually the restaurant only hires teens for bussing and dishwashing, so it was nice to have another "old lady" (as we like to call ourselves) to hang out with.

We've become fairly close and just the other night we were discussing how hard it is to have friends, and she said I was really her only friend, and I feel the same about her. I have other friends, but as far as someone I would be really comfortable calling up to hang out with there are only a couple and she's one of them. It's nice to have someone that's easy to talk to and that you feel a connection to.

My friend has a son, and I've known for a while that she lost a daughter just two days after birth. The other night she really opened up about it to me. Tonight she brought the few pictures she has of her baby to show me. How touched I was that she would share this with me. How precious her little one was!

The true mark of friendship is having that feeling that you can open up and spill your heart out and the other person will be there to listen. I feel honored that my friend found that in me and that I could be there for her to remember her daughter.

I'm really thankful for my new friend. Goodness knows it's not easy finding friends when you've got a family to care for and a job to hold down and so many other things that take priority. We "old ladies" have to stick together!

Never Forget

In blogland today there have been a lot of posts of memories of what people were doing on 9/11/01 and how it affected them, so I thought I would write my memories as well.

Well, to start, just prior to 9/11, there was a forest fire burning nearby and our neighborhood was in evacuation stand-by, meaning that we should be packed and ready should the word come. We're no strangers to forest fires up here, but this one was especially fierce, and our stress level was pretty high.

Then 9/11 happened. I, like everyone else, was glued to the tv and horrified as the news kept getting worse and worse. It shook me to my core in a way nothing else has ever done before.

That same day, as the fire inched closer, the planes fighting the fire began circling right over our house on their drops. We lived at the top of a ridge and the planes were so incredibly close. The whole house would shake and the noise of the engines was so loud that nothing could be heard above the din. All I could think of was that those poor people in the towers must've heard something just like that right before those planes crashed into their buildings. The more I thought about it, the more freaked out I started to get. Every pass from the planes began to make me feel panicky.

Then it stopped. The planes were all grounded. Even the CDF planes fighting the fire. No one knew if they could get the fire under control without the air support, and that was even scarier.

The schools cancelled classes for an entire week because the smoke was so thick it was unhealthy for the kids to be outside. Soccer games were cancelled as well, and all we could do was sit around inside wait for news on the fire, and watch more of the horror of 9/11 unfold in the days following.

I began to go into a true depression. Our whole life had been upturned on a local level with all the daily routines put on hold, and our whole country had been upturned in a way I never thought that I would see.

Well long story short, they let the fire fighting planes fly again and the fire was put out, we never had to evacuate, and 2 weeks later I finally started coming out of the worst funk I've ever been in. It was so bad that I really considered seeing my doctor for medication because I knew I had to function for the sake of my kids.

I think the effect of 9/11 rocked me so badly because of my kids. I kept thinking, "What kind of world are they growing up in?", "Will the US be a safe place for them to grow up?", "How can I protect them and keep them safe?" It so scary as a parent to think such things.

Well, now 8 years later, I don't worry so much, and I'm thankful every day that I live in the USA and that my kids are growing up here. I know they will be ok, and so will I. But believe me, I will never forget 9/11. God Bless America.

Reflections on Labor Days Past

I remember Labor Day when I was growing up. School always started AFTER Labor Day (for my kids, it's the 4th week of school already!) so there was excitement and aprehension in the air.

There was also the Jerry Lewis Telethon which ruined all the good tv watching on this last weekend of summer freedom. Kids these days just don't get it. We had 3 main channels and a couple low rent channels and that was it. I never really liked Jerry Lewis or his telethon, but I admire him now. (He just raised a crazy amount of money again this past weekend, and didn't even spoil my tv watching to do it! Go Jerry!)

I always liked the excitement of new school clothes and shoes, school supplies, lunchboxes and finding out who my teacher would be. So much anticipation in the air. Of course all that got real old, real fast especially in high school, but still, I have good memories of starting another year of learning.

I still kind of get excited about the start of school for my kids (even though it starts in the middle of flippin' August). I like buying them a new backpack (which I never had!) and new clothes and always make a big deal out of finding out who there teacher is. The only thing missing is an annoying telethon dominating our tv. Maybe I'll work on that next year. I think my kids deserve the whole Labor Day experience.

Awkward Stages

So, someone in our house is going through a bit of an awkward stage. It's a stage where she wants to be grown up, but doesn't want to let go of being a little girl either. Which leads to baby talk and acting VERY goofy, and then getting all pre-hormonal and slamming doors and acting sassy.

It's the pre-teeny-bopper stage. An awkward stage, an annoying stage, a stage that reminds us both that time is marching on and changes are coming, and a stage that reminds me that this stage really isn't THAT bad.

A Fruity Post of Rambling Thoughts

Gosh, there's already a nip in the air, and now that Labor Day has come and gone it's like summer has gone with it. Sad news, in my opinion.

I have the distinct impression that this house isn't going to be the easiest place to heat come winter, and I'll probably be wearing lots of layers and sitting by the woodstove. Have I mentioned how I hate being cold? I may just have to get over that somehow.

We have a fabulous blackberry bush in our backyard and every day when I walk the girls home from school up the steep hill to our house, we stop and eat a few blackberries as our treat. I hope that is one of the childhood memories they grow up remembering. I know it's one of the highlights of my day!

Last night we had a visit from the legendary huge bear that roams the neighborhood. No, we didn't see it with our own eyes, but we did see the evidence it left behind.

I grew up hiking in the woods with my dad and when we came across bear scat he was always interested in seeing what the bears had been eating (I'll just leave it at that). Suffice it to say I'm no stranger to seeing bear stuff, but honest to Pete, this was the hugest pile I have ever seen! If it's any indication of the size of the bear, this guy is gigantic! And he REALLY likes apples. I'm just saying...(and I'm glad he's leaving the blackberries alone.)

So ends my rambling post...cohesive thoughts are so hard to come by these days!

Komforting Kittens

Nat is feeling better and I haven't had to hose her off in the shower at all today! I call that success!

She spent most of the day in the recliner with her cozy blanket and I just had to take a picture of her and all her cozy companions.

How can you NOT feel better with this kind of company:

Please Read On An Empty Stomach

Puke.

I don't do it well.

Meaning when one of my kids is sick, I just don't handle the throwing up all that well, and as a parent it's just inevitable. Yuck.

Take tonight for example. 12:30am, a crying Nat wakes me up standing next to my bedside telling me she threw up. On further inspection in the bathroom it looks like someone dumped a bucket of it over her. Holy Moly! The only thing to do is just start the shower and put her in, clothes and all. As her clothes get rinsed, I take them off of her.

Then I go to inspect the bed...

~insert the theme from Jaws or Psycho or other creepy movie here~

Not a pretty sight. Let's just say a cute, tented loft bed from IKEA does not make for a hasty retreat to the bathroom. In fact, it really hinders a child from leaving the bed in any kind of quick or expedient fashion.

I just went from one end to the other and rolled all the bedding in a ball and took it to the laundry to deal with later. Holy Cow!

I've actually been pretty lucky as far as pukey kids are concerned and I know it because I've heard some real mothering horror stories.

Probably the worst instance I've had to deal with involved Moo when she was 4 years old and had hair down to her fanny. Two words: Top Ramen. It only took me three go-rounds before I figured out that french braiding that hair out of the way would save me lots of time and trouble. Yeah...I'm quick like that.

Then there's that pukey suspense: will it just be an isolated incidence with this one child or is some evil virus having it's way with the others' digestive systems as well? Do you go back to bed or begin a tactical defense by placing towels and buckets near the sleeping, symptomless children in the household? It's like waiting for the other shoe to drop (and for some reason it likes to drop just as mom's weary head hits the pillow). Sigh...

And I'd just like to know why it always seems to start in the middle of the night. What is it about clean sheets, a quiet house, and an unsuspecting, slumbering mother that brings on illness? Truly one of life's deeper mysteries (and bitter injustices, in my opinion).

So, I'll admit it. I'm a pukey-kid wimp. I'd much rather deal with other icky bodily substances over throw up. I think it's unfair that it usually happens in the middle of the night (and in the middle of a bed), and that it causes undue suffering to all involved (especially those reading a blog post written by a bleary-eyed, sleep deprived mom on vomit watch in the wee hours of the a.m.)

Here's hoping my little Nat is better soon and not contagious!

Random Updates With Bonus Cute Pictures

The kitties are thriving and eating solid kitten food now. Yay! Buying kitten formula was a bit expensive! They still like to nurse on soft things, especially Moo's stuffed dog Scruffy:

And here they are afterward:

Suey is doing well with them. When they went from bottle to bowl, they would finish their meal with what I liked to call a "milk beard". They weren't very good at cleaning themselves up so I would let Suey lick them clean. Now they've bonded:

Here's Jo-Jo outside for the first time on a leash:

Here's Princess:

In other news...
Mike brought home a coconut for the girls to try. The coconut milk was gross, but they loved the raw coconut:

Our backyard blackberries, yum:

We must have 10 apple trees, plus a couple pears and tree that has either very small yellow plums or strange cherries on it. I haven't figured out what it is yet.

We had a bear visit our backyard and gorge on apples the other night. I could hear him crunching away right outside the bedroom window. As I was watching him, a skunk trotted across the yard, tail in the air, with a little skunk behind it also with it's little tail flying like a flag. Very cute and they didn't spray so that was even better!

Little Puzzles

Being an aide to a special needs child can prove challenging. I'm so thankful for this job, but sometimes I feel so inadequate.

Nurturing and interacting with small children feels very natural to me, but when you take a 3-year-old with the capacity of a 9-12 month old (so I'm told), all of a sudden techniques that generally work don't work anymore, and you have to start thinking differently.

One of the teachers is so good about explaining how certain children process certain things and really offers a lot of insight.

I was playing in the play area with my little one and she came over and told me that this may be the most difficult area to work in. We need to teach these kids appropriate play: baby is hungry, let's feed baby; put the car on the track and make it go down; stack one block on the other, etc. as these kids often get into their own little world and don't play with toys with a purpose in mind. Interesting...and helpful.

Later on the playground, I got my little one to play for a long time in the sandbox, not just letting sand sift through her fingers, as usual, but actually scooping sand with a shovel into a pail.

There is so much I want to know and learn about this little one so that I can help her to the best of my ability. I think each special needs child is kind of like a one-of-a-kind jigsaw puzzle. They have their own secrets on how they work and the rest of the world has to figure them out.

Updating Before It's All Outdated

Updates:


The girls started school on Wednesday and are thrilled to be able to walk to school. Mike had to be in charge of first day of school duties (his first time ever) because I started my new job that day. He did a good job. Even getting a photo of them with the principal (bonus points!)


Sis signed up for classes at the local community college and will start at the end of August. It's strange not having her around all the time. Since the move, she's moved in with her dad (only a mile away). Even when she was home, I didn't see her a lot, but at least we had a few minutes a day where we could touch base with each other. I miss that.


I started my new job as a one-on-one aide at a special ed preschool on Wednesday as well. I love it. I feel so blessed to have a job like this that's so rewarding.


I'm still working at the lodge, and yesterday as I went from my kid-centered preschool job to my adult-centered waitressing job I was struck by just how different my two jobs are. At one it's all about play and enthusiasm and simple words, at the other it's all about adult conversation, efficiency and being business-like. Kind of weird to have to shift gears like that all in one day.


Also on Wednesday, Bub and Cass came up to visit for the day. We managed to fit a lot into their short visit. We took a tour of some local caverns:


Wow, that's a really big....thumb


It was really hard to get a decent photo in the close quarters of the cavern.


We then came home and made pizza, then we walked down to the lake, and came back home and had pie and I cut Bub's hair. We had lots of laughs and fun times.


Bub was in love with the orange kitty, Princess


and Cass, who's allergic to cats, was a real trooper who loaded herself up on allergy meds so that she could enjoy them too.

The kittens are doing really well. Im not having to bottle feed them anymore. They're still on formula but I'm mixing some soft cat food with it now. They are climbing and running now and playing like crazy. They are so ridiculously cute. Here is where they like to sleep now with their "surrogate mother":


Consider yourself updated.

Like Butter...

That's what the walls in my livingroom look like. Well, that's actually the name of the paint color too. I love it. It's sunny and cheerful.

This room took a lot of work. First pulling up the old carpet and removing umpteen staples from the floor without damaging it, but so worth it. It was so neat to pull back the carpet and see this beautiful hardwood underneath.

Then we painted the ceiling and trim and the double hung windows (which are a total pain), and of course everything needed two coats.

Finally it was time for the yellow. What a transformation. This room just has a whole new feel to it.

My good friend and my niece helped with the painting. The first day my niece needed to leave and I had to go to work and my friend insisted on staying and painting my ceiling. Now that's true friendship!

The lady that grew up in this house stopped by and I showed her the floors. She says she remembered her mom waxing the floors. All the furniture would be removed and after the waxing her mom would give both her and her sister a pillow and let them slide all over the floor to their heart's content. She said they didn't realize at the time that they were helping to polish the floor.

After surveying the new improved livingroom, she also said that her mom and dad would be proud, and that meant a lot to me.

It's funny how much homier this house feels than any house I've lived in for quite a while. I think part of it is the fixing up, but there's just a homey feeling to it over all. This winter is still worrying me a bit - I'm just not sure how warm we'll be and I hate being cold - but I'm willing to give it a shot.

Cat Tales

(I think I should just start ALL my stories with the line, "against my better judgement...")

My friend tells me that the folks where her daughter takes riding lessons have two kittens they found and do I want one? Well, I had been thinking of getting another kitten as a playmate for Sis' kitten as she's so wild and playful so I told her I would consider it.

Later that day we drive out to the ranch to look at the kittens. I know that there's a really good chance that if I'm looking at them I'll be bringing one home, so I'm prepared.

We get there and can hear them already as we get out of the car. I can't believe all the meowing is coming from these two babies. On closer inspection I notice that they're tiny, a lot smaller than I expected. The people say they found them a day or so ago meowing near the driveway. They say they've been feeding them regular cow's milk and moistened food. I know kitties shouldn't have cow's milk so at this point I'm concerned, and I know these people have barn cats they let breed at will, and that they're just anxious to get rid of these two so at this point I commit to taking both of them.

Our friend gave us some soft kitten food and as we drive the half hour home I can hear the babies sucking the juice from the food out of Moo and Nat's hands. It's fairly late, 9:30, so I figure I'll go home and research what I need to feed them and take them to the vet in the morning. As luck would have it I see our vet out taking her dogs for a walk on our way home. I pull over and acost her and ask if she wouldn't mind looking at the two babies.

Our vet is so kind and accomodating that she insists that we come to the office (which is right next to her house) so she can check them out and give us a can of formula to take home.

We found that the orange one is pretty good at lapping milk from a dish but the gray one was having trouble so we got bottles to feed with.

These poor babies were most definitely starving when we got them and once their little tummies were full, they calmed down and even began playing. My theory is that one of their barn cats was a young mama and abandoned the little ones. My friend said that the people wouldn't have bothered with the babies much longer so they wouldn't have survived had I not taken them.

These little ones are a lot of work right now, but they're so darned cute. The vet said that in about a week we can start them on soft solids and they already have the cat box figured out. They do miss their mama though. They suck on their blankets and even on our hands. I'm so glad that I took these little cuties home that night, even though they are so much responsibility. I hope that they thrive and that we'll enjoy them for years to come.

I'm a Push-over... But You Already Knew That

Yep, this is what we have at our house as of last night:

They're maybe 3 weeks old. We're feeding them kitty formula out of a saucer because they can't eat solids yet. So far they're doing ok. They try to nurse on us though, poor babies. I'll have to write the story of their arrival later, but thought this would be a good teaser.

Fixin' Up

Here are photos of the bathroom before, during and after. The during lasted a LITTLE longer than I expected, but I should be used to it being the wife of a contractor...but Mike finally finished it last night. Woo! (Oh and I should say that the during photo is not representative of how we've been living--the moldy lino was scraped out and I put down a huge area rug to cover up the wood that was underneath.) Anyway, here 'tis:

We used inexpensive adhesive floor tiles. This bathroom is huge, but the flooring only cost $70, with some tiles left over. We'll be reinbursed by the landlord of course.

I'd really like to paint the cupboards (can you believe the amount of storage!?). Any suggestions? I really like sagey green, but am not sure. The walls are white and gold marlite, so they can't be painted, and I wouldn't paint the oak cabinets where the sink is either.

Shopping, Swimming and Shaping Up

I took the girls school shopping on Monday. We took a quick trip out to see Grandpa and Aunt Tracy and visit the malls.

I tell ya, shopping with three girls is not for wimps! They are slave drivers! We shopped all day, going to several stores, driving all over town then came home and had dinner with Grandpa and they were ready for more so we went and closed the mall.

The next day I went to the thrift store and bought a few things I needed, then we spent time with Aunt Tracy at her pool. Here's Sis and Aunt Tracy's little dog Bridget:

and Nat and Moo tried to figure out how to dive:

Anyway, my one splurge was a pair of Skechers Shape-ups which claim to help you exercise while you walk. I needed new work shoes and I figure I might as well be exercising while I'm at work waiting on tables. I wore them for the first time tonight at work. They're nice and squooshy but I feel like I walk a little clunky.

I was going to go with the all black

but Sis said it looked more like I had hooves than feet so I went with the black and white instead

The bonus to their big curvy bottom is that it makes me just a bit taller. I'm not sure if their big curvy bottom will do anything for the curves on my bottom, I guess we'll see. In fact as I clomped around the dining room at work tonight I began to wonder if they're just another version of the ballet dancer's magic toe shoes---making me believe I'm getting an extra workout when actually it's all just in my mind. I guess time will tell!

Out of the Loopy, or Maybe Just Loopy, I Don't Know

So...what have I been up to you wonder? (At least I hope someone's wondering and interested in my fascinatingly mundane life.)

Well, the move of course (the elders of our church are awesome and didn't even complain about moving us again in less than a year), and painting and minor decorating (hung a bunch of curtains today, by myself even), cleaning up the old house (I love the Rug Doctor, he rocks, but actually he really sucks, and that was even more helpful), working way more than I want or need to (but that's the summer season for ya at a lodge in the mountains--make hay while the sun shines and all that jazz), and still waiting for the internet at my house (which is why I'm at work during my off time using the free wi-fi) and also cursing Comcast (telling them to shove it yesterday, and now waiting for DSL to be hooked up instead) and basically trying to regain some semblance of normalcy and sanity, because moving really takes it out of a person.

I'm really happy in our new place. It's really homey and has a good feel to it. When I have normal internet access again I will post the livingroom's transformation. Now I can't wait to do the kitchen, and the dining room, and the laundry and the office and Moo's room...yeah I have a lot to look forward to.

Plus I interviewed today for a special ed position but if that doesn't work out, the middle school wants me as a lunch lady, so I have employment of some sort starting August 19 when the kids return to school. Yay!

Plus I turned 45 on the 28th!

So no, I haven't dropped off the face of the earth, I'm here muddling through, and hope to be back to my normal routine soon.

Moving Into This Old House Update

Well, here's the update:


The church is moving us this coming Saturday, and I still haven't packed a box (although I have moved miscellany loose items up to the new place) and Mike took 2 loads of boxes (still packed from November's move) up yesterday.


I finally finished all the carpet cleaning and vacuuming cobwebs (I've never had to clean a house so much to move into! Not fair!).


The one and only bathroom is still in demolition mode.



The livingroom looked like this:



but there was a rumor that there was hardwood underneath, so now it looks like this:




I still need to paint the walls and pull up umpteen billion staples out of the floor before Saturday. So all of you that offered to help if I needed it, guess what? Your phone will definitely be ringing.

Oh and I have to work, and pack, and keep up with regular chores like laundry and dishes (and blogging), and then do a dancer's flea market I'm involved in on Saturday as well (that I committed to long before this move came along). Of course my employer needs me more than ever right now, and I'm weighing extra money vs extra time. Money is winning, but I may still try to find someone to work for me one day this week.

Other than that it's been hotter than blazes, and the air conditioner in our current home has only been working intermittently (despite the fact that I've been cursing at it quite consistently). At our new home, however, it's about 20 degrees cooler with a nice breeze blowing through the pines. I'm sure loving it now, but I know this winter it will turn into Little Siberia and I'll have snow up to my fanny!

Nat and Moo are excited to move, and they are actually looking forward to having snow up to their fannies this winter. They've actually packed a couple boxes too and did a great job helping me pull up the livingroom carpet the other day and spent a good hour pulling up staples even going so far as to claim it was fun!

So there ya have it. Maybe by next Monday I'll feel a bit more sane. Or not. Oh well, "this too shall pass".

Anniversaries are Hot, Sweaty, and Kinda Stinky

So, Mike and I spent our 12th anniversary getting all dirty and sweaty. Yeah, that's right. He tore up old linoleum and I shampooed carpets. What did you think I was talking about? Sheesh!

Our "new" abode (and I am using the term new here VERY loosely) is turning out to be a bit more work than we thought.

Yesterday we tore out the carpet in the bathroom. When we originally looked at the house I told the rental agent that the carpet would be a deal-breaker unless we could rip it out and replace it, so that's what we're doing.

GAG...

When Mike started tearing it out the smell of cat urine was overwhelming. And then I saw all the stains on the bottom of the carpet. I'm pretty tough, and it takes a lot to make me queazy, but this did it. I left and went in to another room and shouted my encouragement. Let's just say it was bad.

Under the nasty "history-of-pee carpet" (as I fondly call it), we found warped linoleum and mold which equals a lot more work than we thought.

Nice moldy, warped linoleum. I'll take it over nasty, smelly carpet though!

Today Mike began tearing it up, and then will have to put down an underlayment to even out the surface before we can lay down the adhesive floor tiles I purchased. It is assumed that the owners will reimburse us for all this, and I think it's a given now that the rental agent came by and observed the scene today. This project was LONG overdue, and the inside air quality has improved 100%. Thankfully this seems to be the only place the cat used as it's potty. 'Nuff said.

I in the mean time, was up in the attic vacuuming cobwebs and shampooing the carpet. The girls want to use this as a playroom so I was determined it be clean. The attic is very low--about 5 1/2 feet at the ceiling peak, and it was very hot and stuffy from being closed up.

The attic, before my cleaning spree--I really want to paint up here, hopefully I'll get permission

I actually broke into a sweat toiling away today. That may not sound like a big accomplishment for most people, but for cold-blooded me it was big news. I came down the ladder-stairs (you know the kind that fold up into the ceiling?) and told Mike, "Look! I'm actually sweating! I have sweat dripping from my brow!" He rushed over to look and could hardly believe his eyes.

I know that sounds dumb, but I seriously never sweat (and not for lack of trying). The combo of no air circulation, 90 some odd degrees and pushing a steam cleaner around finally did it. Woo hoo! Yay sweat glands!

Then later, we washed the dirt off ourselves, grabbed the girls, and went out to a lovely dinner followed with a nice bike ride through the neighborhood.

Well, no one can ever accuse us of not knowing how to party on our anniversary! Sweat, demolition, steamy carpets and a bike ride. Good times!

God Bless America

You CAN Teach an Old Mom New Tricks

So how come it has taken me 21 years of mothering to figure this out: having a pool party for a child's birthday is the easiest party option ever?


We celebrated Nat's 7th birthday with her friends last Friday and she wanted a pool party. Lucky for me the place where I work has a wonderful pool, so we sent out the word to her friends.


Come Friday, I was struck by the fact that all I had to do was pack a few snacks and head for the pool. Didn't have to clean my house for visitors. Didn't have to decorate. Just had to arrive. Wow, what a concept! And then the more I thought about it, I realized that I didn't even have to plan activities and games. The pool is the activity. And another big plus: I wouldn't have to clean up my house after the party either.


This was ground-breaking territory for me! Why on earth has it taken me this long to figure this out? I have no idea. I guess because I let the kids plan their parties, and Nat really is the only one of my kids with a summer birthday. Yeah, that's the ticket. I certainly couldn't be so lacking in awesome, super-mom party planning skills that it's never occurred to me before this!

Nat wanted my "famous" pudding pie instead of cake (vanilla and chocolate pudding layered in a cookie crust--super easy too!)


I wore my special Seven t-shirt for the occassion. I bought this t-shirt especially for our "7 fun things on 7/7/07" extravaganza that we had 2 years ago, and it was nice to have another event where it was relevant to wear it.



On a side note, I scored bonus points by having the pool party at my place of employment, which is like my second home. I was able to go to the kitchen and get everything I forgot to bring with me: a knife, pie server, spoons, extra plates, and a lighter.

Oh, this pool party thing is definitely an annual tradition now.

Fun in the Forest

This time last week I was going camping with all my kids -- yes, all four of mine, plus a couple I consider mine now. So fun.

We got a gorgeous site right on the meadow. And there were hardly any other campers there.

This is how we crossed the meadow to get to the bathrooms.

Nat and Moo took part in Junior Rangers. That brought back memories of camping trips when I was young. I loved Junior Rangers.

Nat in her coyote mask she made at JR Rangers.

Bub and Sis' dad came up and sang songs around the campfire with us which was uber-cool. They even sang a spooky song with a surprise ending that scared Nat and Moo half to death (in a fun, 'we're camping' way). (Wish I had a picture...darn.)

Here Cass and Sis try out a new taste sensation:bananas with chocolate and marshmallow heated over the fire. Sis is very excited as you can see from her expression!

The campground is full of warnings about bears which made city-girl Cass a bit nervous. On the second night I awoke to Suey growling and barking (in the tent with us) and heard the unmistakeable metal squeak of the bear-proof food locker door. I knew that wasn't good, but I wasn't really up to going out to investigate.

The next morning I got up to inspect the damage and found the locker door ajar and an empty graham cracker wrapper, 2 Hershey bar wrappers and an empty marshmallow bag on the ground. Further investigation revealed that a Capri Sun prevented the locker from latching completely but the rest of the food inside was untouched.

Well, obviously it wasn't a bear, otherwise the locker would have been emptied out. Apparently it was just a raccoon with a hankering for S'mores. That critter could've had any combination of goodies but chose to make that yummy campfire treat instead.

Here Bub demonstrates what a crazed, fearsome, forest creature might look like raiding a bear locker, which is exactly why I wasn't going to peek my head out of the tent at 4am!

We also did lots of bike riding. I was proud of Suey because she learned how to run along side my bike while I rode. She did really well pacing herself with me, and it is a fantastic way to wear out a dog!

Our fearless squirrel chaser and locker protector.

I was so thankful that Bub and Cass planned this trip and didn't mind me tagging along. What a great start to the summer!

Seriously, AGAIN? (That's most people's reaction when hearing the following news. Well either that or hysterical laughter)

So....about a month ago Mike starts looking through the paper and mentioning that there's a rental for this much less, or that much less than what we're currently paying. I give him that "you've gotta be freaking kidding me" look, and tell him there ain't no way I'm pulling up stakes again unless it's nothing short of screaming deal.

Well, he found a screaming deal. And we're moving again in just a few short weeks. We're crazy, but saving $5oo a month in rent is just too good to pass up. Of course it means moving BACK up the hill to the snow and away from our fantastic neighborhood with our Bishop across the street (who actually babysat my girls yesterday--seriously, who's bishop is that great?) and our church just around the corner, and our town donkey. However, now the girls won't have to change schools this coming fall, in fact they will be able to WALK to school. They can even walk to school in the snow so that they have stories to guilt their future children with! There's also a couple parks and a lake within walking distance. So there's good and bad.

The house we will be renting is in a very old neighborhood, built in the 30's when there was a saw mill and logging was at it's peak in that area. The houses were built by the loggers and saw mill employees. The lake used to be the old mill pond, but now is a wonderful recreation area. I've actually lived in this neighborhood before, some 15 years ago, and I do really like it.

The house itself is a bit funky, but I'm pretty much an expert on fixing up funky little houses, so I'm kind of looking forward to that too. The house sits on two lots, has a bunch of apple trees, two outbuildings for all of Mike's treasures that he's sure to need some day, and a lot more square footage than the little tract house we're in now.

I was a little disappointed that our current landlord wouldn't bargain with us on the rent here though. There are a lot of houses for rent, and rents are dropping like crazy. He didn't want us to leave, but wouldn't drop our rent either. He apparently isn't aware that there are 2 other rentals sitting vacant on this street for the same price we're paying, and that are bigger than this one. I have a feeling he WILL have to come down on rent to get this place occupied.

At any rate, the thought of moving again after just 8 months is just not something I relish, but after moving 6 times in the last 10 years, I guess I'm getting used to it.

B-day and F-day

...or birthday and Father's day for you people who don't care for abbreviations.

Saturday was Nat's 7th birthday (and my sister's blankity-blanketh birthday). Nat wanted breakfast in bed. Here she is enjoying strawberry waffles while the dog demonstrates amazing restraint.

Showing that she does share more than a birthday with her Auntie, Nat wrote a list (several days in advance I might add), to show in what order she would open her cards and presents. Auntie is the queen of organizing and list-making and somehow that seems to have transferred to Nat's genetic makeup.

Being 7, she's now old enough to appreciate the beauty of cold hard cash.

And LOVED her very own horse set from Auntie and Uncle Dave.

I took her on a mystery trip to get her present. She thought I was going to make her go to a different part of the store while I bought her present, but she was surprised when I stopped in front of the bikes and told her to pick one out. She then surprised me by NOT picking the pink one. Yes, this one has pink on it, but I thought for sure she'd go with the most girly one.

For Father's day, the girls planned and cooked dinner for Dad. They grilled steak and chicken, made fruit salad, rice and corn on the cob. Yum!

Dad likes a little pepper on his dinner, can you tell? (Even on the fruit salad! Ew!)

That was our weekend. Gotta love those B-days and F-days!

End of the School Year Funnies

This year the younger girls' elementary school did a yearbook. It was soft cover and only $20 so I got one for them to share. It was really cute and money well spent in my opinion.

Anyway, I was explaining to Nat that she should take the yearbook to school and have her friends sign it. when I picked her up at the end of the day, she says, "I got almost everyone in my class to sign, but I had to sign Mallory and Avery's names because they were absent." I had to chuckle. I guess she doesn't quite get the yearbook concept yet!

Since we moved down the hill, it's been Mike's job to get the girls to school on his way to work. I also put him in charge of getting them ready and out the door since I have been leaving for work before they need to go. The girls know their dad is a complete push-over and they have been taking advantage, though Mike himself is not known for being punctual, so nearly every day the girls are tardy by a few minutes, and this has been going on since November.

Then on Friday, the last day of school, the girls tell me that their dad got an award when he dropped them off in the morning. I really couldn't figure that out. They said the secretary stopped them in the hall and called the principal over and the principal presented their father with a certificate.

Sure enough he has an official "certificate of achievement" from the principal congratulating him on his "efforts and success" in "arriving on time on Thursday". It is signed by the principal as "attendance officer". I'm sure glad our school has a sense of humor and that the office staff was able to have a little fun at Mike's expense. I think we're going to frame it and display it next to his chili cookoff and rib awards.

A Graduation Miracle

I'll start this story with a little history. First we've been having kind of weird weather for June. Usually it's already nice and warm and getting hotter by the day, the kids are running through sprinklers, and fans are getting a workout. For the last 2 weeks though, we've been getting afternoon thunderstorms, and the last week we've been getting rain off and on each day.

Well, Sis' graduation was quickly approaching and no one wanted to have to move it indoors to the gym. If that were to happen, each graduate had tickets: 5 tickets to hand out to family members to enter the gym to watch live, and 2 more to allow others to go to the theater and watch on a monitor. Any other spectators would be relegated to watching from tv's in the classrooms. Four years ago this class' middle school graduation was rained out, so everyone was on edge and hoping that wouldn't happen again.

Yesterday we woke to rain...then it stopped and heavy clouds lingered and threatened all day. It looked like things were going to clear as we headed to the high school. To our dismay a huge black cloud hovered over the school. No rain yet, so I prayed it would just keep on moving and take it's precipitation on up the hill.

Alas, it was not to be and about the time we got our blankets laid out and began our hour long wait for the ceremony to begin, the black cloud unleashed it's fury. Gah!

Thankfully the graduates were safe and dry in the gym, but the spectators were not spared. Of course I didn't bring an umbrella, optimist (or fool) that I am. At first it was exciting and funny,

but as the rain continued our spirits were dampened

I was literally soaked through to my underwear; through a coat and a jacket, through my shoes to my soggy socks. I was drenched. Mike arrived and took the girls home to change and to get me some dry clothes as I was to head out to work at Grad Night right after the graduation. (They arrived back a little late, but were able to see Sis get her diploma).

All around we could see the skies clearing, if this cloud would just keep moving....then this started to appear

and just kept getting brighter and more beautiful

and you know how I feel about rainbows

Just about 10 minutes before the ceremony was to start the sky cleared, they dried off the chairs for the graduates, and the ceremony began. I couldn't believe the timing of the storm. Everyone's prayers were answered. Hallelujah!

As we stood for the National Anthem, I realized my body had warmed the puddle of water I was sitting in and it was very uncomfortable to move! I wanted to stay in my nice warm puddle! I'm not sure I can remember a time I was that soaked. As I reflect on it today though, it really made it not only a visual experience, but a very physical one as well. I would not trade my wet undies and shivering body for a dry ceremony and miss out on this special graduation for anything!

Happy graduation, Sis! You did it!

Of Yearbook Poems and Senior Portraits

Remember when I blogged about being pushed to put in a yearbook ad for Sis at the very last minute and decided it would be a fantastic idea to write a poem (even though it was 10:30 at night, I was exhausted and I don't write poetry?) Well, the poem has finally been released to the public via Sis's yearbook. Here it is at long last (with senior portrait goodness thanks to Sis's Aunt Karen of Sierra Springs Photography who is amazingly talented):

How'd you become so weird, so sassy, so wild?

How'd you become outgoing, opinionated and so confident a child?

How'd you become a grown up instead of a girl?

How'd it happen that the years flew by in a whirl?

The answers it seems, only you know,

So smart, so bright so ready to go.

I look for my little girl, but I am too slow,

You're already on to the next act of your show.

Time watching you grow has been cherished time spent,

I've sat back and admired your spunk and your talent.

Away you go, your own life to make,

Just remember a piece of my heart you will take.

I guess I didn't embarrass her too much. The day she got her yearbook, she texted me at work to say, " Thanks for the wonderful ad! I love you!" and then I texted back something sappy and we both got teary eyed.

One would think this whole graduation thing would get easier with each kid. It doesn't. Not in my case anyway.

I Have No Idea For A Title For This Post

Last night I danced at a local belly dance festival that is very loosely run. There's no real organization. A dancer makes it known either by myspace or word of mouth that she would like to dance, then the night of the event everyone shows up and finds out what the schedule is. Then there is much scratching out and rearranging of the schedule to allow for no-shows and costume changes and then we all dance for basically each other and whatever family members show up in the audience. VERY loosely run and getting worse. But it's a chance to dance, and that's rare up in these parts so we all grin and bear it.

I had one faux pas, not on stage fortunately. You see, I've gotten quite used to public dressing rooms and even when a few of us get together we all go into the same room and change in front of each other and never think anything of it. Well, last night I met up with my friends and we went backstage so I could change. I just went about stripping down and putting on my dance bra, without noticing there were men in the dressing room too! Oops! I was off to one side and I really don't think anyone noticed, but I realized that maybe I should be a little more observant before I change in a large dressing room again. Duh!

In other news:

I was picked up by the county office of education about 2 weeks ago to finish the year as an aide at a local preschool. They have regular kids and special needs kids together. My job is to be a one on one aide to a 5 year old boy with autism. He's fairly high functioning but can be a handful, so I carry around a star chart and give him a star for any positive behavior and when he earns 5 stars he gets his computer time. Some days he loves me and we have a great day together, some days I show up and he'll say, "No! Not you!" and I have to wait for him to warm up to me.

I enjoy it though. I get to interact with all the kids and it's fun to come home and have my kids ask me what I did at work and I get to list such things as: played with playdough, read books, played bounce and catch, colored, got hugs. Yeah, really gruelling work days! I have my fingers crossed that I'll get picked up as an aide when school starts again.

There's one little 3 year old girl that melts my heart. Her name is the same as my oldest daughter's and spelled the same way which is unusual. She even has brown hair with little curls just like Sis had. When she arrives she usually seeks me out to sit on my lap or read a book to her. What a treat for me. She has already caught on that I'm a complete push-over when it comes to her.

It's just very sweet to have this little girl to remind me of Sis, but it makes me all mushy too, because here Sis is, 18 and getting ready to graduate, and wasn't it just yesterday that she was a little bitty girl with curly hair wearing pink dresses? Sigh...

Fair Time Means Rides, Goats and Motorcycles...but not riding goats or motorcycles

Well, it's county fair time, and in this county it means the kids get Thursday and Friday off to attend and get to enjoy a long weekend.


Years ago my friend and I would attend all 4 days of the fair with kids in tow. We'd pack a lunch, throw a blanket on the lawn and let the kids ride all the rides (in those days rides were free with admission) to their hearts content. It was cheap entertainment to be sure.


Now it's gotten a bit more pricey, so I hadn't planned on attending this year at all, but when I found out that ride wristbands were going to be only $10 on kids day (kids under 12 free) and adult admission was only $6, I thought, what the heck, I think we can afford that.


The weather was perfect and we found friends to hang out with. I packed lots of goodies in our cooler so when the kids asked for some over-priced fair treat I could offer them chocolate pudding or frozen lemonade or pistachios (a rare treat) instead. And it worked.


We looked at all the animals. My favorites are always the fancy chickens. I love the ones that are so fluffy that you can't tell which end is which and I love the cute little bantam roosters. The girls however, loved the goats. They had the best time petting and talking to them.

Natalie was trying to kiss them (I don't know why) and she had one little goat in particular that was as enamored with her as she was with it. I started calling her the Goat Whisperer after this:

Then they found these adorable 1 week old babies:

Today we walked dowtown to see all the motorcycles. Our county fair attracts thousands of motorcyclists every year and our little downtown is one of their favorite hangouts. It's fun to see the entire length of Main Street lined with bikes, and to hear the constant roar of them moving through town.

I decided this one was mine:

I liked the olive green and black combo. I haven't seen that on a motorcycle before.

We spent some time cooling off in the creek and Nat spent time stalking water skippers which is her most recent obsession (we've been to the creek 3 times in the last week so she could harrass, er, I mean, "enjoy" them). It took some convincing for her to accept that they were on a "catch and release" only basis and not coming home with us!

So we are enjoying our long weekend thanks to the county fair!

Payin' It Forward - Anyone Want To Play?

Over a month ago I recieved a package in the mail after signing up for Laughadaisy's Pay It Forward challenge.

This is what I recieved:

The funny thing was that that very day I was in the grocery store trying to find a birthday card and getting more and more discouraged at the pricey-ness of a simple card! I ended up leaving the store without a card in hand and came home to this wonderful package of just-what-I-needed in my mailbox! Wow! Talk about perfect timing!

Laughadaisy hand made all these beautiful cards, and if you don't find that amazing enough, she has a preschooler and twin toddlers! I seriously don't know when she found the time and energy to do it.

At any rate, now that I got something fantastic, my job is to pay it forward to 3 people. Which means I have to make something and send it to 3 lucky commenters -- wanna play? Then, of course, your goal would be to make something and pay it forward to 3 more. Easy, right?

Now, you won't get a fabulous assortment of cards from me unfortunately, but I do have something in mind...

Just kidding! What I do have in mind is something that involves my sewing machine, which at the moment is MIA in our over-stuffed black hole of a garage, so if you're into procrastination, you're in luck, because by the time I find my sewing machine and make something and send it...well, let's just say you won't have to worry about your paying it forward for a while. I'm a procrastinators best friend!

I'm not going to be a stickler for rules here. Leave a comment that you want me to play, and I'll eventually send you something, and if by then you get around to paying it forward, great, if not, that's fine too. And if you want to pay it forward with something you actually didn't make, I'm sure as heck not gonna tell.

A Worrisome Sign

Seen on a sign board outside of a church today as I was driving by:

WORRY IS THE DARKROOM IN WHICH NEGATIVES DEVELOP

That really made me stop and think. My dad has always been a profound worrier, from the weather to the affairs of the world, he worries about everything all the time. He is also one of the most pessimistic people I know. I love him, but sometimes he's hard to be around because of his gloom and doom attitude. I really want to watch myself so that I don't develop a negative attitude from worrying. After all, worry doesn't change anything!

I think I need to get this tattooed somewhere...ok maybe not, but I'm going to remember it and take it to heart.

Town Donkey

Did my title fool you? Did you think maybe I had made an a$$ of myself somehow and was now the talk of the town? Well, thankfully, no. We really do have a Town Donkey. The other day the girls wanted to ride their bikes down to visit her (as we do a few times a month) and I thought, how cool is it that our town has a donkey for the kids to go visit?

When we have visitors and I ask if they'd like to take a walk and see our town donkey, they think I'm kidding, and they are usually surprised to see that there really is a donkey, and even a specified "Burro Parking" area near her corral.

The girls love to pick fresh grass for her in addition to bringing her a carrot or two. Clara is very sweet and likes to be petted or brushed with the brush that hangs on the fence. She was born right here in 1982, and I remember back when we had 2 town donkeys - Clara and her mother. I think her mother died about 10 years ago.

Clara gets lots of attention from visitors and although she has no official owner, several people take care of her on a daily basis. One of the local wineries even donates part of their profit for her upkeep.

I love this town, and our sweet donkey.

Made My Day

I have been on the substitute instructional aide (a.k.a. yard duty, classroom aide) list for our district for only a few weeks, but I've gotten a couple days of work in each week already so it's working out pretty well.

The only jobs that have been available have been in the special ed classrooms (there's a preschool and elementary level class) so that's where I've been helping out.

Many of the kids are pretty low-functioning (as they like to call it), meaning they don't verbalize much if at all, and they are mostly in their own little worlds and it's hard to draw them out. Such is the case with little Benji who has Down Syndrome.

I accompanied Benji to the bathroom yesterday and as he finished up and washed his hands we exited and the teacher asked if I had filled out the log for him (they keep track of each time he goes and such). Well I hadn't, so I walked back in the very large bathroom to the far end where the log was and began to write.

About this time Benji turns the lights out. I say, "Benji I need the lights on." and walk back to where he is at the door. He turns them back on. Cool. I go back to the log. The lights go out. Again I say, "Benji I need the lights on." but this time I hear a giggle. From Benji. I'm thrilled; he's playing a joke on me. Wow! So back I go again and he turns the lights on.

Well, we do this 4 or 5 times before I can get this darned log filled out, but the more he giggles the more I'm loving it. Finally he's actually interacting with me and I've never heard him laugh! I could seriously do this all day. It was so sweet and I was getting such a kick out of him. The teacher thought it was pretty cute too.

We also went to the school assembly and one of the boys was getting a Student of the Month award. It was so hard for him to wait. He's one who has a hard time controlling himself and also blurts words. The teacher told him to squeeze her hand if he felt he needed to talk (rather than blurting) and I saw he was giving her hand a workout the entire time. Finally his name was called and he walked up to get his award with the biggest smile on his face. I barely know this kid and I had tears in my eyes I was so proud of him.

These little guys have such a tough road, but they are such a pleasure to work with. They don't realize how they have touched my heart just in their daily accomplishments. The special ed kids are special indeed. (Can you tell I'm attached to them all already?)

Stick A Fork in Her...I'm Done

My oldest daughter, Sis, turned 18 this morning at 6:42am. Funny, she woke me up about that time to tell me that her dad gave her her present last night -- a new Ipod, and she wanted to let me know that I could now have her old one. (Woo-hoo! A present for me too!)

It's funny when your kid turns 18. They're now an official ADULT. Yep, you're done. That's it. You've raised them. You did your best, now you get to look back and see how they turned out.

(She turned out fantastic despite me and all the ways I screwed up, by the way!)

Well, I know I'm not done-done, but it IS a landmark birthday, and now she is officially in charge of herself and her actions. I still plan on being her mom and doing all the mom stuff like nagging and such, but I know with her strong personality and her determination and humor that she will do great as an adult.

Happy Birthday to my little girl!

MS Walk

I took part in a 5K walk to benefit the National Multiple Sclerosis Society this past Saturday. I like to do my part to help a cause if I can, and in the past my efforts have gone to the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life. I was a team captain for 4 years. It was tons of work, but rewarding and fulfilling as well.

Last year I didn't do Relay for Life (I think I had a bit of team captain burn-out) although I attended the event and supported it in that way, so this year I was ready to jump back into a fundraising cause.


Me and my sister

My sister suffers from MS. She was diagnosed about 8 years ago. She has had to go on permanent disability and takes weekly injections of a drug that seems to keep it somewhat under control. I know there is a lot she deals with in her fight with this disease, but she mostly keeps it all to herself and doesn't complain.

The girls, me, my sister, and my walk partners: Dave and Suey my dog

When I found out there was a walk to raise money for MS I was really excited and signed up to attend the walk in my sister's town. I decided to raise money as an individual (instead of on a team), and was actually one of the top earners of the event. Woo-hoo! It is hard to thank people enough for sponsoring me so generously in this economic climate. A lot of donations were made out of love and support of my sister by her dear friends.

crazy girls

My brother-in-law accompanied me on the walk and we left my sister in charge of Nat and Moo. I was really thrilled that Dave wanted to accompany me, and it was really nice to have someone to walk with (besides my trusty mutt). It was a beautiful day, a very successful event and a worthy cause.

MS has also touched our family as my Uncle Bill died from complications of it, and my kids' great grandmother also suffered from it. They have found no reason to believe it to be hereditary, but certain genetic links seem to make one more susceptible. More info can be found at NMSS website.

I encourage everyone to find a cause to fight for, whatever it may be. You'll be glad you did!

Califoniprocrastination (or Procrastination California Style)

I am one of those spoiled, uppity Californians with the attitude of "oh I can do/see/go there anytime" so I never get around to actually going, doing or seeing the great sights of California. Which is exactly why the last time I went to Yosemite I was 5 years old. Dang near 40 years ago people. The clincher being that I only live 2 hours away. I am completely ashamed of myself.

Well, luckily I got a chance to remedy my uppity Californistic attitude recently when Sis asked me to chaperone a field trip to Yosemite with her geology class. For me, I jumped at the chance to accompany Sis on one last school field trip before she graduates (I'm getting very nostalgic as the big day nears). I really didn't care where we were going (Cali attitude again). The main thing I was worried about was camping at that elevation in April. I generally don't camp in April. It still gets way too cold at night for my liking.

At any rate we left early Sunday morning. As luck would have it there were two vans that the kids rode in, and one car which happened to be Sis' boyfriend's parents, so I got to ride with them. No obnoxious teenagers to be cooped up with. Hooray.

The memories I have of being 5 in Yosemite differ quite a bit from the memories I made during my recent trip. As a 5 year old I was thrilled at getting to ride in grandma and grandpa's cab-over camper (even though I had a nasty fall off the bunk during the drive). I remember driving through the tunnels and camping with all of my cousins and aunts and uncles. I remember seeing a bear going through someone's camp in broad daylight and I do remember some of the sights, but it didn't awe me like it did this time around.

As a 44 year old, I came home with memories of getting soaked at Bridalveil Falls, hiking to Mirror Lake (where most of the kids jumped in to swim in the melted snow water), seeing the rubble from the most recent rock slide, looking up at El Capitan and spotting a minuscule climber, marveling at how picturesque Half Dome is, walking up to Yosemite Falls and being in awe of the power of falling water, listening to bears rattling the bear-proof food lockers during the night, and best of all hanging out with my daughter to enjoy all this with. Even the weather cooperated by being unseasonably warm for April. I couldn't have asked for more.

In fact, I started planning my next trip to Yosemite after I'd been in the valley all of 5 minutes. I want to go there again soon. I'm thinking maybe even as soon as next month. I can not believe that I haven't made the effort to go there sooner. I am really kicking myself. To think people come from all over the world to see this incredible place and I couldn't be bothered to make a short drive. Well, never again will I wait 40 years to experience Yosemite (or anything else for that matter). I just changed my attitude!

There Was A Crooked (wo)Man

Yesterday I had to get a physical at a physical therapy center to qualify for a food service substitute at our local school district.

It was kind of silly really. They determined my body fat, gave me a 3 minute step test, a hand grip test, tested my flexibility bending forward and sideways, made me lift a certain amount of weight, and had me transfer 20 paper clips from one container to another as well as pick a pen 20 times, along with many other little tests. I think the district could better use their money elsewhere, really. And if I was in charge of testing employees I think I'd rather spend money on a drug test than have potential employees spend 2 hours with a physical therapist picking up paper clips and answering questions.

At any rate, the PT pointed out that I have scoliosis (curvature of the spine). I told her I knew that, but the first time it was ever pointed out to me was by my midwife 7 years ago when I was pregnant with Nat during my prenatal physical.

As an aside, due to my "advanced maternal age" with Nat, I went 3 times to an OB specialist for level 2 ultrasounds. Each visit they would tell me that my due date was 3 weeks later than my midwife's date and they told me they were "officially" changing my due date. Then I would go back to Ellie, my midwife, and tell her and she would feel my belly and say, "No, the baby is right on schedule and will be on time." Guess what? Nat was born the day after the midwife's due date weighing in at 8 pounds. Technology vs. a midwife's knowledgable hands, and the hands won.

I remember getting yearly scoliosis screenings at school, but no one ever mentioned that I had it.Very strange. I do know that it has always bothered me how on one side I have the regular curvy indentation at my waist but my other side is completely straight. She also pointed out that on my left side there is only a couple inches of space between my ribs and my hip.

I guess there are exercises that could help. All I need is a referral from my doctor (and insurance and money and all that), so that has kind of piqued my interest and I've been doing some online searching instead. Who needs pricey physical therapy sessions when you have the internet, right?

I was also struck as soon as I walked into the office that it would be interesting to be a PT. I was really intrigued by it all and I've always loved fitness and learning exercises and everything. I wonder if it's too late to look into it as a career. Hmmmm....

This Was Spring Break

I love Spring Break or "Easter Break" as the kids' school principal accidentally called it on the Friday before it started at the school assembly. (Oh man remember the days when we had Christmas and Easter vacations from school? Those were the days. Poor principal will probably lose his job over this. Ooops!)

Anyway, anytime I get to do nothing but hang with my kids is the greatest time on earth, so spring break is fantastic and "Winter Break" is twice as fantastic ('cause it's twice as long of course!)

I didn't really have any money to spend but that didn't deter us from planning a quick trip to The City to see Bub and Cass, and a little jaunt to see my dad, sister and bro-in-law the following day. As luck would have it, the weekend before our trip I was the only busser to show up on Friday night (meaning I worked myself senseless but made bank in tips) and the following night I actually got to waitress plus we had no bussers, so I got to keep all my tips. Very fortuitous indeed.

Cass' roommate works at the Academy of Sciences in SF and she so generously got us all in free as her "family". Nice. Beyond nice. And the Academy of Sciences was fantastic. Especially the planetarium, and the rain forest, and the aquarium and the whale skeleton and the chameleon...ok, it was all fantastic. Wow.

Moo, Nat, Sis and her boyfriend Trav who was looking good all color-coordinated in purple

On the "Living Roof". Is it just me, or does this look suspiciously like Tele-Tubbyland?

It is flippin' hot in the rain forest!

Gorgeous fish

Nat got tired of walking so Moo gave her a lift

Because we were traveling in "economy mode" I made deviled eggs and cupcakes for snacks and brought a chicken curry casserole for dinner. My niece gave me the recipe for the casserole and I made it having never tasted it before. Thankfully it was so good. If it was bad I was going to blame it on her, but since it was delicious I took all the credit. (Just kidding!)

We even made a quick trip to Union Square where my poor son was a pack mule for Cass as she shopped. What a good sport he is.

The kids played Rock Band. What a cool game.

And because my son works at Godiva (I'm not sure I've bragged about this enough) I got to sample two truffles before they were released in the Godiva stores. One was milk chocolate and peach the other dark chocolate and mango. The mango was definitely my favorite. I was feeling pretty special about that...I'm not gonna lie.

The next day we went to the mall where Bub works and I had to embarrass him by taking his picture in front of his store. (Notice how I call it "his" store?) And his manager twisted our arm and made us pick out a truffle. What torture.

On to visit my dad (who is doing so much better than at Christmastime--it's good to see him all chatty again, even if he is all gloom-and-doom-the-world-is-going-to-hell-in-a-handbasket. That's just dad for ya.) where my sister and brother-in-law brought gorgeous baskets for the girls.

On Friday I treated the girls to Panda Express (oh, the orange chicken...drool...), and as they sat there enjoying their food I looked at my watch and realized that we needed to get moving and fast if we were to make it home in time for me to get to work. Make it we did, and I had just enough time to unload my car, throw on my work clothes and go (seriously 5 minutes).

Ahhh...spring break. Easter is a whole 'nuther post.

A Big Ghoul

Today Nat announced that she's finally "officially a big ghoul". She still can't say her R's so "girl" comes out "ghoul".

She has been working for the past couple of weeks on shoe tying (at the encouragement of all of us who are tired of tying her dang shoes umpteen times a day), and she has finally mastered it.

She named off all the other things that she has done on her way to becoming a "big ghoul". Wearing underwear, taking care of herself, riding a two-wheeler, and now the shoe tying. Yep, that covers it. It's definitely official.

Apparently pronouncing your R's is not on the "big ghoul" list, but that's ok, I want to hear her sweet little girl voice for as long as possible.

Twitter-pated Deer Warning

I really don't have anything to post. So I'm posting anyway. Don't ask.



I just warned Sis as she went out the door to watch out for deer because I've seen more deer today than I've seen in the last six months. It's like in the movie Bambi: Spring has sprung and all the forest creatures are running around all twitter-pated and looking for mates. Unfortunately they're very suicidal when they're twitter-pated, so we drivers of fast motor vehicles have to be extra cautious.


And a driving tip for those who aren't familiar with suicidal deer tactics: If you see one deer cross in front of you, don't take a deep breath and think you're "out of the woods" (pun intended). Oh no. If you see one deer, chances are he has several buddies who are going to cross right behind him. Definitely slow down and expect one of those buggers to jump out in front of you when you least expect it!


For those of you interested (there are some, I swear!) here are some photos from our recent performance at Rakkasah:

Happy Birthday Mom! (with bonus cake recipe)

I always celebrate my mom's birthday even though she's been gone almost 7 years. (7 years!!!!) I guess maybe that's a testament to her memory and her legacy. It sure doesn't seem like 7 years has gone by because I remember her and think of her and even sometimes hear her in myself. In some ways she's still around, which is cool. I guess we should all be so lucky to have people that want to remember us always! That's the kind of person she was.

I generally make a cake on her birthday, and this year I was inspired to dig through her recipes and make her famous lemon cake. I'm sure the last time I had it was whenever she made it last, so it's been a while!

It's not a pretty cake. Just a cake baked in a pan. It usually turns out a little brown on top and just doesn't say, "Look out, I'm gonna knock your socks off". You don't even frost it. Yes, it's just plain and unassuming. And then you taste it. Wow. So good. I whipped some cream to dollop on top. Oh yeah...

When I told Sis I was making lemon cake she remembered this disaster, but once she tasted it, she declared that this was the cake she wanted served on her 18th birthday this year. Now there's a compliment!

So here it is, if you care to make it.

Carol's Lemon Cake

1 box of lemon cake mix

4 eggs

1 pkg lemon Jell-o (I used the big one)

3/4 cup water

Mix 2 minutes on med. speed

Add 3/4 cup oil

Bake at 350 in a greased 9x13 pan, 40 min.

Take from oven, put fork holes in cake. Pour icing over cake.

Icing:

1/2 cup lemon juice

2 cup powdered sugar

Ever Wonder About Those Princess Cakes?

These two blogs inspired today's post. Momza's House, and Overheard in the Ward.

Today at church I was teaching the younger class of 4-8 year olds (the Primary presidency rotates through teaching that class at the moment, and today was my turn). I had only Nat and another little girl who's 4 in attendance.

Our lesson was on baptism, and at the end they had a coloring page with a cake on it and the words "I can't wait until I'm 8" at the top (8 being baptism age). They were to draw 8 candles and then color their cake.

To pass the time, I asked them what kind of cake they would like. Nat wanted strawberry, and the other little girl said, "Princess". To clarify, I said, "Well, what flavor would you like?" Again she responded "Princess".

Nat and I laughed and I quipped, "I wonder what that would taste like?!"

Nat says, "Probably meat."

Ewwwww! (but funny!)

*********************************************

Way back when Nat was just a toddler she and I would play a funny game. I would pull off one of her shoes and sniff her foot and make a big deal about how "stinky" it was. This was always good for giggles (for her and me).

Well, our little game backfired one Sunday in church, as the sacrament was being passed and the congregation was silent. Little precocious Nat pulled off one of her shoes, held up her foot and said loud and clear, "Smell my stinky feet!"

I was so embarrassed, and when I looked up to see if anyone had heard, I saw everyone in the three rows in front of us with shoulders shaking trying to hold back the laughter.