Crabby Days

Happy 4th!!!!

2010-07-04T13:10:00.000-07:00

No pictures (yet!) but just wanted to wish everyone a Happy 4th of July!!!! and also to point out the cake I want at my 4th of July next year!!!! ;)

http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1703278

Pump it Up!

2010-06-04T15:51:00.000-07:00

So Mason had his "kid" party at Pump It Up! this year. Actually, he didn't get a kid party last year so we were feeling a little guilty and said sure, whatever you want Mason!! ;) He loved it, had a total blast. I think most of the kids had a blast too, at the very least, they got a good workout in. Quite frankly, I like my kids good and tired at the end of the day!

Art Show

2010-06-03T13:42:00.000-07:00

So the kids had their Art Show at their school a couple of weeks ago, showcasing the art work they have done through out the year in with the art infusion program. (A parent run art program that brings the kids monthly art lessons taught by parents) Of course the boys are proud of their art work, as they should be! And just a little side note, the very top picture in this post, is from Matthew's 3rd grade class, although he didn't choose one of the self-portrait pieces to show. But I included that picture because out of the 4 or 5 pieces, the one that is in the top left corner is the one that Matthew's teacher did. ;) She did a pretty good job too!

Debbie's Wedding/Goofy Kids!!

2010-04-22T13:32:00.000-07:00

I look at the picture above and think very swanky rat packish future. Looks like they are out enjoying an adult beverage!!

OK, so I originally put these pics on my facebook page, and in the one above, I think it was Crystal that said "do not let these two go off to college together"!!! Yeah, that could be dangerous!~

Crystal and Anne above and Crystal and Nicole below....

Anne and Debbie's dad made all the cookies, terrible picture of Mason I know, but it kind of shows the cookies which were beautiful!!!!!!

Deb-O and Anne!!

Kids were constantly on the move.....

Handsome husbands....Scott, Ron, and Andy!
So my friend Debbie got married in December. It was a gorgeous wedding, everything was beautiful and I swear I've never seen such a calm bride!! :) My kids even had a good time, but probably due to the fact that Colin, Nathan, Brennan, and Aidan were there too. These boys have been friends since their very early days, (the youngest 3 basically since birth), and even though they don't see each other all the time, when they get together it's like no time has passed. It was actually really cool to see the boys enjoying each others company so well. And heaven help me, Matthew participated in the garter belt toss!! He had no idea what he was joining in but Colin explained to him that "It's this ding-dong thing that they throw and you try and catch it". Too funny!! Thank goodness Matthew didn't catch the garter, the mother in me might just have a stroke!! ;)

100 days of Kindergarten (for Mason!)

2010-04-22T13:19:00.000-07:00

So it was almost 2 months ago, but I liked the pics of Mason so I figured I better post them! ;) It seems like yesterday that I was talking about Matthew and kindergarten. *sigh*. I was too unoriginal to come up with anything new for Mason's "hundreds project", so I recycled the same idea I used for Matthew. 100 pretzels on a necklace. And Mason was perfectly happy with it, because he could eat them as he went along!

Last Night

2010-04-18T09:07:00.000-07:00

Last night I met up with many old friends from my dancing days. Wow! Has time gone by!!!! And yet Vicki and Lynn still look the same! It was a great evening and I think everyone had a really good time, including yours truly. Huge shout out to the Space Room, who reserved a space for us at no charge on a Saturday night. They must remember us, or rather, our parents!!! ;)

Daddy's 12 days of Birthday

2009-12-18T18:53:00.000-08:00

I love it when Andy makes up new words to old songs....this one is to the tune of "The 12 Days of Christmas"....

On the first day of daddy's birthday my two kids gave to me....
1 Millennium Falcon
2 Ben Tens
3 Star wars Guys
4 video games
5 pints of beer
6 books of Goosebumps
7 musical instruments
8 Club Penguin characters
9 packs of trading cards
10 gifts from Santa
11 cans of coke
12 Webkinz

The kids were a little unimpressed!! ;)

Crazy, Crazy, and More Craziness

2009-11-02T19:16:00.000-08:00

My poor neglected blog, but it was a busy summer and the fall now has been even busier, and I didn't think that was possible. Thankfully, soccer season is almost over, which will free up some time. Less shuttling around of children. And for the record, Mason LOVES soccer! He would play and just have a big grin on his face the whole time, for him, it was a total thrill! Matthew likes it, but I don't think he will ever love it. He likes the socializing aspect the most...strange considering he was the toddler/preschooler that had socializing issues. Go Figure!!! School seems to be going well for the boys, conferences are right around the corner so we shall see what that brings. In the meantime, Mason has the flu. We made it through Halloween, totally got lucky on that since I've heard of several families where at least one sibling was sick on Halloween, see example here. But the next morning, which was one of the best mornings of the year to sleep in, Mason was up at 5:30 am!! Yeah, I was thrilled! Not!! Grrrr....I got real testy with him and then tried to go back to sleep for awhile. Didn't work and it's just as well. By 8 am he was on the couch with a fever. And coughing. And chills. And throwing up. Let's just say he hasn't hardly touched his Halloween candy and the rest of us in this house are waiting for the other shoe to drop, as in, when are we going to get it?!?

Camping

2009-08-01T19:06:00.000-07:00

Yay for summer! ;) We did finally make it camping, although it did get cut short a bit but that's ok. Our goal was to see Crater Lake, especially since Andy and I both had the realization that we both had lived in Oregon all our lives and have never seen Crater Lake except from an airplane. Not acceptable. So we decided we would change that and make sure our boys saw it too. We ended up camping at Diamond Lake, which is absolutely gorgeous! Just a beautiful campground, we went on a Monday and they have a whole section for just walk up tent camping, no reservations needed as long as they have space! Worked out well, we quickly found a spot and set up camp and got down to business, namely, dinner and then roasting marshmallows!

The next day we made it up to Crater Lake, and all I can say is wow. When you first walk up to where you can look out at it, it's amazing. Just amazing. Everyone should experience this! Wow! The water is so incredibly blue and not a ripple on it. It was a clear day, hot down at our campground, but up at Crater Lake it was only maybe 80-85 out. Much more tolerable, although I quickly found out that being that high in elevation, I burn even faster than I normally do.

And yes there were patches of snow! :) Pretty impressive, considering the heat wave the whole state was/is practically under! We had to find a spot of accessible snow because, really, who could resist a snowball or two in July??!!

The second night in our campground there was wild turkeys! They are not much smaller than my children.....

Andy did attempt to take the boys fishing, but only from the shore. Of course they didn't catch anything (not the best spot, too shallow) but it was good practice and experience. Besides, Andy figures out that it's probably best to only take one kid at a time if he wants to do any fishing himself. He spent all his time running back and forth between the boys, but at least everyone seemed to be having fun. There again, it was a beautiful morning....and the boys were thrilled to get into the water! Trust me, by 9 am it was getting pretty warm in the sun.

I wasn't surprised that we got nailed with thunderstorms given the heat, I was surprised at how much it suddenly cooled down (it was cooling down very nicely at night, sleeping was great! The kids did get a little cold though...) and then it started pouring down rain. While we were at Crater Lake the second time! The kicker of that was the entrance that we were leaving out of,ended up getting closed because of the road work they were doing and then the rain screwed it all up. So we ended up going halfway back around the rim and out a different entrance and then a long way back to our camp. We had already done the whole rim drive, and the extra part to the campground was beautiful, but we were also anxious to get back to our camp to see if we needed to pack up or not. We were soooo not prepared for any kind of rain, and a downpour was not particularly do-able for us.

We ended up packing up, (and Andy obviously had a little finger injury!) and decided to head out. But boy it was fun! I'll will have to add some more observations later.... ;)

Happy Birthday Matthew!

2009-07-19T00:50:00.000-07:00

It still amazes me that the little baby I once had has grown so much. I just got done wrapping his presents a little while ago and noticed how much easier the wrapping has gotten as he has aged. No odd shaped things to wrap this year! ;) The picture was taken Saturday night, as he was unwrapping a gift from Louise. Probably a good thing that he got an early b-day present, he has been rather bent out of shape lately since Mason has gotten the lion's share of the attention (and a few gifts too!) lately. More on that a little later! But for now, he is officially an 8 year-old. I'm still wrapping my head around that one.....Happy Birthday to my sweet boy, my sometimes moody but always spirited, lovely boy. Love you!

Strawberries On The Brain

2009-06-30T11:19:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year that I love so well! Not only for strawberry season but for warm summer days and pleasant evenings before it gets too hot. I've noticed I've been taking lots of food pictures lately....anyway, some of the strawberry related goings on that have been happening in my kitchen:

Strawberry Granita....from Giada De Laurentiis "Giada's Kitchen" cookbook.
I had never made a Granita before and this was Divine! Strawberry puree, mascarpone cheese, and a sugar and mint syrup. Frozen goodness!!

Strawberry Shortcake cookies from Martha Stewart Living, I think it was the June issue but the recipe is here. There is a similar peach pie cookie in her cookie cookbook that I have tried and they are sooo good. They really do taste like a peach pie. So I figured these would be tasty and sure enough, they were yummy! They don't keep for very long but that didn't really seem to be a problem.

Of course, I had to make strawberry shortcakes themselves! ;) The shortcakes were actually starting off that night as rolls with dinner but I was digging around in Marion Cunningham's "Lost Recipes"
and found a recipe for sweet cream biscuits and figures I would rather have dessert than rolls with my dinner! Strawberry shortcake is always a winner!

Hee hee, this last one is "Skywalker Smoothies"! My kids have now discovered they love smoothies if they come from the StarWars Cookbook. I will (hopefully!) get around to a full post of the recipes we have cooked so far but right now it's all about Skywalker Smoothies, lots of strawberries, bananas, and vanilla yogurt. I think I added frozen raspberries as well instead of ice. The kids can't get enough and Matthew thought is was great fun to make his action figures pose with the food!

What Came Home From School Today...

2009-06-08T15:13:00.000-07:00

It's the end of the school year and all the usual papers, journals, pieces of art is making its way home from Matthew's class. However, this afternoon when I was looking through his backpack I found this little gem! ;)
I was amused! However, I also think we need to practice some writing skills over the summer. As in, why did he forget that sentences start with capitals??? (he knows this, we have gone over it many times!!) Then again, who am I to complain? Like I follow any kind of grammatical rules on this blog! Now I am off to go see what else I can do to keep the kids busy over the summer! ;)

It's Official....

2009-05-19T23:07:00.000-07:00

It's official, I am no longer the parent of small children. I have gradeschool aged children. Mason graduates from preschool tomorrow and while I am mostly excited for him to move on to kindergarten, I think I get to be a little bit sad for one day at how quickly time is flying by. It's strange because that preschool has pretty much been a part of his life since he was only a couple of months old. First with just tagging along as his big brother went there, and then getting his own experiences at preschool. I am much more confident of his future in gradeschool, way more so than I was with Matthew. Partly due to Matthew's social struggles and partly that was the fear of the unknown, having no clue what gradeschool would bring. But we have had so many positive experiences with the gradeschool and I love it there. Wouldn't dream of sending my kids anywhere else. And it will be nice to have both of them under the same roof, only one school to devote my fundraising loyalties to, one school to juggle activities to. Not to say that there won't be a fair amount of classroom time juggling with both kids, that's bound to happen. But for the next couple of years we just have to concentrate on one place. Unfortunately, that does mean leaving the safe, protective, and oh so very sweet environment of the preschool. And I can only hope he likes his kindergarten teacher as well as he likes his preschool teacher, as excited as he is to start kindergarten, he is also already talking about how we must go visit "Teacher Amy" too! **sigh** Yes, I am feeling a bit sappy. But summer is almost here (gotta love summer and it's less hectic-ness!), and it's already here for Mason! I think my whole little family is ready to move forward with plans and dreams (and vacations!) but tomorrow is graduation and playtime at the preschool! We will see how well I manage to hold it together. ;) Look for pictures later of Mason graduating, I'm sure there will be some sort of silliness involved! The pictures below were taken on Monday, his last day of school. And for fun, I was just looking back on his first day.... ;)

Please Tell Time To Not Pass So Quickly!

2009-05-12T16:18:00.000-07:00

Someone Is Five-Years-Old today! That must mean I officially do not have small children in my house anymore. Of course, Mason hasn't exactly been "small" for quite some time. Small is not in his genes, large and LOUD is what his genetic make-up is! And that is just fine...he is quickly becoming more fun as he gets older. I have analyzed that thought....Matthew is (for the most part) at a really fun age and I am really enjoying his company. I think the older my kids get, it just highlights how hard life was when they were babies. Babies are hard....or at least for me. This bigger kid thing suits me much better. Even though it seems scheduling wise, we are always crazy/hectic busy.
Mason, my darling sweetie, you are getting more enjoyable by the day.
And you are always entertaining, even if I don't always appreciate it at the time! If your fifth year is half as fun as your fourth year has been, than oh boy are we in for some laughter!! Happy fifth Birthday to my baby! :)

A Nice Mother's Day Morning

2009-05-10T11:14:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there! Today started out quite nice...Andy brought me coffee, then made me a Mimosa(!), then he made breakfast while the boys gave me a card, a cookbook I have been wanting, and Matthew had a little poster he made for me. Mason had a lovely flower pot and card he had given me on Friday. And then, Matthew had a song to sing to me. It was so darn cute!! You may have to turn up the volume on the video since he doesn't sing very loud. :)

Silly String

2009-04-19T09:20:00.000-07:00

On the Saturday night before Easter (Easter Eve, I suppose!) we went to my Grandma's house for an egg hunt and Easter fun from my side of the family. My dad thought it was a good idea to give the children silly string. The boys (and grandpa!!) loved it. I guess I'm okay with it as long as silly string never makes it to my house.

Tree Huggers

2009-04-15T15:15:00.000-07:00

Mason & Sophia

What's Going On At Our House?

2009-04-10T18:17:00.001-07:00

So this is what's happening in our backyard right now!

Mason, Matthew, and Matthew's friend Ayden all are light saber fighting Andy in the backyard. Good entertainment!! ;)

April 1st

2009-04-01T16:43:00.000-07:00

No, I didn't have any special jokes, pranks, or craziness planned for today. I'm not that much of a practical joker and am normally not clever enough to come up with something really original. But in honor of the day, I figured I had to do a little something for the kids. So after school, I sent the boys upstairs to play while I made them a "snack". When the time had come, I called them down to come have their "chicken nuggets" with "mustard sauce". Yum, Yum! ;)

Ok, so the chicken nuggets are actually pieces of Sara Lee pound cake (from the freezer) that are cut up and dipped in a sauce of powdered sugar, Karo's syrup, water, and vanilla. Then they are rolled in peanuts and left to set up. The mustard sauce is just vanilla pudding with a little yellow food coloring. My kids like real chicken nuggets but weren't overly impressed with the idea of them as a snack. (hee, hee) And neither one of them have ever really gone for real mustard sauce, they prefer ranch dressing for a dip. But eventually with a little taste of these special chicken nuggets, they were convinced otherwise! :)

Guinness is Good

2009-03-17T17:21:00.000-07:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Yes, I know the blog has been a bit neglected but sometimes that just can't be helped. But in all the business of our lives, today is a day to celebrate and enjoy. To celebrate what you may ask? Why Guinness of course! Just kidding, kind of.... It is good for you though. The Irish say so, then it must be true. And believe me, the slogan of Guinness is good is all over Ireland! Anyway, of course tonight we will be drinking plenty of Guinness, along with eating some traditional (American traditional anyway) corned beef and cabbage, and for dessert....Chocolate Guinness Cake. Of Course.

I am now off to go eat. Don't you wish? ;)

I Heart Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T19:02:00.000-08:00

As kid I think I must have enjoyed Valentine's Day. As an adult, it seems to be a set up for a big let down. More often than not, Valentine's Day events never seemed to turn out according to expectations. But now, either as a result of maturity (unlikely!) or because of the kids, I rather enjoy the day. The kids have the cutest valentine's and they totally love all their little goodies. It all just seems very sweet and innocent...I know that won't last forever (heaven help us during the teenage years!) but I am totally enjoying the moment. It really has been a great day!

So, both kids had valentines to give out on Friday and came home with plenty...

Today at breakfast the boys got their candy valentine's from us and some Star Wars figures. Then for dinner we caved and did the heart shaped pizza from Papa Murphy's. OK, so not exactly gourmet, but the kids loved it. Oh, and Andy actually totally surprised me yesterday and came home with flowers and a balloon! I forgot to take a picture of the flowers but I was impressed because he didn't get roses. Which totally made my day. I like roses just fine, it's just that I actually prefer a bouquet of mixed flowers. ;) Go hubby!

And a little Valentine drinky for me!! ;)

**** The pretty juice is actually White-Cranberry Strawberry that I found the other day at Target. I bought it for the purpose of the boys breakfast this morning (which they got) but I couldn't resist having some myself with a little Grey Goose. ****

And this is how the evening goes...

2009-02-12T20:53:00.000-08:00

Overheard just a little while ago:

Geusseppe: Meeerowwww....MeeYow!!!! **paw reaching out to Andy's arm**

Andy: No 'seppe, Daddy is drinking tonight, not petting.

It's obviously been a long day.

Someone Is Looking For Attention!

2009-02-06T17:18:00.000-08:00

And no....we do not have a dog. The neighbor's dog, Lucky, came over to visit today...

What A Bunch Of Geeks

2009-01-07T19:21:00.001-08:00

They are playing wii...Rich was in town and the boys (all of them!!) were hanging out. No other words needed....

Christmas Night

2009-01-07T19:02:00.001-08:00

This was Christmas night at Grandpa's house...

Of course it's all about the presents! ;)

This cookbook rocks! I'm not sure if it's for Matthew or me(!) but it's really cute. It's a Star Wars cookbook with Star Wars inspired recipes, such as Wookie Cookies and Yoda Soda. Matthew has actually spent time perusing it and made something over at Grandma Dee Dee's yesterday. (some kind of fruit leather thingy that I can't recall the name of!) Trust me, this book will be worthy of a whole other post later on! ;)

Gee Tys, have some pie with that whip cream!! Sorry it's not the most flattering picture....should help with New Years resolutions though, huh?!? ;)

This was my Christmas present. I really didn't have anything much specific that I needed but I told Andy I really wanted a new tea kettle. A nice red one. And I got one! Le Creuset no less....I had no idea Andy had any clue of nice kitchenware. ;)

How Mason (and Andy) Have Spent The Afternoon

2008-12-25T15:55:00.000-08:00

Waiting For Santa To Arrive...

2008-12-24T23:00:00.001-08:00

There are anxious boys tonight....but luckily they are now sleeping!

Quick! Get Out While You Can!

2008-12-24T09:01:00.000-08:00

Since our weather has been just sooo fun *cough, ahem*, last Thursday the kids did have school. (They actually got to go to school on Tuesday as well, woo hoo!) That day, there seemed to be a break in the weather and so about 4 pm we decided we better make a run for it to go see the big man. Yep, Santa!! The kids had been asking when we were going and for awhile I was beginning to think the only way they were going to see Santa was via email. But lucky for us, Thursday night we went downtown to Pioneer Place and had absolutely no line and the boys got right on Santa's lap. My pictures aren't all that great since I didn't really have time to prepare and as you will notice, Matthew is pretty much all business. Mason spent most of his time with his fingers in his mouth and I am not sure he said more than two words to Santa. Matthew, on the other hand, brought the big guns....he brought The List! ;)

After Santa, we were a little hungry for dinner so we went across the street to Macaroni Grill, which thrilled the kids. They love coloring on the table (they put paper and crayons down!) and having a sundae for dessert. The best part, we were home by 6:30 pm. Just in time to have Matthew finish his homework!! ;)

Old Man Winter Has Arrived

2008-12-21T21:30:00.000-08:00

Although, clearly, Old Man Winter has lost his marbles and didn't realize winter wasn't supposed to start until today!!! Somewhere, there must have been a little miscommunication because we have had just nasty weather for the last week. (And quite frankly, while I'm crabbin', he kinda forgot to let up last June. It was freezing on the last day of school!!) Anyway, the weather outside may be a bit frightful and downright frigid, but there is always a little entertainment to be had.

These two pics are of my back deck this morning....just a few drifts you see.

This is looking NE off my front porch. I'm amazed my ornaments in the foreground survived the wind from the night before. I was sure I was going to find at least one broken one this morning! My kids are rather wimpy and strange and weren't really interested in going out in the snow much. The first 2 days they wanted to go out but now they are more interested in finding entertainment inside the house. So first was a little "Rad Daddles" time:

So do you like Matthew's drum set? And how about Mason's microphone as he is the 'singer'?! After all that work, lunch was in order:
Followed by Andy's realization that he just simply needed more beer. I also think it was an excuse to go check up on Grandma Dee and her cookie selection while he went over there to see if she needed anything. So off he trekked to the store and I managed a shot of him when he came home with his success: ;)

I was almost embarrassed by his beer selection, I think I would have chose differently but, whatever. He did end up giving two of his beers away to some lady with a grocery cart that wouldn't quite following him while he was trying to walk home. Apparently, she kept trying to get his attention to point out the fact that he had some beer. Gotta love SE Portland! ;)

I spent the afternoon baking....

I made some fabulous blue cheese crackers too but I forgot to take a picture of them. They are rather dangerous because I could see getting into those by far more often than the cookies!

Oh and I should mention the cats, or mainly Geusseppe. There has been evil lurking in his mind. There is evil lurking in my mind too. I haven't shown Matthew these pictures and I might just print out a copy for him and leave it in his room. Because I'm sure he doesn't want Geusseppe messing with his Webkinz! ;)

'O' Christmas Tree

2008-12-15T20:52:00.000-08:00

The boys have their trees up in their rooms! We decided this year that Mason is old enough for a tree in his room (Matthew has had his for two years now) and he adores his tree. (and lucky me, I was lazy about getting ornaments for it, about a week ago finally bought them at Micheal's for 60% off!!) Both boys go to sleep at night with the tree lights on and when I check on them before I go to bed, I turn the lights off. (It's physically impossible for me to go to bed without checking on them first!)

I also made them Christmas cd's but of course the music is off of my Christmas selection on my ipod.

1) Jingle Bell Rock - Bobby Helms (the most requested and played!)

2) Santa Claus is Comin' to Town - The Judds

3) Twelve Days Of Christmas - John Denver and The Muppets Christmas (songs 3-7)

4) Deck the Halls -

5) Little Saint Nick

6) We Wish You a Merry Christmas

7) The Christmas Wish

8) Sleigh Ride - Amy Grant

9) I Believe In Santa Clause - Dolly Parton

10) Greensleeves - A Charlie Brown Christmas (songs 10-14)

11) Christmas Time is Here

12) Linus & Lucy

13) O Tannenbaum

14) Christmas is Coming

15) It's Beginning to look like Christmas - Perry Como

16) God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - Bare Naked Ladies with Sarah McLachlan

17) I Saw Three Ships - Sting

I've Been Grumpy....

2008-12-03T22:23:00.000-08:00

I have been grumpy and my grumpiness doesn't seem to be letting up anytime soon. In the meantime, I found something interest. The Cyborg Name Decoder!!

http://cyborg.namedecoder

So maybe I am just ready for battle, yearly assassination, and masterful yelling!!! I am sure my hubby would agree!

Ghost Badge

2008-11-23T21:06:00.000-08:00

Mason often talks of ghosts. In his mind, ghosts are not scary things, they exist more to just really annoy you by moving your stuff around when you weren't looking! ;) But in the world according to Mason, sometimes you have to fight ghostes in the middle of the night. And tonight he informed me that you have to have a "Ghost Badge" to fight them. Because it's just not possible to fight them without one! ;) Mason told me that he has two ghost badges, so now he was going to give me one so that mommy can fight ghostes. (and yes, that's how he says it, ghostes!) His badge never runs out of power but apparently mine will !?! Oh, and he might have one for daddy (but no mention of Matthew because I think the theory is that Matthew would have his own badge). So I guess the question is, where are your ghost badges??

Recent Purchases

2008-11-20T21:13:00.000-08:00

Yeah....the economy may be bad. But I have still found a few things to entertain me!

What can I say....it's a great combination and one I haven't had in ages! ;)

So I had seen this lovely British logo on another blog and I really kind of liked the look. So just the other day I was at New Season's and saw it in coaster form. And I couldn't resist....

And now for my favorite purchase...but just a warning, if there are children or anyone else who may be offended by a bit of crass language, you might want to turn away now.

*****

Yes...my newest stamp! I couldn't resist...there is some little paper/card shop on NW 23rd whose name completely escapes me at the moment that had this. Originally, I was out with my girlfriends and we were headed over to Papa Hayden (of course!) and this particular shop happened to be open until 8 pm. I found the stamp there and immediately had to have it. I don't have immediate plans on what exactly I am going to stamp this on yet....but I am tempted to label some of Andy's things with it! ;) Now if only they had an F-bomb I would make some real special cards!! ;)

The Living Dead

2008-11-11T08:53:00.000-08:00

They do look rather dead, don't they?? The living dead, or the un-dead, is how I was trying to explain the concept of a zombie to Matthew. I'm not sure that he really got it, but he was insistent that he would be a zombie for Halloween this year. I need to take a picture of his inspiration for this idea. It's about a 2 inch little rubber figure...I have no idea were he got it from but that was what he wanted to be. So my friend, Louise, copied it almost exactly and that's how he became a zombie. Oh, and the most important part? The Brains!!! Yes, that's what is on top of his head. Brains. Those brains originally had hair around them, (which I thought looked cool) but it wasn't how Matthew envisioned it so off they went.

Mason got to be a mummy. Not that he had much choice! ;) Louise had a bunch of gauze hanging around and asked if one of the kids would like to be a mummy and I told that to Mason and he said yes. He was happy, and warm! These costumes were perfect for keeping the kids toasty....not that they needed it on Halloween night. The weather was perfect! Thank you Louise for making such fabulous costumes for my kids!! Spoiled rotten I tell ya.......

Fall Days

2008-10-26T21:04:00.000-07:00

The weather here has been Fabulous lately!! All field trips for children have been rain free and not real cold either....soccer games have been rain free, soccer practice has been pleasant, it's been a pretty amazing October. Busy too....hence the lack of posts. But here are recent events in pictures:

We had one weekend that was soccer-free so amongst the other things we wanted to get done, we figured a quick trip to the pumpkin patch was in order. Again, it was a gorgeous day and warm and the kids got fresh donuts too!Both boys had field trips to the Apple Festival but I only went with Mason's class. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures while the kids were sampling apples/pears as I was too busy making sure Mason wasn't "double dipping"! Of course, after watching preschoolers sampling apples, I was questioning if I would ever touch a public sample again! ;) It still is a very cool festival, the hay displays were very cute (check out Oscar below!) and the kids enjoy the puppet show by Penny.

And then there was Mason's field trip to the Pumpkin Patch at Sauvie Island Farms. It went really great and talk about amazing weather. If it hadn't been for the fact that I needed to hang some art work at Matthew's school (and actually pick Matthew up from school!) we could have stayed all day! The day was fabulous, Mason wore shorts(!), and the kids had a great time.

The kids got a barn tour and Mason spent part of his time hanging out with on particular girl in his class. Those two are a hoot to watch!! ;) The little girl in the red sweater above was very entertained by the heifer that was sure that here hand was pacifier! That baby cow would have sucked on her hand and arm all morning. The funny part, later this same girl went to pet the pig and the pig wasn't so thrilled with her hand and actually nipped her! She promptly decided she wasn't fond of the pig and went back to petting the baby cow.

Mason and his friend again....who knew I was going to have to start chaperoning?? They hung out together for awhile in the hay maze!

New Tunes!

2008-10-13T18:52:00.000-07:00

No....not for me...for Mason! :) Ever since Matthew got a clock radio in his room, I think Mason has had the idea that he needs one too. So the other day I caved and bought one at Target and this time I got a little smarter about it. Less buttons = less confusion! Mason can't tell time (yet!) but he is loving the fact that he can have his own music in his room. So not too long ago I made a playlist on my Ipod for the boys (which are mostly songs Mason loves) and I just burned them to a cd which they are upstairs listening to right now! ;) ahhhh....the sound of silence downstairs.....

Here is the kids playlist. You will notice that it is heavily influenced by "Guitar Hero" and the movie "Cars".

1) Real Gone - Sheryl Crow

2) Route 66 - Chuck Berry

3) Life is a Highway - Rascal Flatts (and I can't stand Rascal Flatts, but the song is mildly tolerable)

4) Sh-Boom - The Chords (I enjoy this song, partly because I enjoy this part of the movie!)

5) Route 66 - John Mayer

6) Paint it Black - The Rolling Stones (ok, the whole damn family likes this song!)

5) It's Amazing - Jem (Mason can go around half the day singing this one)

6) Famous for Nothing - Dropkick Murphys (my kids always think it's funny that they talk about basketball in this song. I am usually in the car praying they don't notice the part about "alcohol"!)

7) Fairmount Hill - Dropkick Murphys

8) School's Out - Alice Cooper (OMG if my children don't quit singing this one in public I just may die!)

9) Story of My Life - Social Distortion (ok...this is the 'rad daddles' song! Mason hears the first 2 or 3 notes and freaks out in excitement!)

10) Holiday in Cambodia - Dead Kennedys (hello children, let me introduce you to punk)

11) Stray Cat Strut - Stray Cats ( I don't know how many times I have played this song for both boys. Matthew requests it just as much as Mason.)

Yeah I know, a lot of this isn't typical "kid" music. Mason likes any kind of music and Matthew has always been a bit more picky, preferring some of my music over stuff made for children. So I always figured why fight it? Besides, they love the kitty cat song! ;) (and yes, they know very well the story of Uncle Tyson and how he loved that song as a child and had a kitty dance that he did to the music!!) :)

In The Car and On The Way To A Soccer Game...

2008-10-04T15:22:00.000-07:00

Matthew tells me something about some "mystery word" that he and his classmates were trying to solve. This is what he said: We were sure that it was "Cooper's Coffee"! But it really turned out to be cooperation !
Cue to me, snickering and thinking to myself: I am obviously not the only mom spending way to much time at the coffee shop!! ;)

My Current Favorite Smile

2008-09-29T20:44:00.001-07:00

Look Ma...no teeth!! ;) Yes, Matthew finally lost both of his front teeth and gives off quite a grin. And we just discovered he has three (!) more loose teeth. He won't be able to eat soon....

Rad Daddles!

2008-09-20T21:08:00.001-07:00

We now own Guitar Hero II. Yeah, there's a shock, huh?!? Andy can't resist any new fun gamey stuff (and he managed to put off this purchase for quite some time!) and now Mason has discovered guitar hero is very cool. Hence, the video...... poor quality but moderately entertaining. ;)

By the way, "Rad Daddles" is the name of Andy's "band" on the game! Kinda cheesey but the kids helped pick out the name!

Hello Second Year Of Preschool!

2008-09-20T20:52:00.000-07:00

Yes, Mason got his first day of school too! He was sooo ready to go back to school and his first day back went well. This full first week has been a little more trying (everyone seems tired!) but Mason is more then willing to be at his school and to do his work. In fact, the other day he was rather impatient for me to leave and just couldn't handle the fact that I was having a conversation with another mom. I believe his words were something like "Why do you have to kweep wistening to everything. I want you to go!" Yeah...I felt real special after that since he was pretty anxious for me to be out of his territory. I gotta admit though....it was kind of cute! ;)

Stop The Presses!

2008-09-15T19:14:00.000-07:00

It is possible to have a successful dinner in the Crabby Amy household! I was sure it wasn't true....someone always wines, doesn't like what I have fixed,(ahem, Mason), doesn't like the texture(occasionally Matthew) or is upset that I have gone on strike for the evening and actually has to fend for himself (read: husband). But tonight, the stars (all four of them!) aligned. And all I was doing was using up stuff that was taking up space or was on the verge of going bad. Nothing special, just penne pasta that had been in the cupboard for awhile, Italian chicken sausage that had been in the freezer for awhile, and veg that was from the farmers market on Saturday. Which, by the way, the farmers market is full of bounty this time of year....get thee there very quickly and buy, buy, buy!! yum! But back to my eaten dinner, I just kinda threw it all together with a little half & half in the sausage and veg once it was cooked and that was the sauce to go with the penne. And my kids loved it! Mason asked for seconds and trust me, this never happens unless it's some kind of processed, non-naturally occurring in nature, sort of food. Andy loved it, (of course that could have been the wine talking ;)!) and I was very satisfied with my dinner. A very good end to a very trying day. (hence, why the wine was opened while I was cooking. I didn't add it to the food, more important to drink it!)

Holding On To Summer

2008-09-11T13:22:00.000-07:00

Even though the calendar says September, the weather still says August and quite frankly, my mind couldn't agree more. This last weekend the weather was nothing short of glorious and for that I am very thankful as Andy and I decided to squeeze in a camping trip before summer was "really" over! So off we went to Detroit Lake, nothing terribly difficult as far as camping goes since this really was the first time Andy and I had taken both kids camping by ourselves! In fact, Mason has never been "real" camping and we had meant to do it all summer and just never got around to it. Better late then never!

The whole trip went really well and the boys, of course, had a blast!!

So...some highlights.....

* Duck-1 ----- Matthew-0

Andy took the boys fishing. Mason was excited but being four years old, lost interest quickly. I was actually surprised at how patient Matthew was with the whole experience. Unfortunately, I had already left the dock with Mason when "the incident" happened. Apparently, a duck decided to attack the bobber on Matthew's fishing line. Matthew didn't like that at all and decided to 'chase' the duck (how exactly he was doing this I am not sure, this was Andy telling me the story!) In the process of trying to chase off the duck, Matthew fell into the lake! Luckily he was at a point where it wasn't deep at all and an older gentleman happened to be walking right by him and pulled him out of the water. Matthew was mad (and I am sure Andy couldn't keep a straight face at this point!) but the other men on the dock informed him that in order to be a fisherman he had to fall in the water at some point! :) He did calm down and actually stayed for awhile longer and fished in his soaking wet clothes.

* Both boys think smores are the greatest dessert on the planet!

* Mason loved washing dishes and I discovered this is quite possibly the best way to get their hands clean!

* The weather was beautiful during the day but it was cold at night!! Both kids need warmer sleeping bags...

*Our only mishap with our camping gear was that we didn't completely check for all the pieces of the new stuff we had just gotten. We had just bought a new coffee maker and didn't discover that it was missing it's little glass percolator thingy until we were actually up camping. You do realize how vitally important coffee is when camping??!! (we shall be making a little return to the store!!)

* Now that we have a little confidence in our own stuff and camping experience, we can't wait to book some trips for next summer!!!

* Oh and my kids thought that freeze dried ice cream sandwiches rocked!

Hello Second Grade!

2008-09-03T20:46:00.000-07:00

So we survived the first day. Actually, Matthew survived just fine....I on the other hand, am always a bit sad to see him off on the first day (and you would think I would be used to this by now!). I missed him during the day, however, I did not miss the brotherly fighting that had seemed to escalate over the last two weeks of summer. My boys needed to be separated, I needed my sanity, therefore, we all needed school to start. I rather like my logic! ;)

The day went well for Matthew, he enjoyed 2nd grade and liked his teacher (whew!). Several kids from his 1st grade class were in class with him and his locker partner is the same child that was his locker partner in kindergarten! I put a note for him in his lunch, which thrilled him, with promises of an after school treat...cupcakes of course! And since I ran out of time to make frosting, it was Nutella to the rescue! Not that Matthew complained one bit. ;)

Fire on the Mountain!

2008-09-03T09:35:00.000-07:00

On Sunday night, Andy and I got to go out since the kids had an unexpected night with grandma and grandpa! So Andy decided that we should go to Fire on the Mountain since he had a gift certificate from his brother for that particular eatery. Oh my. Can I just say YUM!! I had no clue what this place served but it was all about wings!! Oh man they put to shame any kind of buffalo wings one has ever had at a chain restaurant...hot and spicy and lots of them. I actually ended up getting a chicken sandwich that was made with the spicy peanut sauce (which I could only eat about half since it was huge and I had a few of Andy's wings!). Andy had a big ol' plate of wings with 3 different sauces (spicy peanut, Jamaican jerk, and a third that was beyond too hot for me and at the moment I can't remember which one it was). So amazingly good! The restaurant is set up like Laughing Planet so if you eat there, the idea is the same....you order at the counter and then find a table (good luck!). We went to the Burnside location and it's not real big and got crowded fast but it was so worth it. Oh, and for dessert....fried Twinkies!! ;)

Another Slide Show

2008-08-27T21:50:00.000-07:00

Look.......

2008-08-27T09:38:00.000-07:00

Pink Pasta!!!! OK, well I guess 'pasta' implies Italian when I actually purchased these 'noodles' at Uwajimaya the other day. I couldn't resist buying the noodles and I honestly have no idea what I am going to use them for yet. But I will come up with something.... ;) (feel free to suggest!!)

They are only four now....

2008-08-21T20:14:00.000-07:00

but I see chaos in the future, do you??

Thank goodness it's only a playhouse they are trying to destroy, but if I think too long about what this could look like when they are oh say 12(!) I become a little afraid. Talk about grey hair inducing..... :)

Weather

2008-08-19T20:45:00.000-07:00

Rain, rain, go away!! Actually, after the weekend of 100 degree temps, I am not entirely upset to see the rain. But I would be a lot happier if it was only a one day event! Anyhow, tonight has been quite rainy and apparently the weather will be quite stormy tonight into tomorrow. So what's my point? I ran up to Fred Meyers tonight to just pick up a few groceries and my particular Fred Meyers is going to undergo a remodel very soon. But before that remodel starts, they decided to repave the upstairs parking lot. Well, after today's rain it will be interesting to see what they do because all over the grocery section of the store were buckets and buckets and buckets....catching the raindrops coming from the cracks in the ceiling. The ceiling were the parking lot is right above it. I suspect Fred Meyers ran out of their own buckets because they were using merchandise plastic tubs and styrofoam coolers to catch the perpetual drops! It's a good thing the store wasn't particularly crowded since maneuvering a shopping cart around all of the buckets/coolers was challenging! (thank goodness my kids were at home with daddy!!) After awhile, I felt slightly uneasy and decided to end my grocery trip... I'm sure the ceiling was fine but I sure wasn't about to find out the hard way!! ;)

In Olympic Spirit...

2008-08-15T23:56:00.000-07:00

The summer is almost over and we only have one more session of swimming lessons over here! Today was the last day of the current session or "card day" as it's often called in this (and other) household. The boys got their cards but what was way more exciting, (especially for Mason!) was their "medals". I was busy talking to a friend and didn't realize the boys had already gotten out of the pool when Mason came running over to me yelling "I got first place! I got a MEDAL!". What they did at the pool was hand out little gold medals that looked very Olympic like to every child. Most the kids that I noticed seemed to be pleasantly surprised but I swear the whole pool could probably hear Mason in his exuberance!! His teacher had to come chase him down to give him his card because that was long forgotten in all the excitement. Basically the "card" sums up the session and progress and lets you know if your child can move up or needs to stay in the same class. Mason moved up and Matthew didn't so there was a little irritation on Matthew's part but oh well. They were both in quite a good mood for the rest of the evening and were even willing to stand somewhat patiently, in the late afternoon heat, for a few pictures!

So I will let them watch some more Olympic swimming, diving, and whatever else catches their eye....and they will probably wear the medals as they watch.
Off to the family picnic tomorrow and hopefully I won't melt from the heat!! ;)

Just Because....

2008-07-29T21:17:00.000-07:00

Just because it's summer.....must mean that I am lacking in inspiration! I have neglected the blog lately. Not on purpose but I haven't really found anything terribly inspiring and now that "birthday season" is over (oh thank god!!) it's time to actually get a few things done around the house. Like paint that damn cabinet in my bathroom that I have meant to paint for almost a year now! I started sanding it this week and now it's officially sanded and primed but not painted yet. ::sigh:: Oh and Andy has been working on the deck(s) which desperately have needed a good cleaning and staining. He spent 6 hours on Saturday doing the cleaning part... and hopefully after today the rain won't come back for awhile so he can do the staining part! (I will help if I have to....not that I am jumping for joy at that chore!) Real exciting stuff over here! That along with swimming lessons daily, making sure we go to the library so that Matthew has plenty to read (a major chore! he fights having to read!) for the summer reading program, gymnastics classes, and probably other things that I am too tired to remember right now. In fact this week, a friend of mine pointed out that I had said at the beginning of summer how I looked forward to the end of the school year just so that we wouldn't have so much daily running around. Yeah....that worked out well, huh?!

So just for fun....a few more "diva" pictures of Mason's friend Clara from a couple of weeks ago at a BBQ at her house. Of course, when you put Mason in the pictures, the dynamic changes a bit! ;)

Goodby Six and Hello Seven!

2008-07-19T07:59:00.000-07:00

oh not the cat! It's Matthew's birthday today! ;) But in searching for some old pictures of Matthew, I came across this pic of Guesseppe testing out Matthew's highchair. I'd forgotten how it rather amused me and felt the need to post it. (especially since it prominently featured the 'beer farts' jar, which the same cat actually broke later!)

I still can't get over how quickly seven years have gone. Andy and I were just discussing this morning how we remembered when our nephew Jayden turned seven and how we thought wow...it will be forever before Matthew is that old or that big. Yeah...that forever lasted real long, huh? Pretty amazing how that chunky little baby managed to grow up and become the smart (and sometimes sneaky!), resourceful, and loving kid that he is.

Matthew's first birthday and Gymbo the clown who he adored!

Second birthday and the kitchen he got, which we still have and it still gets played with!Third birthday and Matthew had a new brother at this point!
Fourth birthday at Oaks Park! Lots of fun but it's a hot and crowded time of year!

Fifth birthday and for some reason I have like zero good pictures of this particular birthday year!
Sixth birthday and he is wearing his birthday crown that he made when he was still going to occupational therapy.
And last night...Happy 7th birthday Matthew. xoxo, mwhah!

I don't Understand!

2008-07-13T08:03:00.000-07:00

Around SE Portland, I see plenty of people getting into the "reduce and reuse" mode of things, particularly with grocery shopping and the popularity of reusable grocery bags. As I understood things, wasn't the point to cut down on the useage of those plastic bags that are going to be in our landfills forever? I thought a lot of people got that point, but apparently not our local newspaper! Why oh why does the Oregonian insist on delivering its paper in a plastic bag? On a perfectly good July sunny day? I just don't get it.....do the people in charge over there not get the message about our environmental problems? Or maybe it's just because I am a mom and occasionally notice the ridiculousness of of some things and look towards the future for my children. I am just vastly confused!

10 Years Ago....

2008-07-11T11:35:00.001-07:00

We were married!

I still can't get over how fast ten years went by. (and it seems even faster since we had kids!) It's amazing how much has changed, such as becoming parents, job changes, responsibility etc. On the other hand, some things haven't changed. I am still continually amazed and impressed at the man I married. I am still thrilled that I married my best friend! And I still look forward to growing old with him and sharing our lives together. Happy 10 year anniversary Andy, I love you! xoxo

And....check out who else is celebrating their 10 year anniversary!!! :) Happy anniversary Amber & Andrew!!

A Little Excercise For The Boys

2008-07-10T21:49:00.000-07:00

Mason loves when either one of us play on the Wii Fit. This particular evening, he was begging Andy to play just so he could play along. When you watch the video, you will probably hear my laughter in the background. I just found it all quite funny on that day and you know that when you are trying to be quiet, laughter is even more immanent!

And Today's Activities Included.....

2008-07-10T19:40:00.000-07:00

Yummy Yummy Berries! I had a wild hair today and decided on total spur of the moment to take my children berry picking. Completely unplanned, but we had nothing else going on and it certainly beat staying at home and cleaning, or going to the grocery store. (which I have Andy at the store right now, with my list in hand!!)

We drove out to Sauvie Island Farms and got quite the bounty of blueberries! We could have gotten just as many raspberries but all three of us were getting tired by then so only a smaller bowl of them. Still, at a $1.50 a pound... totally worth it! Plus, the boys enjoyed picking the berries/treasure and I think they actually liked the idea of 'harvesting' their own food. The weather was perfect too, not very hot but absolutely gorgeous out!

Black Bear Diner

2008-07-01T11:59:00.000-07:00

I know this is a little slow in coming, but for Father's Day, I managed to go out to breakfast with Andy and my dad and mom before going to work. We ended up at Black Bear Diner out in Beaverton. It was pretty good, the kids had a lot of fun, and in Purple Mockingbird fashion (code name for Red Robin!!) they had a 'Black Bear' that comes around and waves hello. The kids thought that was pretty cool but really the best picture was for the dads of the day! :)

The Diva That Is Clara

2008-07-01T11:47:00.001-07:00

Last month, I took the boys to Mason's friend Reason's birthday party. One of Mason's other friends, Clara was there and at some point I wanted a picture of her so I asked her to stop running for a second so I could take a picture. And this is what I got:

And then after a few minutes of posing, it was back to water balloon fights and playing!!

Sometimes Things Do Not Go As Planned

2008-06-26T21:16:00.000-07:00

So last Saturday night was a camp out for moms and sons that was put on through Matthew's school. It was a sign-up type of event that was a fundraiser (and did quite well as I understand, yay!) and Matthew and I had really been looking forward to it. It was muggy and hot last Saturday but our spirits were high and It promised to be an exciting adventure for both of us. For Matthew it was just because camping is cool and a bunch of his school buddies would be there to play with. For me, it was the adventure of actually doing all the work myself (yes, I often have Andy do the things like set up the tent!) and having time to hang out with my kid and with a lot of other moms of boys!

Well, we carpooled with our friends Karin and her boys and got there (out at Oxbow park) in good time. I got everything set up easily and fairly quickly and then grabbed a bite to eat as there was still plenty of lunch stuff to be eaten. It wasn't long after this that Matthew began complaining of a headache. I figured he needed to eat and hydrate himself and then we had planned on going on a short hike on some of the trails. Of course, we hadn't gotten very far and Matthew kept saying he felt like his stomach was in his throat and he had to throw up. Great......so I encouraged him to at least aim for the bushes and not in the middle of the trail. In that process, (he ended up not barfing at this point) Matthew got his first introduction to stinging nettle! So now he was too busy crying to notice that he still felt sick.

We finally got back from the walk but then Matthew finally threw up. I wondered (hoped) that maybe it was just an upset stomach so I had him drink some water and rest for a bit in the tent. But of course the lure of all the other kids playing was too much so he went out again and I went to go converse with some of the moms. But again, it wasn't long before I saw Matthew throwing up again over in the bushes and this time I got him to lay down and stay in the tent. He did fall asleep and I began to figure how I was going to get out of there before Oxbow shut down their gates at 9 p.m. Naturally, getting a cell phone signal was almost impossible but I did manage to get a text through to Andy. I was still chatting with some of the moms about my predicament and how I was going to get my sick kid home when my phone actually beeped at me and Andy had left a voicemail saying he was on his way!

When Andy got there he helped me pack up our stuff and Matthew didn't wake up for any of it. Poor kid! I should mention that before he fell asleep I had told him that I was going to have to call daddy to come take us home early and he was devastated. He cried and begged me not to call daddy but I wasn't interested in being stuck there all night with a sick kid! I mean, who knows what will happen at 3 a.m. ? Matthew could be up puking and I really don't want to chance being stuck in the park! So we went home and Matthew pretty much forgot about being upset about leaving since the curvy road getting out of there was real tough on him. We had to stop in Gresham to get a plastic bag at Safeway because this was the one time I was unprepared and didn't have one in the car. But we got home and got him into bed and boy was I feeling a bit disgruntled, knowing all the others were back at the camping spot and sitting around the fire and eating smores!!

The next day Matthew still looked rather pale and sat around watching movies all day. By Monday he was fine but we are both now looking forward to next year. Since we weren't there very long, I didn't get too many pictures but here are a few. And for a much cheerier and brighter account of how most everybody else enjoyed their experience, go check out Amber's blog. :)

I have to still laugh at this last picture! Just before I snapped it, the boys noticed I was about to take their picture and suddenly yelled "Camera Alert"!!! I clicked and then they ran! ;)

6 things about me

2008-06-26T14:04:00.000-07:00

So I have been tagged by Amber for a little meme of six random things about myself. Actually, quite awhile back I was also tagged by Sarah for the same thing but I never got around to finishing the post. So I figure it is time to actually complete it! ;)
1) As much as I enjoy scrapbooking, I have yet to even devote a page to writing about myself! Partly because I seem to be perpetually behind in all the things I want to complete and partly because I do enough self-examination in my head. When I want to scrapbook, I want it to be fun and not always does analyzing myself seem like much fun. Way more fun to analyze my children (and hubby!).

2) Andy and I are coming up on our 10-year wedding anniversary. Amazingly, we met in a bar! And I had sworn I would never date anybody I met in a bar. The funny part of it was, I actually was aware of who he was. He grew up about 2 blocks away from me and we went to the same gradeschool, middle school, and highschool but never had a single class together. This would be due to Gresham's year-round school system at that time and it just worked out that way. He knows the neighborhoods like I do from our childhood, and it's fun (still!) being able to reminisce with my partner. He knows exactly what I am talking about when I mention playing in the 'field' as kids or as teenagers learning to drive at the 'dogs' (the parking lot for the dog tracks in Gresham which is now a Fred Meyer and Lowes).

3) I enjoy cooking. I enjoy reading about food and I enjoy food blogs too! Sometimes the most relaxing bedtime reading is a really inspiring cookbook or food magazine. I am not a particularly innovative cook on my own but I do enjoy trying new things and I tend to like most foods. Although, super spicy foods I find rather difficult to deal with. I don't want to cry while I eat dinner! But sometimes a good "food adventure" can include some serious spice! :)

4) I am surprised sometimes how much I enjoy being a mom. Don't get me wrong, I have plenty of not so good days were I am sure the kids are going to drive me to drink 24/7. But I thought by now, I would have been interested in maybe getting a career going or at least working more than one day a week. However, I enjoy being with my kids (sometimes!), I enjoy volunteering at their schools, I enjoy being involved in their lives. Why mess with a good thing when there will be plenty of time later for career stuff? (Besides the fact that I am amazingly blessed that I can stay home and be with my kids and not have to work all the time)

5) I do not like bugs. I hate spiders! I know that some of them are beneficial (but seriously, do we really need fleas? or lice??!!) and I can deal with them outside (barely) but if they enter my house at all, they must die. Occasionally, if a ladybug gets in, I can scoop her up and put her outside. Otherwise it's smoosh for anything that isn't on 2 legs (or 4 furry ones...poor cats, they do get accidentally stepped on once in awhile!). With my disdain for bugs, it's amazing I enjoy camping but I do! (A post on camping coming soon.)

6) I have been enjoying the t.v. lately!! I will never be one of those people who never watches t.v. but I am also not one to watch many of whatever is hot show of the moment. And a lot of reality t.v. on the major networks drives me up a wall! The things that entertain me are the things that as a teenager, my brother and I relentlessly made fun of my dad for watching. Things like The History Channel or The Discovery Channel. My favorite program though, is American Experience on OPB. I have the DVR set to record it and always have a few on hand to watch. In fact, I just got done watching the ones on F.D.R. and Eleanor Roosevelt. I had just watched before that, the first half of the one on Harry Truman and somehow I missed the second part! argghhh!! oh well, I am sure they will repeat it again. Did you know that you can actually go on PBS's website and vote on issues of the day and see if you would have sided with either say Truman or Thomas Dewey during the election year of 1948? Go here if you want to check it out! But I understand if you could care less, I just happen to find it fascinating! ;)

So I really don't have 6 particular people to tag for this (many have already been named by Amber anyway!) but I will list the rules and feel free to participate! (But Diane, you should really do this!) :)

Link to the person who tagged you.
Post the rules on your blog.
Write six random things about yourself.
Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.
Let your tagger know when your entry is up.

The Sounds I hear.....ALL DAY LONG!

2008-06-21T08:43:00.000-07:00

Mason is a car kind of boy. From the beginning it has been all about hot wheels and cars and whatever else has wheels and can make noise. (it doesn't seem to matter how many wheels either!) Case in point:

Aside from the occasional (or more than occasional on some days!!) fighting between the boys, that lovely woo woo woooooo sound is what echos throughout the house. Yes, it's going to be a long summer!

Allowance

2008-06-15T19:48:00.000-07:00

In our house, we have recently had the discussion of an allowance for Matthew. I am actually rather unfamiliar with this practice as my parents didn't do the weekly allowance thing. Andy did have an allowance, so I have pretty much let him chat with Matthew about what earning an allowance would entail. Well, apparently Andy wasn't real specific with what chores Matthew would need to perform in order to earn the said allowance so Matthew took it upon himself to make his own chore list. So about 20 minutes ago, Andy found this list by his side of the bed!

Translation: wash the dishes, make the beds, put the laundry away, water the plants, make mom's coffee, turn the news on (!). At the end he writes: I can choose between one another! So what do you think we should give him for allowance? ;)

Reptile Party!!!

2008-06-07T12:46:00.001-07:00

What a treat!!! This morning the boys and I went to a birthday party featuring the Reptile Man. My lovely friend Anne had a combined! (you smart woman you!!) birthday party for both of her boys and used the gym facility at her kid's school and had the Reptile Man come. The kids had a blast! And honestly, who can complain when the birthday party is educational as well. I would have taken more pictures but I had totally forgotten to charge my camera battery so I am lucky to have gotten the few pics I did.

Some of the highlights included the boys and Melinda getting to touch a Cobra in the above picture. You can't really see it too well but it was the best I could do at the moment!

Matthew was chosen to go up and help hold the python (?), If I am wrong on which snake that is I apologize! He ended up holding the tail end and later told me he was laughing because it kept curling around his hand. Colin and Nathan got to be at the head of the snake and I think Colin spent most of his time grinning from ear to ear! All the kids were very cute and most of them seemed to love the reptiles. And although they loved the snakes, I suspect some of those kid's favorite part may have been the alligator that waved, when the Reptile Man wasn't looking of course! You should have heard the laughter..... :) And I think a few of the dads (Scott!) enjoyed the reptiles as much as the kids did! ;)

Happy Birthday Colin and Nathan!!

Shopping Results

2008-06-02T13:42:00.000-07:00

Ok...so remember when I said I was going on the Art Walk? Well, it ended up being very warm out that day and I didn't go to nearly as many stops as I meant to. But I did, of course, manage for a few purchases! Exhibit A:

Cute, non? Very good for everyday (since I am not always kind to my purses on a daily basis) but I am a total idiot and forgot to ask her what it was made of! I think I was a little too excited about my other purchases..... Exhibit B:

Oh yes....the scrabble board purse! I saw this last year and totally kicked myself for not buying it! And now I own it and feel very much better. I actually bought another similar type purse but it's a gift and I am pretty sure that person reads this blog. So I will have to post pics later!

Many beautiful purses to choose from and I almost bought a purse made out of old Disney books like the ones I grew up reading. I probably should have caved and got one but ohh well. The one other purchase was for Matthew (who actually wanted to come with me on the art walk, very cool!). Look what he picked out....

I thought it was the most adorable wallet and Matthew loved it! And yes he does use it and stores his money in it. It is apparently pages out of a book and the most darling illustration, perfect for an almost seven year old boy.

Lucky!!!

2008-05-27T09:42:00.000-07:00

Look who came to visit! :) Lucky is the neighbors dog. He is a total sweetheart and I believe he is 6 years old now but really acts like a 2 year old dog. Full of energy and obviously some mischief too! So about a week and a half ago (yes, when the weather was actually nice!) Lucky decided there were more entertaining things on the other side of the fence. Actually what I really think he is interested in is something behind the fence he can't see through.....

But the neighbors weren't home that night and we were out in the backyard doing some weeding and Lucky felt he needed some company. So, he joined us.

The kids had fun with him....Andy was a little unimpressed when he peed right were Andy was weeding! Later on, when the neighbors came home, they were highly unimpressed at Lucky's antics. They immediately put up some wood to block his path while we went inside to get the boys ready for bed. About 45 minutes later, as Andy was reading bedtime stories, I had run downstairs for something and noticed that whatever the neighbors had done to keep Lucky contained, had not worked. He was at my back door again, probably looking for the cats! (he had seen them there earlier!) I had to laugh and then told him to go back home. The next day, the neighbors did some more work on keeping him contained and we haven't seen him in our backyard since. We actually don't mind, but the owners are worried that if he figures too much out (like jumping the fence!) then he will get into the front yard as well and then there will be trouble. I don't blame them but it was fun while it lasted! ;)

Nah, He Doesn't Like Birthdays.....

2008-05-24T12:06:00.000-07:00

He isn't shy about being sung to either! For Mason, everything about birthdays are just fine....except for the being patient until the next birthday part!

It's Time For Summer Break....Already??!

2008-05-20T08:44:00.000-07:00

Ok well....Today is Mason's last day of school! I can't believe how fast the year has gone, and how much Mason enjoyed his year at preschool. I know I have talked a lot about Matthew's great year but Mason has had a really fantastic one as well. He is already looking forward to next year, and so am I since then he will go to school three days a week. Yay!! Anyway, these pics were taken just a few minutes ago as we get ready to leave. In the pictures is Pickle the cat, the last animal we have taken home. Mason enjoyed Pickle but I really think it was Charlie that was his favorite! I really am beginning to think this child is a total dog person! It will be interesting to see what he thinks of this ......

What Will You Be Doing This Weekend?

2008-05-16T17:46:00.001-07:00

I plan on going the Mt Tabor Art Walk at some point on Saturday! I went last year, but only managed to hit up a few houses. But the ones I did visit were great! Lydia's studio will be open, as well as the place were I bought my very lovely purse last year. I'm excited to go back and also check out some more local art, it should be fun!
And speaking of fun things to check out.... one of the women that is the grandmother of one of Mason's preschool friends is opening her studio over the weekend. I almost loathe to use the word grandmother because Diane is so charming and sweet and as classy as they come! I intend to make a little time for a visit there as well!

Four

2008-05-11T21:56:00.000-07:00

My Dear Mason,

It has been such a busy last couple of days that I have had very little time to reflect on how fast time is passing and how your birthday is almost here. Not that anyone around you doesn't realize that tomorrow is your birthday....you aren't exactly shy about informing the world of this fact! It is amazing though....you are growing so quickly. And not just size wise, (although you aren't exactly small!) but mentally in leaps and bounds too. I am constantly impressed with your wit, your courage, and your enthusiasm. I love how seriously you take your "jobs", both at home and at school! And even though some days your stubbornness can drive me absolutely crazy, sometimes it also serves you well in that you do persevere in what you do. I hope you enjoy

your birthday, I really have no doubt that you will. Happy 4th Birthday!

Love you, Mommy

I Threw a Tantrum.....

2008-05-09T19:27:00.000-07:00

For some reason....we seem to get plenty-o-door to door salesmen here in SE PDX. Irritates the hell out of me. We finally had had enough. So we bought a lovely little sign for our front door. Something along the lines of "NO SOLICITING"!! In bright red, and can pretty well be read from the street. And even if you can't read it, the message is usually pretty damn clear. Apparently, not today. This young gentleman rang the door, informed me that he wasn't trying to sell me anything he was trying to give me an updated, wireless alarm panel. Whatever.....I was annoyed but also right in the middle of cooking dinner (which is probably why we got the damn sign anyway, it's always during dinner!). So I basically told him I knew nothing about the alarm (yeah right!) and he would have to talk to my hubby later. I know, I know, I should have just told him to go away and never come back but I was unsure. Basically, hubby nixed the whole idea (fine with me!) and kept pointing to the sign when the guy came back. And in the end we were both annoyed that the guy even came at all. So in my fit of irritation..... I produced this...

wonder what other information I could get out of a sales person? ;)

1st Grade Art- Art Infusion

2008-05-05T12:45:00.000-07:00

So I have meant to post a few pictures of some of this year's art infusion work in Matthew's class. Art Infusion is a program at Matthew's school to bring art lessons into the classroom. They are parent led, meaning the parents learn the lesson and then bring it into the classroom and teach it to the kids. It's a great way for parents to get in the classroom and teach and besides the added bonus of getting to know most of the kids! What can I say, I am a snoopy mom who kinda needs to know which kid is which etc.

Anyway, this latest lesson was surprisingly one of my favorites. It was the only one this year that I didn't make it to the training so I was definitely not teaching it. However, the lovely Lydia Hess taught it (I actually love it when she teaches the lessons!) and it went really well. The subject was flowers and Georgia O'Keeffe and using oil pastels. And it was amazing what these kids can do! The pictures are still on the kids' lockers and I very much enjoy looking at them. I am also really hoping a lot of these kids choose one of these pieces for the art show coming up!

Disneyland Part IV - OOOPS! No Flash Photography!!

2008-04-28T10:09:00.000-07:00

Ok...So I had my camera with me and I was just snapping away in the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and Andy proceeded to remind me that before the ride it was specifically stated that there was NO FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY. And I yell at my kids for their listening skills....

So why let perfectly (or not quite so perfect) good pirate pictures go to waste? ;)

Disneyland Part III - Characters

2008-04-26T08:55:00.000-07:00

On the Saturday morning that we were in Disneyland we went ahead and did the "Character Breakfast" or I think the buttons the kids are wearing says it's "Breakfast with Minnie and Friends". Basically, it was a buffet of breakfast foods and many of the characters were guaranteed to be around for picture taking and autograph book signing. It's not cheap, (if I remember the prices I will post them) but in the end it was totally worth it. Especially for my kids, since wandering around the park for hours just to find all the characters was just not an option.

Gotta love the dayglo Tigger!! :)

When I get a chance.....I will scan the autograph books to show you Chip -n- Dale's signatures. They are very cute, especially Dale's because on his signature because somehow he incorporated his buck teeth into the signature!

My children's favorite character by far was Goofy. But that will warrant it's own separate post since there are plenty of pics and a few stories as well! And no, Mickey wasn't at the breakfast. We saw him but the line was so long that the kids didn't bother with pics or and autograph.

Disneyland -Part II--The Pixar Parade

2008-04-25T21:14:00.000-07:00

Just because it was so cute.....

My kids loved this parade (and I admit, so did I!). It was very sweet and had all the "modern" Disney figures that my kids know and love. (I forgot to mention, the Pixar Parade is over in Disney's California Adventure) The selling point of course was the fact that "Lightning McQueen" and "Mater" were in it!

Of course they both liked the "Bug's Life" characters, even though they still haven't seen the movie! Don't worry....I think we are going to correct that situation this weekend.

And the gratuitous shot of how my children often made their way back to our hotel room. You are not one bit surprised, are you?

Disneyland - Part I

2008-04-25T09:20:00.001-07:00

So it's probably going to take me forever to get some of these pictures posted but I will try my best!

These first couple of pics were taken the first day we were there. The only reason the carousel was an option at this point was because Matthew had not had a taste of the other rides. Once he started in on Space Mountain and Splash Mountain....there was no turning back!

Teacups again .....and there would be many more times. It was Mason's favorite!

Alice in Wonderland.....the kids enjoyed this. Andy was entertained in the fact that he figured this ride really would have been fun in college. And probably under an herbal influence as well!

Stay tuned for more.... ;)

Oh No...Critter Trauma

2008-04-23T21:42:00.001-07:00

So I hadn't planned on this post either but....tonight I just spent an hour trying to comfort Mason during bedtime. He brought home another stuffed animal from preschool this week and this time it was Charlie the dog. For whatever reason, Mason has gotten extremely attached to this critter! I think some of it is Mason seems to be a 'dog' person. He loves them, real and otherwise. And Charlie has spent every one of Mason's waking moments with him. So tonight when it was time for bed, Mason started talking about how he was going to miss Charlie. And pretty soon it turned into tears, and then to downright sobbing. Sobbing! And just when I would think I had him calmed down, he would start sobbing again. oh boy..... he seems to have become really attached to this animal and understands (and I mean really understands)

that he has to give Charlie back. He even went so far as to inform me that he wasn't going to school tomorrow. In his mind it means that if he doesn't go to school, he doesn't have to give up Charlie. I can't blame the boy for trying! By the time I had him calmed down and he had been silent for awhile, he turned to me and said "I love you mommy". Yes, insert "awwww" here! And then about ten seconds later, he was playing with my hair and said to me "I love your curls too"! So very sweet......

You Have Come A Long Way Baby

2008-04-23T15:15:00.000-07:00

I promise I will get around to a post on our trip to Disneyland! However, first I need to do a Matthew post.

Let me start by saying Matthew has had a great school year. I mean, fantastic! No real problems in the classroom, academically is right on target, has finally discovered that reading can be really cool, and that math and science is even cooler!! He loves his teacher and so do we, he has adjusted to first grade amazingly well, and socially has made friends on his own without intervention from me. He can follow/contribute to conversations, can understand and partake in other imaginary play with other kids, isn't intimidated to join in pretend play with his peers, and actually understands very well when directions are explained by his teacher.

So in October, we visited his doctor for his Asperger issues (she is actually a developmental pediatrician) and after evaluating him, she pretty much said that he now is much more 'neurotypically normal' and that unless we had some specific problems in the future, we didn't have to come back. She cautioned that it is possible in the future (maybe 3rd-4th grade ish) that a learning disability could come into play but she said at this point he is behaviorally normal. Which was really good to hear! So in the last couple of weeks I have met with the school speech therapist with whom Matthew had been working with as according to his IEP (individualized educational program, kids with disabilities get these for help in their education) and we decided to do a review/re-evaluation of his skills. Basically, this meant I refilled out some paperwork regarding his behavior and the school psychologist and speech therapist had to do different observations of Matthew to see how he behaved in various school settings.

So yesterday, we finally had the meeting to go over what the observations/findings were and to sum it up.....he is out. He doesn't need services, he doesn't need the IEP anymore, he has very little that is socially abnormal. In fact, it was a very short meeting (under 1/2 an hour!) and his teacher (who was there) laughingly said it was one of the more enjoyable ones she has been to! I was pleased to say the least. And I commented to her that I was almost laughing filling out the questionnaire because almost all the questions were "NO" when three years ago so many of them were "YES". As in yes, we observe this behavior and this behavior etc. It was just amazing to me because so many of those questions totally pertained to Matthew three years ago and now don't even relate at all. There are a few tendencies, he can still be sensitive to some noise, he still often takes things quite literally. His Doctor actually said she really believes most of these things are due to his natural temperament (Andy has a few similar traits as well!). But he has also learned to read facial expressions and understand emotions of others. He has learned empathy and can relate to how other peers may feel about things.

Andy and I are so incredibly proud of how far he has come. To the child who often left me in tears of exasperation to the kid that seems to have very little fear in him at all. The future is looking very bright indeed!

Oh Dear.....

2008-04-14T18:55:00.001-07:00

I don't know what is up with today, but I keep coming across interesting/entertaining/disturbing concepts. Must be because I have been stuck at home with a kid who isn't feeling well (Matthew). I believe these links fall under the category of "If You are easily offended, do not click here and here". I honestly thought I had seen it all until today.... and yes, I do read Perez Hilton! ;) (I swear it's the Internet version of the Enquirer!)

And They Will Continue To Be Monkeys....

2008-04-10T13:52:00.000-07:00

Mason brought home "Buttercup" the bunny for a visit this week. (Don't worry....a stuffed animal...not real!)

He also took Buttercup with him when he went to a playdate at Clara's house. As expected, it was all "monkey see, monkey do"! :)

Did you notice that even Buttercup is upside down on her head? ;)

Buttercup was also included in on a little game of "torture the kitty"!

What's Playing in My Kitchen

2008-04-04T13:37:00.000-07:00

So I haven't done a music post in awhile and I figured it was time. I actually have been thinking on it for about a week and then today Sarah inspired me! So this is what has been playing on my Ipod in the kitchen lately. Or "kitchen music" as my kids sometimes call it! ;)

1) "Wake Up Call" Maroon 5 -- kinda dark yet kinda fun.

2) "Falling Down" Duran Duran -- Oh how I loved them as a teenager. I haven't listened to the rest of the album yet but this song reminds me very little of D2 of the past. And that's ok! :)

3) "Burning Down the House" Talking Heads -- Couldn't stand them when this was popular. Must be my own aging process because I am now totally loving the danceability of this now!

4) "Road to Nowhere" Talking Heads -- I had to mention this one because if you listen to the beat and then listen to Keith Urban's "I told You So" there is some similarity. Perhaps KU was inspired?

5) "Crushcrushcrush" Paramore -- Their songs are good for running/walking to.

6) "Don't Stop the Music" Rihanna -- Another good walk/run song ...mama say mama saw mamacousaw (ok, don't know how to spell it, but love the Micheal Jackson sample!)

7) "Left of Center" Suzanne Vega -- I hadn't heard this in years but was glad to be reminded how good this is.

8) "We Both Go Down Together" The Decemberists -- I love their music, such great storytelling....it's like musical books.

9) "Parallel" Bad Religion -- I just go with it....I seem to always need some Bad Religion!

10) "It's Oh So Quiet" Bjork -- Reminds me of show/dance tunes

11) "California Dreamin" The Mamas and The Papas -- Can't explain....I always kinda liked them!

12) "The State of Massachusetts" Dropkick Murphys -- Ok so I am currently having a serious love affair with this group! Pure genius with the melding of celtic and punk.

13) "I Think I'm Paranoid" Garbage -- I still like them... and here is to hoping they release more music. Of course they could totally have something in the works and I can be clueless to the fact!

And a couple of other mentions: on myspace there is a band called The Seedy Seeds. They are very cool and occasionally I get on there and listen to them. They aren't on Itunes but you can listen here. And something else.... I have been slow to jump onto the "Captain Bogg & Salty" train but recently I downloaded their music and I really like it! Did you know they are on myspace as well? Check it out here.

The Chaos of the Egg Hunt

2008-04-02T20:44:00.000-07:00

This video is borderline nauseating.....the chaos of children (and there were only three of them hunting!) finding egg treasure is enough to make me dizzy. And not in a good way..... ;)

However, it is cute to watch their expressions of excitement.....especially Mason!

Spring Break

2008-03-31T20:49:00.000-07:00

Spring Break....yeah, that was fun. More than happy that it is over. Lets see if I can do a decent summary of our week of events: We did go to Great Wolf Lodge up in Washington, just north of Centralia. They have an indoor waterpark that was fantastic for the kids and I must say, Andy and I enjoyed the waterslides too! The kids had a total blast and went down countless slides and rides and rode waves in the wave pool. That said, the night before we left Mason came down with a cold. He still isn't over that cold! Nasty congestion, runny nose, etc. and he actually threw up three different times while we were there. Don't worry, only one of those times was in the waterpark (luckily, it was off to the side where no one was around anyway and not in a pool!). The other two were in the hotel room. All three of those fun incidences were a result of too much intake of liquid and too much coughing. (sorry for the details people!) But gee, he felt much better the day we headed home!

Oh and did I mention this place had only been open nine days before we got there?! Our room was actually fine. But Andy had a couple of conversations with people whose rooms were not fine and some even still had construction going on next door to them. But let me chat about the food options. Or lack of. O.k. so they have a grill/restaurant that was decent. But it doesn't serve breakfast. The breakfast choices pretty much was up to the "buffet". I am not real keen on "buffet" food... and we ended up having it for dinner the first night we were there and it pretty much made something like Old Town Buffet seem rather gourmet. It was terrible!!!! When Andy and I had lunch in the grill/normal restaurant, we were chatting with the bartender and another employee and they said basically that they were having trouble keeping people on the job and hired! Another employee told us that they "still had a few kinks to work out". Never a good sign. And do keep in mind, this little town didn't have much more to offer in the way of food. Oh, there was a McDonald's attached to a gas station....yum, yum!

We figured we would actually go back again, when the staff is a little more together and would probably do like Meegan did (yes, they were there too! What a fun surprise!) and come up and just stay one night. You can go in the waterpark early, before you check into your room, and you can stay in the waterpark later the next day after you check out. And head back to Centralia when you need food!

So we came home on Thursday, and it was snowing on and off. It snowed while we were at the waterpark too but that is indoors and warm and I didn't care as much. But by Thursday afternoon, I had had enough of being cold. Little did I know, I would still be dealing with the cold even today! argggghhh....not liking snow at all at this point!

Oh and here is a fun one, we knew before we left that our outdoor kitty "Cozzy" wasn't feeling well. He was just kind of acting under the weather but we figured wellllll we will take him to the vet if need be when we get back. We got back and we realized later that evening that he wasn't eating or drinking. Not good. So Friday morning Andy calls the vet and we manage for a 3 p.m. appointment. Well, the cat didn't make it to that appointment. Andy came home from work early to take Cozzy and we had to search for him in the garage (I had kept him locked in there and it's were he usually sleeps anyway). Couldn't find him right away, but when we did, he was against the back wall and already stiff. Pet deaths suck and I have to say, this one caught us completely off guard. I'll have to do another post later with a few pictures of Coz.

So Andy took Coz to the vet anyway to have him cremated and we will get his ashes back in a couple of days. (That was a fun one to explain to the kids too!) Poor Matthew had a rough night on Friday with that one. And to top it all off, I was hoping for a bit of good luck for the weekend--totally wishful thinking, on Saturday Matthew had a nasty earache. To the point were on Saturday night he was doing nothing but crying and working himself up just about to hysterics. Lucky for me (and Matthew) I remembered I had kept the bottle of (prescription) eardrops from the last time the boys had bad ear infections. Plenty of Motrin and eardrops for Matthew the rest of the weekend and I was actually sure I wouldn't send Matthew to school today but he seemed ok to go. We even went to gymnastics like normal so maybe it will heal on its own. I am hoping.....

So it is official. This spring break sucked. And I do not want a repeat of that anytime soon!

And just for fun....these were taken at the end of the school week, just before spring break started. Mason had actually had a minor incident at preschool were he managed to cut himself on his finger. It was a pretty good cut, and really required the band-aid to be on at all times for awhile, which was problematic for Mason until we dug out the "Tattoo" bandages. These things are genius! And then Mason was more then happy to show off his "ouch"!

Happy Easter

2008-03-23T10:12:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter Everyone! It's been busy around here with egg coloring, egg hunting, and Easter baskets. And the boys aren't even done yet, they still are going to Grandma Dee's this afternoon for more treats and are on their way to the park right now for some fun with friends!

The best thing you can give children, next to good habits, are good memories.

~ Sydney Harris

Family Dinner

2008-03-15T22:33:00.000-07:00

So it's not often that Andy and I have been willing to take the kids out to eat for dinner. Usually, I am tired at night and have put up with whatever antics have happened during the day so that the idea of eating out in public is usually more than I can bear. But tonight, upon the urging of my husband, we headed out to Russell Street Bar-B-Que. Andy knows one of the owners and has been there a couple of times himself and had proclaimed to me how wonderful it was. So tonight I agreed to go, feeling too, that perhaps it was time to make an effort to take my kids out once in awhile that didn't involve grandparents.

And guess what? It went just fine! My kids actually behaved quite well, even with a 1/2 hour wait! And even better, the food was really good! I have been to another BBQ around town (that shall remain nameless) and although it was good, I never had a deep desire to return. Tonight, stuffed full as I am, I can't wait to go back and try some more of the menu! I had a pulled pork sandwich ( I figured there was no way I could have a dinner of pulled pork, I wanted to fit in dessert too!) with a side of greens that were braised 'southern style'. Now, I had no idea what the hell that meant but I figured I would give it a try. Oh my, I would be willing to eat just a huge bowl-full of those....yum! Matthew really liked them too and I also had a hard time keeping Matthew out of my pork sandwich! The kids inhaled their food, not surprising for Matthew but rather impressive for Mason who never seems to finish anything. Mason had chicken strips and fries and had very little left when he was done. By the way, those chicken strips were very tasty, thank goodness he was willing to share a little! ;) Andy had the smoked beef brisket sandwich with some very hot BBQ sauce and a lovely pint of porter that he can't remember what it was now!

So there are so many other things there that I am itching to try....the sausage, the brisket sandwich with a little less intense heat, the shrimp, and the grilled tofu. Yes, even vegetarian options!

and oh my, how did I forget about dessert?? I decided on a Peach Cobbler, not on the regular menu but oh the taste of summer was much needed for me! :) The boys had sundaes.....Andy abstained from dessert. He figured his dessert was the pint during dinner!

These sundaes are $1 on the kids menu! Mason 'fed' Andy a bite and he did say they were rather tasty.

Good to the last drop!

Super Mason

2008-03-15T21:27:00.000-07:00

Did you know that there is a new superhero in town???

Bad guys beware!

Fruitful Rewards

2008-03-09T20:38:00.000-07:00

Last night Andy and I went to the auction whose proceeds are benefiting Matthew's elementary school. It was a lot of fun, held at the bowling ally! Andy spent almost 3 hours bowling and consequently today, is very sore!! I ended up not bowling, only because I was actually helping out with the auction and because I was also either chatting or shopping. ;) I actually didn't come away with too much, a present for a certain someone who shall remain nameless at the moment. This person's birthday isn't for quite awhile! A lovely bottle of wine, a buy-in event, and then the coup de grace.....the first grade art project from Matthew's class! Actually, let me back up for just a minute. Matthew had spent the better part of last week mad at me because he felt he should get to go to the auction. In his little mind (and I really can't blame him) a night at the bowling alley with a bunch of the teachers and parents sounded really cool. And it was, it just wasn't for kids (Yay! oh, sorry) and he had a really hard time understanding that. So when Andy and I got home last night, he was still pouting about not getting to go. Until I told him about what I had bought. Then he was quite pleased.

So the chair was made by the kids in Matthew's first grade class and the idea was based on the work of Eric Carle, you know....The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Brown Bear, Brown Bear What do You See?, and our current favorite, Mr. Seahorse. Each child did some sort of animal, bird, or flower, drawn on paper and then they picked out tissue scraps in whatever colors they wanted and one of the lovely moms (I helped out in the classroom with the drawing part) put all the artwork on the chair and some embellishments. And it turned out great! One of my favorite animals is the little pig in the above picture....it's on the bottom row in the middle. I should take a close up picture of it.....it has the most darling curly tail. Matthew's animal is actually in the very top picture. It's the bird/dinosaur looking thing that's red with green feet. Love it! ;) This morning, Matthew wrote me and daddy a little note, professing his gratitude.

Budyful, don't you think?

Bet You Didn't Find This In Your Underwear!

2008-03-06T20:50:00.000-08:00

So yesterday morning I got up, made the kids breakfast, drank only one cup of coffee (perhaps I needed more), and then took a shower. As I was rushing (late as always) to get dressed to get Matthew to school on time, I heard something small and plastic drop to the floor in the bathroom. It had fallen from my (clean!) underwear that I had just unfolded. What could it be? Wait for it................... a very tiny, plastic police flashlight that goes to one of Matthew's Playmobil sets. Obviously, it had gone through the wash. And somewhere...someone has a damn sick sense of humour.

Wii play

2008-02-29T23:13:00.000-08:00

This would be Matthew kicking Richard's ass in boxing on the wii, back in January. I think what I find most interesting is that while this type of gaming can be a lot of fun, there is also this impressive ability in playing to make one look like a complete doofus.

This is How He Watches T.V.

2008-02-25T09:08:00.000-08:00

He starts out like this...

And ends up like this...

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-02-21T22:20:00.001-08:00

Once Upon A Time.....

2008-02-21T21:42:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time.... I was very (naturally!) blonde and had straight hair!

Once upon a time.... I could actually get a tan (and so could my mother!)

That's my dad, Carol, me, and my mom (w/her very tan back to the camera)

Once upon a time.... me and Tyson enjoyed lots of time at the beach house!

Shaving Needs

2008-02-15T21:40:00.000-08:00

For Valentine's Day I bought the boys some Valentine candy corn (pink and red and white of course!) and "shaving kits" for the bath! Originally, I saw these bath toy shaving kits at Cost Plus and was going to just buy one for Mason. However, upon inspection, I figured there would be fights if I only bought one so Matthew got one too. They were a hit.... it is hard to find a good bath toy for kids that are getting a little bit older. Most bath toys seem to be for the 1-2 year old set.

The boys played with their shaving kits again tonight and totally enjoyed them.

Speaking of enjoying things....tonight Andy and I have been watching the BBC show "Coupling". Oh my, we have not laughed so damn hard in so long over a show..... I must say I highly recommend watching! Good old British humour! :)

King Ladebug and Matthew

2008-02-11T09:29:00.001-08:00

These were taken on January 31st when Matthew brought his "ladebug" home. At his school there was an artist in residency and this time the project involved clay. So all the kids made bugs and the bugs were sculpted, painted and fired up and on the last day I went in to help the kids attach the eyeballs, wings, and legs. The bugs turned out so very cute and I was impressed at the creativity! :)

This last picture is one that Karin took during class of Robert, Matthew, and Jackson with their prized creations!

Is it Spring Yet?

2008-02-10T20:45:00.000-08:00

I am not a winter kind of gal. Sure, I enjoy the occasional snow fall (and in Portland, occasional is the word) and this winter it seems snow has been a rather constant. Except for those of us living here in Southeast Portland!!! Some snow in the rain is about all I seemed to have seen here in January. Now up at my work.....snow seems to make weekly, if not daily, appearances in January and February. Check out my friend Diane's blog on the events of last weekend, beautiful sights indeed! But I am tired of winter. Tired of extremely cold rain, tired of the only time spent outdoors involves wet and mud, tired of hats and gloves wherever we go, and tired of constant grey skies. I need a little brightness once in awhile!

Well, someone must have been listening to me whine and got tired of that as well. Because Saturday turned out to be quite a remarkable day weatherwise and managed to inspire me with some extra energy. Andy actually spent the morning running errands (and yay! I didn't have to go!)so I actually got a lot of cleaning and airing out of the house. I just totally felt the need for all windows open and a good airing out of things. By the time lunchtime came, Andy was home so we all ate and then headed outside for a little bike riding. It felt like it had been sooooo long since the kids had been on the bikes and obviously I was right. We had to adjust the seat on Matthew's bike since he was practically eating his knees! :)

The boys started out with coats but that soon ended and so did the training wheels for Matthew. OK...so he can't ride the bike yet without them but he was super willing to try and him and Andy spent a good portion of their time outside working on bike riding.

Mason tired out pretty quick and of course ended up down for a nap later on. We all went inside but I had planned on a nice long walk for me but Matthew decided to join me. I had planned on going to Mirador but I wan't sure if the walk there would be a little much for Matthew. He was a trouper though, and gladly walked down there with me. I had some cash set aside (I'm rather embarrassed to say for how long!)and had wanted to buy some sandwhich wraps for Matthew's lunches. They are called wrap-n-mats and are rather nifty little ways of wrapping up your sandwhich without having to use plastic baggies. I had seen them before and had wanted to get a few but I had also wanted Matthew to be able to pick out his own. So he did (his is very patriotic themed, stars and stripes!) and I also bought a shower curtain. Bright red and non-plastic and chemical-free! I left feeling quite pleased with myself and had hoped to make it back to the other end of Division street for a coffee at Stumptown but we ended up at Starbucks just across the street since Matthew was getting tired at this point and also really needed to use the bathroom. So after snacks and coffee it was back home and needless to say....Matthew slept really well that night!! ;)

Rockin' Purse

2008-01-31T09:24:00.000-08:00

New purse for me!!!! Does this totally rock or what??

So I went to Queen Bee with a friend and went shopping!! Apparently, Queen Bee has been making their 'record' purses for 10 years now and as of January 2008 they have decided not to make anymore. I had actually been admiring these for quite some time but never got around to purchasing one. And thank goodness I finally did. I forget what the regular price used to be on this purse but I ended up paying $22.00 for it. What a steal! I ended up paying more for the wallet below.

I couldn't resist the cupcake and loved the color combo too! I had actually forgotten to photograph the wallet until the last minute and literally dropped what I was doing (scrapbooking) and took the picture. The paper went well with the wallet! I don't have the purse right in front of me or I would tell you what 45's are actually in the record purse. I will have to check and get back to this later..... and yes they are real 45's sewn into the purse. Another great addition to the collection! :)

Because the p.j.s (and kids too) are so cute.....

2008-01-16T20:51:00.000-08:00

last of the leftover Christmas pictures I swear! But I couldn't resist.... This was the scene on Christmas eve, milk and cookies/pumpkin cupcake for Santa. I was so behind this Christmas season I hadn't even made cookies! The horror! So Santa had to settle for store bought Trader Joe's peppermint jo jo's as described here. But the cupcake was homemade! Anyway.....the kids were so excited (particularly Mason) that the photographs in front of the tree after placing the cookies in their proper spot turned out mostly like this.....

I think I have about six shots of this picture and in almost all of them, Mason is a blur. He could not stop moving his body! Oh well, I guess that's what makes memories. ;)

The next morning, Andy surprisingly got a decent shot of the boys after Santa came. And then the real shocker...... (and pardon the freshly drowned rat look!)

Even mama got a present! :)

Kid Andy

2008-01-04T19:07:00.000-08:00

So I don't have many pictures of young Andy but here is pretty much what I do have......(actually there may be one more picture that I can think of)

In the baseball picture Andy is nine...and on the back it said he weighed all of 75 lb.!!! Must be who Matthew takes after! ;) The other one is Kenny and Andy and I have no idea what age....although the occasion was for their Aunt Kim's wedding. Cute little boys!

And I just found these pictures today. I think Grandma Dee Dee took them on her very non-digital camera when Matthew was a baby. The two top ones I think Matthew was about 4 1/2 months 'ish'. In the bottom one, Matthew is a little older but Grandpa is enjoying him just as much! ;)

Whoa....too much fun going on over here

2008-01-02T15:45:00.000-08:00

Hee Hee....I went to Grandma's today with the kids and managed to snag a few pictures before I left. Right about now I really should be cleaning the house but I couldn't resist posting some pictures that I scanned! Loving the scanner.....

Oh my parents are just going to love me for this one! OK so this is my parents and I believe the date on the photo's said June 1969. Gee....I bet you couldn't tell! Just kids there I tell ya! I believe this was taken before they were married and with my mom's old dog Paddy. I guess I shouldn't say Paddy was my mom's since I think really she was my grandpa's dog. I grew up hearing lots of stories about Paddy dog and wish I had seen her!

So the top black and white pic is of my Grandparents (my mom's parents) before they were married....mid 1940's I believe. The middle pic is my Grandma with my uncle so must have been 1947 (?). The bottom is my grandpa with one of his nephews (I know at one time I was told which one and at the moment I have forgotten). This one also must have been early to mid 1940's. I still find it fascinating to see my grandpa on the ground and bending like a normal person because by the time I could remember him, he had arthritis so bad and was working on a couple of hip replacements as well. Oh and one more picture just for fun....

Tigger and Punky!! These were my grandparents cats that me and Tyson remember.....my grandpa got a kick out of them! They actually belonged to neighbors but moved into my grandparents house and had good lives there. I think this picture is more for my brothers sake so enjoy Tys!!

Happy 2008!!

2007-12-31T15:02:00.000-08:00

For Christmas, Andy bought me a new scanner/printer/photo-printer. I have never owned a scanner! (yes I am living in the dark ages!!) anyway, I wanted to test it out so here is a picture of Matthew at I think around 4 months old taken at Picture People. It was the first thing I could quickly find to scan....and it worked. Now I must go find something of Andy....... Happy New Year to everyone!!!

oh and as a side note....this was my 100th post! :)

Happy Birthday Andy

2007-12-30T21:47:00.000-08:00

Happy 36th Birthday Andy! I will find more embarrassing photo's later, in the meantime the pics of the new wii will have to work. ;) Love you!

Seeing Santa

2007-12-30T21:33:00.000-08:00

We have actually been going to the same "Santa" at Pioneer Place ever since Matthew was a 1. We finally saw Santa about a week before Christmas and let me just say, I was beginning to stress about it since time was flying by! If I could have skipped it, I would have but the kids kept at me so of course we had to go see him! The boys totally loved it (of course) and it was actually good for me too since it forced me to slow down for a short time during such a busy holiday season.

And just as an "after Christmas note"....(and I will still post a few more Christmas pics soon) Mason loves his slippers from Grandma Georgia and Grandpa Tim. See???