The Misadventures of.......

I'm back! (maybe)

2012-01-29T20:26:00.000-08:00

It's been a L O N G time since I've been here...just seeing if this still works :)

Here's the kiddos in San Fran last April (2011)

Naissa and Savannah

2010-09-03T16:39:00.000-07:00

slowly getting back to normal

2009-06-26T15:46:00.000-07:00

Dixie & Savannah

T-Ball

2009-05-19T17:34:00.000-07:00

Monterey

2009-05-19T17:11:00.000-07:00

Dixie and Savannah

2009-05-19T16:02:00.000-07:00

2009-05-19T15:43:00.000-07:00

Jade Percussion

2009-04-07T10:27:00.000-07:00

Choir

2009-04-07T09:59:00.000-07:00

Jog-a-thon

2009-04-07T09:34:00.000-07:00

Zack

2009-03-04T21:22:00.000-08:00

Zack:

Basketball

Block T

Writer of the Quarter

Choir

Percussion

& with Gracie

Winter 2008-2009

Apricot Tree

2009-03-04T21:07:00.000-08:00

I was so excited today when I saw the apricot tree was beginning to bloom. Not because I like apricots, because I don't, but simply because we have an apricot tree and what good is a fruit bearing tree that doesn't bear fruit? When we got this house (Summer before last) there were apricots all over the ground and some still in the tree. But this last year there was very little fruit and what little fruit there was, was hanging all on the other side of the fence in our neighbors yard! So I am thrilled to see signs of life sprouting from each branch in this tree. It's just beautiful and it's only just begun! Who knows? Maybe I'll be passing out bags of apricots this year!

Visit to Somerset

2009-02-19T13:19:00.000-08:00

In January we took a trip to visit my cousins in Somerset. There was a tree swing that the kids had a blast on. Cousin Jay was so great in pushing the kids on the swing and carrying Naissa from one high spot to another because she was afraid of the dog. She got brave when she finally realized that Bear (the dog) wasn't interested in chasing her or eating her. In fact he just wanted to kick it in the sun.
We got to visit with Dan and Christa (more cousins) who have 2 little ones and another due here in the next couple of weeks. It was a quick visit but totally worth the drive and the blowing up air mattresses and packing for all the "what ifs" and driving in the yucky weather and having my dad drive for me when I got drowsy. (Jim didn't go)

Look what's stole my heart

2009-02-17T03:32:00.000-08:00

*Gracie*Mercy*Kaya*

Raspberry Glasses

2009-02-16T23:00:00.000-08:00

Jade's not too fond of this picture and I didn't fix the red eye before uploading it but I wanted a picture of her with her new glasses. She had been complaining that she couldn't see, especially in the classroom for a while so we finally made her an appointment. When she went to the eye doctor we found that her eyes were 20/30 and 20/100! This was much worse than the 20/50 in that eye only a few months ago. There is a name for this but all I can remember about it is that it begins with the letter A and is rather long. Jade is thrilled to be able to see again. I think she looks cute in her raspberry colored glasses.

With bells on

2009-02-16T22:56:00.000-08:00

Naissa glued bells onto her feet.

She didn't have a reason other than "because"

2009-02-13T12:25:00.000-08:00

One of the reasons I have not blogged in a while.

The Best Ride in the Park

2009-01-07T00:05:00.000-08:00

This is just a quick clip of the Best Ride in the Park!

The Sheer Awesomeness of this ride cannot possibly

be captured and fully experienced unless you were there - lol!

ToonTown

2009-01-06T23:42:00.000-08:00

A little more Disney

2009-01-06T23:21:00.000-08:00

Naissa and Isaac in front of Sleeping Beauty's Castle.

They re-opened the walk-thru tour

after being closed since 9/11.

The castle was awesome at night with

the "snow" and the lights.

Naissa with some unknown princess at the Princess place

(not the actual name)

Naissa wanted to stay and watch the show,

which we did but it was super duper cold!

Naissa and Isaac both made and crowns.

Naissa danced the princess dance.

I nearly punched a lady.

The Princess Pole dance - ha!

The lady on the right with her hands up

is the lady I wanted to punch (about 32 times!)

She kept stepping right in front of me

and blocking my view and my reach of Naissa...

no matter where I went!

It was as if it was her own personal goal to tick me off!

But she didn't steal Naissa's Joy!

More from the Merriest Place on Earth

2009-01-06T19:56:00.000-08:00

Teacups!

Bug's Life Teacups (not their official name)
Autopia!
It has been years since the last time I drove an Autopia car!
I think the last time was when Leesha was
like Isaac's age...
before Jade!
So Isaac and I went in one car
and Jim and Naissa went in another.
Isaac decided he didn't want to drive the car anymore
after about a minute!
I was already pushing the pedal with my left foot
but then I had to steer with my left hand!
(Isaac and I are the only ones
who are right handed in the fam!)
So if you were there when we were....
I was the Autopia driver you were laughing at,
as our car jerked us from right to left and
right to left and then stopped
and jerked forward!
Yep! Good times!
So, after a L O N G day in the park
we decided to eat at a restaurant outside the park.
The wait for a table for 9 took forever!
So long that my 3 boys fell asleep
on the booth in the entryway.
After dinner taking "forever" the kids were exhausted and barely put up a fight when we put them all in the same bed! (HeeHee!) I couldn't help but sing as I took this picture..."There were Four in the bed and the little one said...roll over...roll over...so they all rolled over and one fell out there were Three in the bed and the little one said...."

The Merriest Place on Earth

2009-01-06T16:01:00.000-08:00

Once again we were blessed to get to visit

the Merriest (Happiest) Place on Earth

during Christmas vacation.

As soon as everyone was home from school

we got serious about packing

so we could leave early Saturday morning.

Isaac wanted to pack his own suitcase.

I let him but told him I would be checking.

This is what he packed....Stuffed MAC (his dog),

stuffed Clifford, pajama pants and pajama shorts,

a red dress up Fireman shirt and

a whole lotta Super Squad guys!

Jade and Zack fight more than any other sibling combo,

yet put them in the front seat of the Pirate's ride

and they manage to put their crap aside

at least for the ride.

Usually while everyone who is over 40" tall

goes on the "big" rides,

my dad and I take those under 40"

to see Santa and his reindeer.

We decorate cookies, watch the shows,

take pictures with Santa and just relax.

The cookies usually only get one or two bites

taken out of them but the fun part is the decorating.

The Character Magnet, Zack with Chip

Naissa and Isaac on the Winnie the Pooh ride

Naissa, Isaac and Pooh

Zack and G-ma Sharon are behind Jim, Leesha and Jade.

Leesha had just splashed water in Jade's face.

Goofy's Kitchen

2009-01-06T13:52:00.000-08:00

In keeping with tradition,

we had brunch at Goofy's Kitchen.

I always find it odd that it is Goofy's Kitchen

and yet we always get our picture taken with Pluto?!

I guess it's because Goofy is IN his kitchen?

Anyway, we always have fun watching

how the kids will react to the characters.

Naissa for some reason has not liked the chipmunks

for the last 5 years!

This year she remembered how she didn't

like them before but took a picture with Dale.

The food is always good and

it's probably the meal the kids eat the most.

PB&J pizza, mac&cheese, mini hot dogs,

mickey shaped chicken pieces and

all the wonderful breakfast foods

and lots and lots of desserts.

As I was taking the above picture

and looking to my left,

Baloo the bear came up behind me (on my right)

and as Jim called my name

I turned towards him,

only to see a big bear schnozzle in my face!

Yep, I let out a little "AHH!"

and Jim laughed and laughed.

Baloo laughed too and then hugged me.

Then Baloo decided to mess with Jim.

He took off his hat and teased him.

When we first came in Baloo had taken Zack's hat

and posed for a picture with him.

Alice (in Wonderland) also came over and

flirted with Zack,

making him take off his hat for a picture.

Zack blushed.

He was our Character Magnet this trip...

attracting Characters throughout the park.

A little blurry but Naissa took a picture with

this previously feared Chipmunk, Dale.

We learned that dentists refer to a big gap

in your teeth as a dale

and that is how you tell Chip from Dale.

Dale has a gap, Chip doesn't.

Santa's Elves Workshop

2009-01-06T13:30:00.000-08:00

My mom sent Naissa and Isaac to the Santa's Elves Workshop.

For several weeks they made Elf hats, aprons, necklaces

and Christmas cards and such.

They then dressed up and went with Santa and Mrs. Claus

to the Tree Lighting Ceremony in Clovis.

They rode in on a trolley covered in Christmas lights.

Beforehand Santa gave all the little Elves a

certificate of "Elfenticity" (yeah, I just made that word up-ha!)

and bags of goodies.

They didn't have to wait in a long line to tell Santa

what they wanted for Christmas either. (an Elf perk)

After the Tree was lit there were cookies and hot cocoa

and a really long line to see Santa.

It was a lot of fun for the kids. (and us parents too)

and he shoots....and he scores...and the Spartans win 42-40 over the Panthers

2009-01-06T13:10:00.000-08:00

2009-01-06T12:22:00.000-08:00

Isaac started Preschool in December.

We thought he would begin in January

but they were ready for him before Christmas,

which meant he got to sing in their Christmas

(Winter...whatever) program.

Only thing is he didn't want to sing.

So he just stood up there with all the other kids looking cute.

(Isaac's 1st day)

OHIO

2009-01-06T11:58:00.000-08:00

My mom, my son Isaac and I went to Ohio to visit with my Aunt Thelma and Uncle Bob.

Thelma is my Grandma Ruth's sister. My grandma died in 1984.

I think the last time we were in Ohio Zack was Isaac's age!

This was Isaac's first plane trip and mine since before 9/11 and yes I was a little nervous. Last time I flew I didn't have to take off my shoes or remove my portable dvd player. Last time I flew I didn't have to fit all my liquids into a small ziplock. Not knowing if we would get stuck somewhere and being the *what if* person that I am, I had to pack *extras* in my carry-on. Extra clothes for Isaac, extra snack, extra book, extra batteries,

extra little things to do *if* this or that happened.

Our flight left at 6 something AM and we were told to get to the airport 2 hours earlier. Glad we did. There was a ginormous line at the *take off your shoes and dump your bags* stop. I was tired of carrying those bags before we even got to the front of the line!

We all made it through inspection and were waiting for our bags and shoes when the inspection guy pulls our bin off the belt and digs around, pulling out Isaac's shoes! I thought Oh crap Isaac's wearing shoes that aren't allowed on the plane, he's gonna have to fly barefoot! But then I saw the guy laugh and share with the other people behind the belt...turns out Isaac's light up shoes were setting off a warning...due to the blinking lights!

Isaac got his shoes and we boarded the plane!

We pretty much slept all the way to Texas.

We went to the park that we go to every time we visit. We walked around the pond with my Uncle a few times. Isaac loved getting to run after spending a day in airports and on planes.
We tend to eat at the same places whenever we are back East. Bob Evans is a staple for my Aunt and Uncle who eat out for dinner every night. We ate there a couple of times as well as Cracker Barrel, my favorite for good country cookin'!

It is absolutely gorgeous in November! The leaves were falling in so many shades of browns, reds and oranges. It was all I could do to not run up into people's yards and grab up their leaves and throw 'em in the air or jump in 'em! This is the street my Aunt and Uncle live on.

We had a great time visiting and I wish Ohio was closer to California so I could see them more.

Isaac loved getting to fly on an airplane and see the top of the clouds.

He watched for our plane to come in and our luggage to make it on - which it did! :)

(Don't ya just love the bruising near his eye? That was a gift from Zack before we left.)

Gracie and Kaya

2008-11-25T00:42:00.000-08:00

2008-11-20T09:26:00.000-08:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

So true, I had to copy

2008-11-04T19:03:00.000-08:00

God is sovereign.
God is good.
He will provide just as He always has.
Everything is going to be alright.

http://stufffchristianslike.blogspot.com/2008/11/432-election-post-you-have-to-write.html

Favorite past pumpkins

2008-10-30T01:32:00.000-07:00

pumpkins

2008-10-30T01:20:00.000-07:00

We took the kids to pick out pumpkins.

I think we'll grow our own next year.

Naissa decided to *paint* Isaac's pumpkin

with Zack's face paint

and the brush that goes with the hair clippers

Here are daddy's glasses

2008-10-30T01:15:00.000-07:00

Naissa's reflection

2008-10-30T01:11:00.000-07:00

NAISSA

REFLECTING on the SCRATCHES she made on my CAR

with a STICK

Jade on Tenor

2008-10-30T01:01:00.000-07:00

Jade is playing tenor drums this year.

She got to play with the high school at one of the football games.

First Grade to the Fair

2008-10-29T23:49:00.000-07:00

Jim, Isaac and I got to go to the Fair with Naissa's first grade class. We spent some time playing in the stinky farm animal area. I can't remember if we went to the fair last year or if it's been two years since we last went, but there were new things to see and smell this time. A musical section - very cool! They even had a "Super Dooper Pooper Scooper Station" where kids could use pooper scoopers to pick up fake poop! Not sure that made the top 10 list with these kids but Hey...it made us laugh!

The girls tried milking the fake cow and came out giggling.
The girls and Betsy the Cow (the boys had already moved on to the next station)
Isaac in the play area....before we lost him.

Naissa panning for gold.

Naissa after the lady said there was NO GOLD and that they were just panning for rocks!

Naissa with some friends.

The girls at the top of the Tree Fort.

As the girls walked away from Smokey they asked

"How's he gonna tell us about fire if he can't talk?"
good question.

Zack and Football

2008-10-29T22:46:00.000-07:00

Zack has been looking forward to playing sports at school

since he was in first grade.

You can't play football, basketball,

baseball etc...until 5th grade.

#55

We pulled Naissa out of school so she could

*CHEER*

for her brother and the rest of the team.

(She was just thrilled)

Zack got to *verse*
(that's what the kids call it - not just mine)
a few of his friends this season.
One of them was Ryan.

Way to go Zack!

Football is my least favorite sport for kids to play in school.

(Except for wrestling but thankfully Zack didn't want to wrestle)

Zack has come home just beat up from this sport.

Headaches, goose eggs, black eye, muscle aches,

scratched lip from some guys dirty fingernail

(and yes I know it was dirty,these kids are 10-12,

they don't wash their hands)

One day Zack came home and laid down

saying his head hurt.

Being the sympathetic mom that I am

I told him to get up and take something for it

so he could get his homework done.

It wasn't until after dinner that Zack told us

he had been put up against the biggest kid on the team.

(Zack = under 70lbs and Big Kid = 124lbs+)

Zack caught the ball, coach blew the whistle

and the Big Kid still tackled him.....

cracking Zack's helmet and popping his neck!

OMG!!! Why is he still playing?!!

IDK?!

Another game the ambulance was called out TWICE!

Only one more game left

then I can switch my worrying gears to

Basketball!

Aren't there less injuries in basketball?

Aniah and Tiahna's Birthday at the Tea House

2008-10-29T22:09:00.000-07:00

Naissa and Kaylin enjoying lemonade and tea

at the Tea House for Aniah and Tiahna's birthdays.

Shaleena bought the girls princess dresses,

tiaras and jewelry to wear.

Naissa and Kaylin
Aniah, Tiahna, Kaylin and Naissa

Silly Princesses

Who woulda thought a plate of cucumbers, salad,

hard dry bread and chicken sandwiches

with the crusts cut off

would cost $16.50!?!

I'm guessing it was the edible flower!

The girls had a great time.

They got to drink fancy tea

and eat little PB&J, PB&H, Cream Cheese & Jelly

and Egg sandwiches all with the crust cut off.

Then they were brought little wiener wraps

and cup cakes!

All dressed up and treated like

Princesses!

Natalie Grant - I Will Not Be Moved - Official Music Video

2008-10-16T13:46:00.001-07:00

One of many reasons "Boys Will Be Boys" is Crap

2008-10-13T22:11:00.000-07:00

Today was yet another reason, in my book,

as to why the excuse that boys will be boys is just crap.

An excuse to hurt other people...like women blaming

EVERYTHING on hormones.

Yes, boys do stupid things and

hormones can aid in making a woman crazy (ha!)

but to play everything off as such is pure

C-R-A-P.

I think pride and big egos are why boys

do many stupid things.

Boys need to be tough, or at least appear as though they are.

If that means hurting another boy to make them feel

like the man they aren't,

then that's exactly what they do.

It is not easy to be on the losing team,

or to get beaten by your opponent,

but to do so with a good attitude far surpasses

any winner who has a bad attitude.

Just because you got knocked down in a scrimmage

and had to dust your pride and

big talking off the seat of your pants,

doesn't give you the right to seek revenge

on the guy who was just doing

what he was supposed to in the game.

To use an object, such as a football helmet

to inflict pain on another,

especially when they don't have time

to defend themselves,

is just LOW.

It's a good thing some boys can admit

when they've made a bad decision

and say sorry when they are wrong.

It's a good thing that some boys

can forgive as quickly as things happen.

Too bad this mom doesn't process that quickly.

The Zoo

2008-10-13T22:00:00.000-07:00

We went to the Zoo a couple of weeks ago with some friends.

I think it's been over a year since we've gone.

It was our first time seeing the Sting Ray Bay,

the black footed cat (only weighs 2 lbs!),

the grass where the hippo used to be,

a camel and a couple of cranes where the bison used to be

and a couple of other little changes.

My all time favorite has always been the tigers.

This one below had been smelling around a plant

and came up with that "cat pee high".

If you have a cat at home you probably know

what I'm talking about.

Pumpkin Farter Picture

2008-10-03T23:45:00.000-07:00

Praise Alliteration (P)

2008-10-01T09:27:00.000-07:00

Praise the Precious name of Jesus,
the Prince of Peace
For this Punk’s Penalty your Palms were Pierced
You didn’t Partake in my Pity Party
but by your Power you Plucked me out
of the Painful Pit I was Playing in.
You forgave my Prickly Past and
Poured in me your Perfect Peace
Your Patience Perplexes your People
You provide for my Plate,
You O God are my Portion
Protect me from Prideful People
who Pursue Prosperity by Picking on the Poor
My Patella’s are Planted on the Pavement
as I Proclaim your Praise
Even as I Pause and Ponder,
you are Preparing for me a
Permanent Pad in Paradise.

You want a what?!?

2008-09-26T23:23:00.000-07:00

Zack needed a mouth piece today for football,

so Isaac and I went to Target to look for one.

One our way in we stopped to look at the

Dollar Halloween stuff.

Isaac was taking his time looking at

each thing and asking what it was,

if he didn't know.

As he scooted along the shelf he stopped

and grabbed up an item and turned to me and said....

"Puh-Leeeeeesse Can I have a Pumpkin Farter???"

With puzzlement crossing my face

I looked into his little hands

to see him holding proudly....

a whoopie cushion with a pumpkin face on it!

Of course

I had to buy it for a buck

just because I didn't want to forget

to tell Jim about the "pumpkin farter".

My memory ain't working so well these days...

a little too much stress, mess, bills,

lack of sleep & nutrition

and just plain craziness in the world!

But Praise God we can find Joy

in the little things like

"Pumpkin Farters"!

AMEN??

Simon's Cat 'Cat Man Do'

2008-09-18T16:13:00.001-07:00

Simon's Cat 'TV Dinner'

2008-09-18T16:11:00.003-07:00

Simon's Cat 'Let Me In!'

2008-09-18T16:11:00.001-07:00

30 second Barbie Wannabe

2008-09-17T21:42:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you gotta pay a little extra for the real deal.

99 cent Wannabe Barbie didn't last 30 seconds in the car before her legs fell off.

Imagine my daughter's devastation when she tried to take this wannabe out of the package and her legs remained in the plastic! "I don't want this stupid Barbie! She's got no legs now!" Then came the tears. I couldn't help but laugh. I had tried to explain to her that it wasn't a "real" Barbie and how she would probably lose her head if she tried to fix her hair.

By the time we drove the 2 minutes it took to get home

Poor Wannabe had not only lost her legs and her head but her arms as well!

I thought my daughter had learned a lesson about cheap toys

but when we went back to the store (they had bamboo for $1)

she wanted to try her luck on Wannabe Polly Pocket.

UGH!!!
I managed to talk her into some stale candy instead!

Gunner

2008-09-15T20:09:00.000-07:00

Gunner is now our free roaming backyard bunny. He's the size of two of our cats and bigger than the third one. He likes to nibble on my plants and flowers, which has not caused noticeable damage, so I've been okay with it. But when I went out to check his water today I found him eating my aloe plant....nearly the entire thing!!

I have been really lazy about blogging lately. I've uploaded pictures but have not posted them. I now have like 4 posts just sitting in the drafts, just needing a little editing. I thought I'd start with this one, because the story is so short. Have a rabbit, he runs loose outside, he ate my plant! Yep! So maybe in the next couple of days I'll get my rear in gear and post the rest.

Isaac and the Yellow Crayon

2008-08-29T11:08:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I noticed that Isaac had this yellow thing in his hand that I hadn’t seen before so I asked him what it was and he told me how he got it from Zack and it was a yellow fat crayon. So as I look closer I see that it has a price sticker on it from a store we had gone to the day before. I knelt down and asked Isaac if he had really gotten it from Zack or if he had gotten in from the store? I said tell mom the truth. So he did. He told me he got it from the store and that he took it because he never had a big fat yellow crayon like that and he wanted one because Naissa and Zack and Jade got lots of stuff for school and he didn’t get stuff.

Wow! Okay, well I had to take a quick moment to sort out my emotions from the fact that he stole this yellow crayon eraser from a store. I felt bad for him, because what he said was true. His siblings had gotten school supplies…because they are in school. He is at home with me and has access (well, approved access) to all kinds of supplies; they just aren’t specifically “his”.
When I told Jim about the yellow crayon, I asked his opinion on my dilemma. Should I make my son take it back to the store? I believe that is the right thing to do, however, the store is clear across town and as everybody knows gas ain’t cheap. I know it shouldn’t matter that the thing only cost 99 cents, it’s the fact that he took it! But let me tell you what happened when we did this with my other son…

Several years ago we had gone to Target as a family. When we got home we found that our other son had brought a gift card home with him. It obviously didn’t have any money on it, but he stole it from the store. He wanted it because of the picture on it, so he put it in his pocket. We decided he would have to return it to the store and confess what he had done and “pay the consequences” which would most likely be a stern talking to about how stealing is wrong and how you could go to jail etc…

So Jim takes him to the store and he confesses and goes to return the stolen gift card and the guy working there tells him, there’s nothing on it, it’s okay, it’s no big deal, you can keep it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What the crap??

We then had to explain to our son how the guy working there was wrong, stealing is not okay…even if the item has no value. We did not allow him to keep it and I’m not sure he fully understood all that went on.

So my dilemma now, is what if I drive all the way back to this store and I encounter something similar? Can I consider this dealt with since I’ve taken the yellow crayon eraser…that says, “Jesus colors my world” on it by the way, away and explained how taking things that don’t belong to you is wrong?? UGH!!!

Happy Birthday

2008-08-28T11:02:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Old Man!!

3 weeks old!

2008-08-28T10:28:00.000-07:00

Alice has taken the first step of letting go. She has pushed her babies out of the igloo and will go in there by herself, I'm sure, for a little break. Occasionally a couple of babies manage to get in there with her but mostly it's a nice haven for her. Can you imagine having 12 babies...all the same age...all nursing?? You might as well just forget wearing clothes for several months. Don't worry about losing those extra "baby" pounds because you will lose them as you will never have a chance to get yourself something to eat. Peace and quiet and your body as your own...forget about it!
It's probably a good thing that mice don't have the emotions that we do, they don't carry grudges or feel resentful. I'm thinking the mortality rate of all male mice would be really high.

Poor Alice, She's got 12 blind little mice that catch her scent when she scurries by and they all just lunge at her and drag themselves underneath her trying to nurse. She literally just sprawls out on top of them and they treat her like the rock star who has jumped into the crowd to be passed around from one fan to another, above their heads and they just move her this way and that. She looks like one of those parachutes the kids play with at school, where they raise it up and the kids run underneath....yep! That's Alice! Not much longer little one!

I've been trying to tell if we've got boys or girls and though the "experts" say you can tell by this that and the other...I can't tell the difference. I'm thinking I either have all baby boys or the "experts" are wrong. (which you know happens all the time) Nothing like a little experience to upset a theory - - - can't remember where I heard that - - - but it's true!

So those are Alice's babies up there. They still haven't opened their eyes and yet some of the "experts" say that they should start weaning at 3 weeks! I, however, am not going to remove them from their mama until they are able to eat regular food on their own. The mama is shelling peanuts as big as her babies right now.

Back to School

2008-08-25T10:28:00.000-07:00

Kristi: How ya doing Naissa?
Naissa: I'm feeling a little nervous.

Kristi: About what?

Naissa: What if the kids at school laugh at me?

Kristi: Why would they laugh at you?

Naissa: Because I do the chicken dance.

Kristi is at a loss for words

Naissa brushes her teeth and comes back.

Naissa: Will the sun be up yet when I have to go to school?

With all the excitement of going back to school I think the anxiety gets covered up. It's easy to hide behind a new backpack or new outfit or seeing some of your friends you haven't seen all Summer. Finding out you are in the same class as some of those friends is great but still the unknown beckons loudly and your stomach aches a little and it's hard to eat dinner and you can't fall asleep and when you finally do you wake up to the sound of the neighbors dog and you are right back where you started.....awake! The kids are not alone in this, us parents feel it too. We ask many of the same questions the kids are asking. Will the teacher be nice or mean? Will they give lots of homework? Will they give lots of homework on the first day of school? Will my kids fall asleep in class on the first day because they barely slept all night? Will my kids still be friends with the same kids? Will they know what to do and where to go and get there in time if they have to go to the bathroom? Will they do well this year? Will they feel left out? Will girls be girls and be mean and nasty one minute and best friends the next? Will boys be boys and beat each other up on the basketball court both physically and verbally and then high five each other later? Will my child feel safe? Will they be able to develop into the person God created them to be without too many scars from their childhood....I have heard many people say that tough times make tough people but us moms hate to see our children hurting. And kids these days can be just so mean.

So many thoughts going on the first day of school. I'm sure there will be less of them on the second day and hopefully even less on the third day. That's how it goes. Until the new becomes the regular, the usual, the norm. We all just want our kids to be okay, do well, make friends, learn good stuff, be safe and to come home with a smile at the end of the day.

Isaac

2008-08-22T01:45:00.000-07:00

Isaac was playing good guys and bad guys, switching back and forth as he played, when he came into talk to his mom.

Isaac: I'm gonna kill myself.

Kristi: I don't want you to pretend to kill anyone. When you kill someone, they die and they don't come back. Let's not pretend to kill. How about you just fight them instead. You can flatten them like a pancake or karate chop them or throw blueberries at them or sword fight them or spar with them or even kick 'em in the butt but no killing.

Isaac laid his head down on his arm which was on mom's desk and was quiet for a moment. Kristi feeling she had done her job of explaining and giving other options picked up her pen and began to write when Isaac spoke.

Isaac: Tomorrow can I?

Feeling frustrated yet wanting to laugh she answered sharply.

Kristi: No

Isaac: How 'bout bake 'em in a cake?

Kristi nodded and smiled and off he went to play. A few moments later he was heard talking.

Isaac: I'm gonna kick him's butt off.

My Critters

2008-08-21T23:27:00.000-07:00

I've got mice on the brain. We went to our friend's 55th wedding anniversary celebration last Sunday and the nuts on my plate reminded me of the baby mice and I could not enjoy them. This is Gunner.

We used to call him Gunpowder but that was before Lead died.

Now he's just Gunner.

I enjoy him tremendously.

I let him run loose in the backyard everyday.

He loves it.

He's big enough the cats don't mess with him.

They are still curious and will follow him

but when Gunner sniffs or hops towards them,

they move away.

(And my cats aren't the scaredy kind,

they taunt the dogs behind us

and Harley's son Zeke used to chase

the neighbor's dog whenever they walked by)

(a big dog...not one of those toy dogs you carry in a purse).

We have some zucchini plants that

Gunner likes to hide and sleep under

and I'm sure he's the one who has been

nibbling on them as well. Josiah Shazaam!!
Gunner and Josiah
Alice's babies - 5 days old

Jade holding Harley while I gave Alice

more food and water.

Harley - watching Alice

We've got babies!

2008-08-17T22:13:00.000-07:00

Alice had her babies Friday (8/16) afternoon. A baker's dozen, I believe, though it's hard to tell when you're looking from underneath the tank so as not to disturb them. According to several sources (friends and google) if the momma feels threatened....she may eat her babies. If she feels like she can't take care of them all....she may eat her babies. If she doesn't have enough food or water....she may eat her babies. I can't get over the fact that all of these babies were inside her yesterday and she's already got her figure back!!

Mice, Eggs and Chocolate Milk

2008-08-16T23:16:00.000-07:00

Our mouse Alice is going to have babies.

We had to remove Angelo, formally known as Angelina,

from the tank and put him in a smaller cage

so she will have the best chance at being a good mouse mommy.

We weren't sure she was really pregnant until the last couple of days

when her tummy grew enormously!

She wouldn't hold still long enough for me to get

a really good picture so these blurry ones will have to do.

Her head used to be in proportion to her body.

Us moms know how it is the last month or so of our pregnancies,

when we can't imagine our tummys protruding any more...

yet they do.

So here is Alice and her pregnant belly.

While I was trying to take a picture of Alice, Naissa came in to tattle.

Though I am rather seasoned in tuning that sort of thing out

I still heard her say something about Isaac and eggs.

It took only about 30 seconds for me to acknowledge

that I had to go deal with this one - just in case.

As I walked towards the kitchen,

Naissa hollered at Isaac, "OOOOO You're in tra--ah--bull!

In my nicest annoyed voice I told her to back off,

I hadn't seen any messes yet.

THEN I reached the kitchen.

My jaw dropped as the words down in the darkest parts of me

came up through the bucket of my voice

and a slew of profanities

poured out into the air of my kitchen,

reaching out to grab and choke my child.

There in front of me was a mess so big

I couldn't believe it was done by one child

and in only a few short moments.

What was he thinking?

That it would please mom if she had to

clean up a hen's days work across my kitchen??

Or that we would all grab a glass

and share in the now mud-looking

watered down chocolate milk mix on the floor?

And Just for Fun,

because we want mom to really be happy,

let's throw in the grapes we just got from the store!

The entire kitchen was affected by this event -

the fridge on the other side of the room

was dripping brown juice onto the floor -

the table and chairs -

my son was splattered as were the walls...

every one!

I turned to Isaac and said, "Naissa was right -

you are in tra--ah--bull!!"

He looked at me with that Iceman sparkle in his eyes

and with pure joy reflecting off his huge smirky grin

and he said,

"But I didn't do it!"

Beaches

2008-08-14T10:14:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago my parents took us to the Coast for some beach fun and to relax from the stressors of life. We went to Pismo one day and to Morro Bay, Cayucus and Cambria the next. I took a gazillion pictures and still did not get "THE" picture of all five kids together. I admit it's not easy to focus on taking a picture when there's waves crashing behind you just double dog daring you to jump in them. Isaac was in Heaven, he loves to be outside, in the water, digging in the dirt/sand/flower beds/whatever! I think even Jim had a good time and he hates sand between his toes or in his shoes!

In Pismo the kids spent forever catching and releasing these crab like things...the poor things just weren't fast enough to burrow into the sand to get away.

Jade found a sand dollar that we were told was still alive...at least for the moment

Zack building his fortress
My mom and her alligator

Leesha's friend (not boyfriend) Brendan went with us.

He's so great with Naissa and Isaac.

The guy in the background on the left is Brendan :)
Isaac didn't want to take a picture, he wanted to kick sand.
Say "Cheeeeese Pizza!"

Jade and Isaac eating lunch near Morro Rock.

Morro Rock.

All those birds in the background are Pelicans!

I've never seen so many before.

They would just dive bomb into the water

It was crazy!

Isaac was a little distracted by the BIRDS!

4/5 at Morro Rock
The walk to Moonstone Beach
"I gotta go pee!"
Seriously?
"I gotta go pee"
But we just got down here.
"I gotta go pee!"

The rock is all MINE now!

This was one of my favorite trips to the beach. The weather was great. The kids had a blast. We all got sunburns. We only made like 14 trips to the bathroom. It wasn't too crowded. We had a great hotel suite and were able to separate fighting kids. Brendan helped entertain little ones at times. It went by too fast. I can't wait to go again.

mice

2008-08-12T14:08:00.000-07:00

A week ago I wondered if Alice could be pregnant.

Today I know she is.

Her belly is HUGE.

The picture doesn't capture it very well.

Her belly makes her head look so little

and she waddles around the tank. Angelo helps her pick out bedding to carry into their igloo.

Little do they know this will be their last day together.

I will have to put him in his own tank

to keep her from feeling threatened,

and hopefully from eating her babies.
I guess that's "normal" for first time mom's in the mouse world.

If they feel threatened, afraid, can't take care of all their children,

they just eat them. Can you imagine? I'm just praying...

because I know God cares about these things...

that I won't have any partial mice babies to remove. Ugh!

Well, I'm off to prepare Angelo's new home.

Babies could be coming any time now.

2008-08-12T00:10:00.000-07:00

Beach trip pics coming soon

Misc.

2008-08-11T23:09:00.000-07:00

My friend Ang~ gave us these two mice, that were supposed to be both girls.

When we took them home they both looked like girls, so we named them

Angelina and Alice, from a book series.

But one week later the gray mouse had boy parts descend.

From what I've been told mice reproduce like rabbits and

we are in for trouble with a capital T which rhymes with P which stands for Pool....

sorry...got carried away by the Music Man for a moment.

So we are waiting to see if Alice (the black female) is "with child" (children)

or if she is just getting a little pudgy around the middle

because we give them great snacks. The gray male is now Angelo.

Honestly I'm not sure what we're going to do with a herd of mice.

I can't knowingly give them to someone for snake food. I just can't.

They may not be my pet of choice but I just can't.

I'd almost rather have the cats get them because that seems less traumatic

than being swallowed alive and whole!

And I can't have 22 tanks around my house

with one mouse in each to keep them from multiplying! UGH!!! We took the kids to the 99 cent store today. They have bamboo there....I like bamboo. But once we were in there and the kids got hyper over stupid cheap little crap I forgot to look for the bamboo!! Every time we go there Isaac wants this lightweight cardboard airplane that you put together yourself and it has suction cups on the ends so you can throw it and it will stick to the windows and fridge etc... Naissa wanted a "Barbie". I told her that they were crap and that the legs would fall off. But she begged and pleaded in such a cute sweet way that I figured, What the heck...it's 99 cents and it won't clutter the house because it will fall apart and we will throw it away. We didn't expect it to lose it's legs in the car on the way home, but it did. After being in our house for only a minute, Naissa walks into the kitchen with the doll in pieces and declares, "I don't want this stupid doll she won't stay together" and she slammed her on the table. A few minutes later she changed her mind and brought me her doll and asked me to "fix" her.

This is what I'm supposed to fix....

Have you had these? Walmart has them.

Most of my family loves them,

one kid doesn't but I can't remember which kid at the moment.

I think they're okay. These however, are my favorites!!

So go to Walmart and get you some!

Don't forget the milk!

Freedom Sale

2008-08-11T22:05:00.000-07:00

Clutter is very powerful. Thankfully I have a God who is MORE powerful or I might not have made it through these last few months. Seriously they would've had to seen in the hounds to find me in this mess I used to call home...but of recent is has been called the Hole. My kids have stepped it up a notch in making messes and destroying things and hiding wrappers to food they snuck into their rooms these last few months. Coincidentally I have had less energy, motivation, joy and patience, not to mention all the stress that comes when you cannot pay your bills.

So I have been reading (more like skimming) books like "It's All Too Much" by Peter Walsh, "Sink Reflections" by FlyLady and watching shows like Clean Sweep, Clean House and Help I'm a Hoarder....okay so I haven't actually watched the Hoarder show but it really does exist. I got me some boxes and lined them up and down the hall and told my kids these boxes were going to lead us to Freedom so start filling them. If you know me, you know that I love Children's books and I have about 4000 of them. Well I went through every one of them and let go of A LOT. I didn't count but I filled 6 boxes in one sitting. I of course, kept all my favorites and my kid's favorites and a few more...but I put many in the Freedom boxes. I let go of most of my pig collection which I started collecting when I was a kid. Candles, kitchen stuff, vases and such, toys, clothes, more toys, furniture that doesn't fit anywhere, stuffed animals, even more toys, baby stuff etc...etc... We just filled those boxes and filled some more.

Then this last Saturday we had our Freedom Sale (aka Yard Sale). We set up everything Friday night and Jim and Zack camped outside. My parents and our friends came and brought some things to sell and hung out for several hours haggling with people. I on the other hand stayed inside because I hate dealing with people who think $2.00 is too much for my brand new $100 item and try to get me to sell it to them for 25 cents! I get too angry that I can't be out there.

It's not safe! Ha! Ha!

So while the Freedom Sale was going on, Leesha helped Jade and Naissa clean up their room. Here is a before picture. I couldn't get in the room to get a better one.

Believe me, it's a lot worse on the inside!

This is a picture taken from my bedroom window...only 1/2 the yard is shown and you can't really see how much stuff is really out there...it filled the yard, I think we had like 18 tables and a couple of tarps plus all the bigger items.....CRAZY!! Who has this much junk??? :)The kids just played outside. Zack went down the street where his friend got a new, huge skateboard ramp and skated all day. Naissa and Isaac got a little dirty. Leesha did great at motivating Jade and not letting her clean her room 1/2 ass, as usual. I was surprised to see the carpet after only an hour or so. They added to the Freedom Sale as they cleaned too. Notice Harley there in the middle of the room, kickin' it...

she was lovin' the floor being cleaned in there. They didn't shove everything in the closet either! The crutches were from the Freedom Sale,

no one is really using them....just for fun. Jade....enjoying the space on her floor. Overall we had a great Freedom Sale. We made some money and more importantly we let go of a lot of stuff! We also called for the rest to be picked up so it wouldn't re-enter our house!

Unfortunately Naissa took out her pink stick horse and Jim sold it for a quarter!! A hard lesson in not leaving your stuff out on the lawn during a yard sale.

Not Free yet but definately a few steps closer!

Jophes Manhunter

2008-07-28T18:50:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I discovered one of Naissa's little horses had all four legs chewed off. When I asked the kids who had done such a thing, I of course got a resounding, "NOT ME".

Remember NOT ME from the Family Circus comic? Yeah well apparently he upped and moved into my house because NOT Me is continuously doing bad stuff around here.

Isaac finally gave up a little more information about the culprit who chewed the horses legs off....

"I didn't do it but my friend, Jophes (a form of Joseph) Manhunter might have"

Really? Jophes Manhunter? He's your friend?

"Yeah"

Are you sure you didn't take a little bite out of the horses legs? (asking "a little" usually squeezes out at least a partial confession)

"Nope, Jophes did it"

Well where is Jophes?

"He bited the legs off and ranned away"

17 years

2008-07-27T23:52:00.000-07:00

Today was our 17th anniversary.

Not only that but it was our first time back in church as a family in a really long time.

We didn't even make it for Easter or Christmas this year.

It was VBS Sunday so the service was like a re-cap of the week. All the kids were scattered throughout the sanctuary, sitting with their families and would holler out during parts of the songs and whenever the leaders would say certain phrases.

Honestly I had a hard time. I enjoyed watching Naissa dance in the aisle but was quickly annoyed when one of the girls wearing a "staff" shirt came and stood in front of us...to try to get a couple of boys to do the moves to the song...and she blocked the entire view for Naissa and Isaac and even myself. She pushed their chairs back close to our feet totally oblivious to the fact that Naissa was trying to watch the leaders and do the moves too! Dang, I got ticked and had to breath in and out slowly because I wanted to holler! I wanted to push her over the balcony.

Anyway, my parents watched the kids while Jim and I went to lunch. They even treated! After lunch we came back to the house, because I wasn't in the mood to sit through a movie, and I fell asleep! I had a nice nap and Jim dozed off too. Next thing we know it's time to go get the kids.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

Quick trip down Memory lane

2008-07-26T23:00:00.000-07:00

I thought I would put up a picture of Jim from High School first, that way I could post any picture of me and it would still be Jim that you will laugh and talk about - HA!!

This is Jim in 1988, dressed as Paul Stanley. (He's from KISS for those of you who don't know...but if you know Jim...you probably already knew)

Now when I was a sophomore I got the most horrendous haircut, right before the formal. And yes, I did suffer through the formal, but only that one time. All other "dress up" dances I made my mom take me out of town so I would have a legit excuse for not going. I was (still am) more of the MORP type of girl...give me some jeans, a big t-shirt and my converse and I am HAPPY. (I like big ass kicker boots too) So anyway, this is my hair AFTER growing out for 4 months. I was in the band and we went to HAWAII! This is one of my very best friends in High School, Sean. We just recently re-connected again, thanks to myspace, after way too many years.

Another picture I found from our Hawaii trip. My best friend Ang~ is to my left...and yes that's me in the pink jean jacket! Ang~ and I have kept in touch and both have a butt load of kids (that would mean a butt load = 5) Amy is in the blue and white stripes and she and Jim used to date! Jim was not even close to being the type of guy I dated in high school! God must of got a big kick out of the two of us, knowing he would be putting us together in the near future and changing our lives forever!

Kris, Amy, Me, Ang~

(which by the way is pronounced like Tang with out the T,

her real name is Angela but I thought Ang~ was better - Ha!)

Don't you just love our flowered jeans?

Here we are in Disneyland, for Grad Night....still friends - Ha!

Ang~, Albert and Me

Little did I know that my friend Albert here, was helping prepare me for my future husband (Jim of course). Albert was/is a HUGE KISS fan. I'm not sure who the bigger fan would be. Last time I saw Albert his hair was all the way down his back. Take that CUSD!!

Believe it or not I used to sing in the church choir! My friend Sylvia and I just recently re-connected on facebook. I've missed her. Enrique and I went to church and school together. I hadn't seen him in several years and when we moved and our kids started their new school, we found his mom working in the office! So Enrique and I have also re-connected this year!
Well, it was a short trip. I enjoyed it. I really enjoyed the fact that I can now scan old pictures onto my computer! I sure love my digital camera!

Kristi the Frazzled

2008-07-26T01:59:00.000-07:00

Why yes, it is 2 o'clock in the morning and I am still up and on the computer. What's that? You wanna know why? Well...um...I guess you could say I have a new escape...a new addiction...on facebook....called MOBWARS. Yep, I'm just a frazzled mobster seeking money, territory and a good fight. There has been a glitch in it for the past 24 hours or so and I'm going into withdrawals. Sure I've been invited to play similar games on myspace but I just can't get into it. You see, there are a couple of mobsters who have made it personal...attacking me when I'm down, putting me in the hospital and one guy even had the ***** to add me to the hitlist...FOUR times!!! So it's personal. As I lay there in that hospital bed, being forced to "rest" I give it all I got and punch the guy in the face and that just seems to make me feel better. He may not enter the hospital over my punch but it's not about that...he's been playing longer than I have...he's got more money, territory and more mobsters, so of course he's gonna kick my *** but I've got pride...I've got dignity...I've got a head full of stubborn! It's a matter of principle. So I'm gonna just keep punching him in the face and he'll just keep putting a hit out on me and round and round we'll go....but I can't stop playing. I wonder if the 12 steps would apply here. We have a new friend here today, go ahead and introduce yourself... "Hi I'm Kristi the Frazzled and I'm addicted to MOBWARS...it's been 12 minutes since I last punched a guy in the face"

Set Me Free - VWOC - Ignite - SHOCKWAVE Drama Skit

2008-07-23T12:20:00.001-07:00

The Butterfly - Author Unknown to Me

2008-07-23T01:31:00.000-07:00

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared, he sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no farther.

The man decided to help the butterfly, so he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.

The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time. Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. it was never able to fly.

What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were God's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If God allowed us to go through life without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could have been....and we could never fly!

Have a nice day and struggle a little!

Lifehouse's Everything Skit

2008-07-20T12:50:00.001-07:00

Lifehouse --- Everything

2008-07-20T01:28:00.000-07:00

Find me here
Speak to me
I want to feel You
I need to hear You
You are the light
That's leading me
To the place where I find peace again.

You are the strength, that keeps me walking.
You are the hope, that keeps me trusting.
You are the light to my soul.
You are my purpose...You're everything.

How can I stand here with You and not be moved by You?
Would You tell me how could it be any better than this?

You calm the storms and You give me rest.
You hold me in your hands, You won't let me fall.
You steal my heart, and You take my breath away.
Would You take me in? Take me deeper now?

How can I stand here with You and not be moved by You?
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?
And how can I stand here with You and not be moved by You?
Would You tell me how could it be any better than this?

Cause You're all I want, You're all I need
You're everything, everything
You're all I want, You're all I need
You're everything, everything.
You're all I want, You're all I need.
You're everything, everything
You're all I want, You're all I need
You're everything, everything

And how can I stand here with You and not be moved by You?
Would You tell me how could it be any better than this?
How can I stand here with You and not be moved by You?
Would You tell me how could it be any better than this?

Would You tell me how could it be any better than this?

Linkin Park - Given Up (OFFICIAL Video)

2008-07-10T13:16:00.001-07:00

Screaming!

2008-07-10T02:22:00.000-07:00

I should get in bed and try to fall asleep but I have too much on my mind. Jim is still away at camp with Zack. Naissa and Isaac really out did themselves with the messes today. I out did myself on the screaming. I gave myself a headache and started my period….now that’s screaming!
I think you might scream too if you found sunscreen sprayed all over your sliding glass door, dripping down onto the carpet and the gazillion play food toys that were dumped blocking you from getting to the door. I think you might scream if you found that the dishwasher full of clean dishes you were about to put away was also sprayed with sunscreen and every single cup and plate in there had greasy ass suntan residue on them. You might even scream if you found blue cupcake icing smeared all over the kitchen floor, front room carpet and a pile of clean clothes your kids had strung all over. If you didn’t scream over that, maybe having one daughter cut up another daughter’s shirt with scissors would do it for ya, or receiving a pink notice from the city of Clovis saying your payment has not been received…and the reason it has not been received is because you have no payment to send them, or maybe finding more than 50 dvd’s out of the cases, scattered about the front room most likely with new scratches on them or later finding more sunscreen all over the drum pads for the Rock Band game, or all the laundry you worked so hard on being scrunched down into the couch cushions as the kids walked across the couch pulling the clothes at the bottom of the formally neat stack. To top it off you find that same sunscreen has been sprayed on the only remaining rabbit and you have to now give the rabbit a bath, in a tub that some child has dumped their frosted mini wheats in and left them to dry permanently to the tub. If that isn’t bad enough, you find the musical tea set in the trash can right after you asked them to pick it up and put it away, or the unclaimed puddle of pee on the kitchen floor, or the child who awakens from his nap with diarrhea and you are already late to pick up another child from youth group. The bathroom and hallway look like someone has played a prank and TP’d them. The clothes you washed only an hour ago don’t smell fresh and are already drying in a heap in the washer before the dryer is ready with the previous load. The entire rack of clothes you have hung up has been knocked down and some completely off their hangers…then trampled on the floor by little feet with blue frosting on them. Different from the pile mentioned earlier. I think it was a scream worthy day. Try to play a game of Don’t Bug Me (like Go Fish) and a child purposely crunches up a card and blames a sib – The screaming is building up again. What the crap?
How much can one take in a single day?

Happy Sad Happy Sad Happy Sad

2008-07-08T01:27:00.001-07:00

Today (actually yesterday - Monday) was Isaac's birthday! He is now 4 yrs old.
Jim and Zack are away at camp for the week.
We went to my mom-n-law's and played with cousins Finn and Reed.
It was really really hot today.
Isaac picked out a new bike.
When we got home THREE of our bunnies were dead.
My mom and daughter Leesha made it home safely from Germany late tonight.
I can't sleep.
We're going to my parent's tomorrow to see them and go swimming.
I have to remove the dead stiff, covered in ants and flies, bunnies out of the cages.
My dad is going to dig the hole.
I have to take them out there in my car. (PU)
:) :( :) :( :) :( :) :( :) :( :) :( :) :( :) :( :) :(

Cupcake Anyone?

2008-07-05T23:33:00.000-07:00

What?!? Do I have something on my face?

Happy 60th Birthday Grandma Cathy!!

Richie and Isaac Playing Some Football

2008-06-26T21:12:00.000-07:00

Richie and Isaac Slidin'

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

Rissa and Naissa Slidin'

2008-06-26T20:46:00.000-07:00

Why is it that everyday is "One of Those Days"??

2008-06-26T01:17:00.000-07:00

Ever have "one of those days" ??? I have them nearly everyday. Today's solution was to zip tie the two fighters together and make them clean the bathroom together. Though I don't recommend this method, it got their attention. The bathroom is now somewhat cleaner too.

We have two bunnies that live with us, Gunpowder and Lead. We are bunny sitting for my mom while she is in Germany for 2 weeks. Actually Chloe is my mom's and Lily is mine but she has lived at my mom's since we were in the apartment. So we cleaned all the cages and let my 3 run around the yard. Harley and Josiah just followed them around, probably wondering why these foreign critters were hopping in their territory. To make my long dramatic story short I will just tell you that we thought we had 4 girl bunnies but we were wrong. Gunpowder is NOT a girl! So again, to shorten my traumatic story (traumatic for us humans) we may have more bunnies in a month. Thankfully though Lead is a dwarf breed and they don't birth as many as the larger breeds and Lily may be too old to get pregnant. Needless to say all four bunnies have their own cages now and everyone but Chloe is lying there looking exhausted!!

Lead (and Gunpowder to the side)

GunpowderLily (aka Fat Lil) seemed to be in Heaven as she ran, hopped, bounced and dug all around the backyard. She is a Holland Lop and only suppose to weigh about 4-5lbs. She eats like a pig and hasn't gotten much exercise in a couple of years.

Harley and Lily

Chloe is my mom's bunny, she is a Netherland dwarf

Harley and Josiah

Harley's Gift (and kids in the pool)

2008-06-26T00:52:00.000-07:00

Harley likes to bring us gifts. Her latest was a little bird. I hate to hurt her feelings but I am not going to put a dead bird up on the nick nack shelf, even if she brought in the whole bird this time.

Harley, brought the bird into the hallway and proudly set it down so that I could scream. Then she took a few steps back and laid down with a smile on her face. Proud of her bird gift.
It's been a year, maybe two, since my parents had their pool up and running. This year Leesha and some of her friends scrubbed it clean and my dad got the chemicals, filters, motors and whatever it is that is needed to get the pool going. Before it was filled all the way the kids went swimming. It was great because the water was low enough that they could stand up and the water was below their necks. They had a blast! Too bad they had to fill it up in order for the filters and such to work right. It built up their confidence and hopefully calmed some of their fears of pools bigger than the bath tub. What am I talking about??!!?? Isaac was jumping off the ladder and pulling on Jim's shorts and having a great time. Naissa still wanted to wear the swim vest and was more cautious...so it is her that I said those previous things about.

What's a blog without a picture of Isaac playing baseball?

It's his favorite thing to do in the world.

I'm back and so are the messes

2008-06-26T00:24:00.000-07:00

I haven't blogged for a while. Unfortunately it's not because I lack material to write about. My kids continue to give me great stories, gray hair and a lot of stress on a daily basis. Take this first picture for example....Sprite, High School Musical Bubble Bath, Water, Paper Plates, Markers, Cars and a Brand New Art Kit. Now, I believe in creative art and free style drawing and painting but there is a line. I cannot count how many of these art sets we've gone through. I won't buy them anymore, not even off the 75% off clearance shelf. Most kids I know like to use paper so that mom or grandma can hang their beautiful masterpieces on the refrigerator but not mine. They know I am going crazy with all the clutter around so they just paint the table and the chairs and the floor and the walls and the mail and the dishes and anything else nearby knowing that I will get my camera out and savor their masterpieces that way....thereby reducing the paper clutter on my fridge. Thanks kids for thinking of me.

Two weekends ago we took our first camping trip with the recently acquired pop up tent trailer. Jade stayed with my parents so that she could take a Babysitting CPR class. We also sent over Gunpowder and Lead (Bunnies) as well as Crush (the turtle) so that they wouldn't have to drive to our house to feed them. (Saving them lots of money in gas!) We figured the cats would be okay if we left them with plenty of food and water. They go in and out as they please and would have those big ugly moth looking bugs for entertainment. When we got home Harley was there to greet us. She followed me into the bedroom where I sat on the bed and talked to her for a couple of seconds, which then brought Minnie Pearl out from under the bed. A walk into the garage brought Josiah out of his sleeping spot but Grizabella had not shown her beautiful gray face yet. So we started unloading all our junk from the trip. About an hour after being home I listened to the phone messages and there was one from a man who said he needed to talk to an adult (probably because it's our kids voices on the message) and then he said, "It's about Grizabella" and he left his number. I checked to see when he had called and it said 9am on Saturday. Crap! It was now late Sunday night. The messages kept playing and then there was one from the animal shelter. They asked us to call them about Grizabella but didn't tell us why. Though I already knew deep down why, I wasn't ready to believe it just yet. So I made Jim call the man. He said he found her on the side of the road, and described the street right where our house is, she'd been hit. When we didn't respond (because we weren't home) he called the animal shelter who came and picked her sweet little body up. They called Monday morning and said they had her collar if we wanted it and asked if we wanted them to take care of her body. I said yes. All our cats who have died in the past 12 years have been buried out at my parents property. But I really didn't want to go pick up a dead cat so that I could take her out to my parents and spend a couple hours trying to dig a hole in their hard dirt, so I let them take care of her. Weird. What sucks is that I just bought her a new scratching post/bed because the kids broke the other one by sitting and climbing on it. Out of the four cats, she is the one who was always found sleeping in it. It was like she told the other cats that it was hers and they'd better not even think of getting in it. And they didn't. I finally thought to vacuum clean it to get her scent out of it and now the other three have all been seen in it. Whew!
This is just how my life is...one mess after another. It's not like we don't have any paper in the house. They just prefer furniture. They also prefer instant gratification, as many kids do...adults too. Countless times I have said, "Give me a minute to finish this and I will get you some paper and set you up to color/paint/play with play-doh/whatever" but 2-3 minutes is just way too long for them. And Lord forbid if they have to clean up their previous mess first! So what seems to happen several times a week is that I will finish switching the laundry or paying a bill or watering a plant or whatever and I will go to get out the supplies only to find that they are already out and spilled all over or little hands have spread them around the house, causing my patience to boil and me to yell WHY?!?! I then get some answer that sounds like, "because I wanted to." I tell them to start cleaning it up but they don't and I end up cleaning them and the mess up and they win! They defeated mom once again. UGH!!! I have to admit that after the initial shock my reaction is usually laughter but not in front of them, I wouldn't want them to think I thought it was okay to do it again. :P

I guess Naissa didn't want to be left out so she made her own frozen concoction of water and bananans. Maybe I should check the freezer for all my missing dishes.

My doll

2008-06-26T00:05:00.000-07:00

As I was cleaning out some boxes, I ran across a box of stuffed animals. Seeing that I have no where to display them and my kids have enough of their own, I decided to take a picture of them and let them go. Except for this doll. My grandma Audie made me this doll when I was little. She's probably over 30 years old. They just don't make 'em like this anymore. I'm not even sure why they made them like this? I used to have a similar doll that was Little Red Riding Hood. On one side she was Little Red and when you flipped her over she was the Grandmother and the Wolf. There was a bonnet that you flipped back and forth to switch the character. Way cool. Now I just need to find a safe place for her so my kids don't rip her to shreds.

BHS c/o 08

2008-06-05T02:04:00.000-07:00

I loved the flowers we gave Leesha, I almost kept them for myself!

The gates of the stadium opened at 6:00pm. Graduation began at 7:30pm.I probably don't even have to tell you that Jim fell asleep and Naissa and Isaac got restless. I actually brought the little movie player and until the crowd got too loud and they couldn't hear it, Naissa and Isaac watched "Hairspray". It was windy which made it somewhat cold. The sun was descending beyond the trees but still illuminating the field which made the decision whether to wear sunglasses or not a difficult one. The stands filled quickly, the chairs on the field not as quickly.

When it was finally time to begin the mass of red, white and blue robes poured down out of the stands across the way. Finding a short blonde didn't take too long, thanks to the extra cords on her robe. As the students marched in, the band played the song from Star Wars IV. The ceremony march where Luke, Han and Chewie get medals for (temporarily) defeating the empire. I don't think I've heard it played at graduation before, it was very cool. I kept waiting to hear Chewbacca's cry or R2-D2's little beeps and chirps but I didn't. Instead I watched as my beautiful Leesha walked in high heels down the aisle to take her place with the rest of her class.

"Invincible"

White gown, long blonde hair in the second row!

It wouldn't be Clovis without FIREWORKS!!

Nice smile Isaac!

Kristi c/o 88 and Leesha c/o 08

Proud Mama

Sharon (c/o 68), Ron and Leesha

Leesha and Janine

*Leesha*Jade*Zack*Naissa*Isaac*

That was the best we got, Isaac was blurry in most of the pictures because he'd been sitting for so long! He was doing flips and rolls to entertain those parents and grandparents who had been abandoned by their new graduates to go take pictures with their friends.

She's done. At least until August when she starts at Fresno State!

Kindergarten Celebration

2008-06-04T13:15:00.000-07:00

It's now a celebration, not a graduation or even a promotion. Yet pre-schoolers still "graduate". Whatever! Naissa of course was sitting in the back and you can't see her in any of the pictures I took but this one. Far back left. :)

The teachers put together a book with special artwork and writing that each kid did during the year. They also got a certificate which Naissa immediately pawned off on me.
Naissa and Leah enjoyed looking at their books.

(Can you see where Naissa tried to give herself bangs?)
Silly moms with their soon to be first graders!
Isaac = always in the air

Gunpowder and Lead

2008-06-04T11:36:00.000-07:00

I know which ones are corn....the rest might have to be a surprise! (Thanks Isaac!)

We adopted two bunnies about 2 weeks ago. I have no idea if they are male or female....I haven't looked yet. I have no idea how old they are....not too far from rabbit stew age is all I know. Thanks Shirley for letting us have these two little furballs!

"Gunpowder"

"Lead"

Whoever said beauty is in the eye of the beholder, never beheld this!

2008-06-03T23:56:00.000-07:00

"Well Mom, I had to use lots of glue cuz it wouldn't stay on the wall!"

"Flowers" by Naissa
(glued to the table, not the wall) Just because it was cute and Jade took the picture
More of Naissa's "Artwork"

(I'll be more than happy to let her come to YOUR house and play with the nail polish!)

More Awards

2008-06-03T21:35:00.000-07:00

Once again it was time for awards and Zack brought home a few. The one he seemed most proud of was his reading medallion. He also received Principals Honor Roll and a Healthy Fitness Award.

Later (literally about 4 1/2 hours later) Zack had another awards ceremony, this time for his Block T. Thanks to Jim having his own business he was able to go see Zack get all his awards. We are very proud of Zack!
After the Block T awards were given out there was cookies and punch.

I treasure those still quiet moments that seem to come less often now days.

As it is with everything...the quiet stillness didn't last! In fact it escalated rather quickly from calmly drinking some punch to hiding behind a tree to peeing and running away from dad! I wonder if Trace Adkins was singing about these moments when he sang his latest hit, "You're Gonna Miss This" ?? Or Kenny Chesney and his song, "Don't Blink" ?? Yes, it's true we usually laugh at these things after a while but when they are a constant thing, the funny just gets old. But I love them!!

Did Timmy fall into the well again?

2008-06-03T13:47:00.000-07:00

I was just dreaming of a race - I wasn't in it but I was there with my camera and there were teams wearing shirts/uniforms that matched their cars. Not just like blue shirts and blue cars but like 8 people dressed in Incredible shirts and their cars were all crazy shaped but matched their shirts. Other things were happening, too odd to try to explain, you know how dreams can be?!

I was brought to consciousness by a sort of moaning/growling noise. I wasn't sure where it was coming from. Our windows were all open so maybe it was outside, of course I could still be dreaming...but I kept hearing it. The more I woke up the more I was able to recognize the sound.

A cat. It was like a low guttural growl. Not a sound you would hear in fear or in a fight but one you might hear if they were hurt or hording a mouse, bird or other fine treasure. I jumped up, afraid of the worst (my stomach & head would have to catch up with me later). The sound seemed like it was coming from outside my bedroom window. Crap! Please don't let one of my cats be dying out there! The cars go so stinkin' fast. Already lost Zeke. I looked out the window but saw nothing - so I headed for the front door....but as I'm walking I hear the sound again and then Grizabella appears from the other end of the hallway and she's got something in her mouth! Oh please don't let it be a live catch! She walks to me and lays her catch at my feet and as my eyes focus, I realize (to my relief) that it's not a poor mouse, moth, bird or even something from our neighbors trash but instead it is a cat collar.

Dread hits as I pick it up. I know whose it is before reading the tag. Please NO! Without a second thought I'm out the door on the front lawn wearing a blue night gown, watching the cars go by, looking for a lump of fur - Thank God I don't see one. Grizabella is still by my side, it's almost like she's guiding me - Hey! Haven't I seen this on TV before? The name Lassie comes to mind.....Grizz walks a step.....comes back and rubs against my legs.....walks a couple steps.....rubs my legs......steps.....rubs.....steps......rubs. Does this really happen? Could she be trying to tell me something? Does she know where Josiah is? Is Josiah in the well?

I follow her back into the house and to the back door/sliding door. Dread again. The thoughts of finding my cat injured or dead are beginning to choke me. My body is tense and heating up, heart is pounding faster, what happened to all the air? I call out, "Josiah, here kitty kitty" but get nothing. I scan the yard - dang, I wish we'd mowed! There's movement near the swing set. Could it be? I think so but why is he acting funny? Grizz is standing with me, quiet and still. I call again, "Josiah!" His head turned towards me - a small wave of relief but he's still acting funny. Is he all right? Is he hurt? Can he walk? I have to get closer, the stupid "grass" hurts my bare feet but I have to know.....I get closer.....Josiah pounces on something. Relief floods my body. He's okay! He was stalking a bug. I kneel down as to not disturb his game but he gives up the bug and runs to me. I scoop him up and slip his collar back on, givin' him some love. Then we all went back in the house.

Thanks Grizzabella. I'm not sure what your motive was - helping or tattling - but I'm so glad you're all safe!

That is the Question

2008-06-01T13:08:00.000-07:00

"Y"? That is what I want to know!

I was out watering the plants and flowers

when I looked down in the grass

and there it was, the letter "Y

and I thought to myself hmmm....

"Y"

yes, "Y" is there a "Y" in the middle of the lawn? "Y"?

"Y"? This is the screen on my laptop! The daisies are my screensaver. The scribbling across them.....is NOT!! It is crayon!! I'm thinking that we might be entitled to some type of royalties from Crayola and Sharpie because everything I own advertises their products all over them!!
"Y"?? Zack has tried freezing many things over the years, I can't even count how many times I've pulled out odd - frozen objects. Frozen drinks of all sorts, koosh balls in bowl, superheros and ninja turtles, toothpicks and popsicle sticks all in cups and bowls of water turned to ice. One of my favorites was the rubber gloves filled with water, forming a nice frozen ice hand. All sorts of things. Isaac watched Zack like a HAWK. Isaac came in with this bowl and a big smile on his face. He was so excited that he had made "frozen waffles"! He said, "Look mom, I freezed a waffle!" A piece of waffle in a bowl of ice cubes! lol! I couldn't help but praise him for his effort! One of these days I'll explain to him that eggo waffles are already frozen in the box! "Y"?? "Y" is there a shoestring missing out of Jim's shoes?"Y" is it no where to be found? Makes it hard to wear 'em!
"Y"?? "Y" was this bowl with a soggy waffle smothered in cinnamon found in the boy's room? "Y"?? That's a lot of cinnamon! I don't think the ants were even interested! And what is it with waffles in this house??

Teddy Bear Picnic

2008-05-30T22:20:00.000-07:00

If you go down in the woods today

You're sure of a big surprise

If you go down in the woods today

You better go in disguise

For every bear that ever there was

Will gather there for certain because

Today's the day the teddy bears

Have their picnic

^ Naissa and Leah ^
^ Naissa and Kaylin ^

Band Concert & Awards

2008-05-29T23:50:00.000-07:00

Tuesday night was Alta's Band Concert and Awards Ceremony. It had already been a long day and so I packed a bag with things for Naissa and Isaac to do quietly. The stickerbook, however cool, needed directions. A RED blob mixed with a BLUE blob equals what color blob? They would then find the correct color blob and stick it on there. I spent too much time whispering that I missed everything that was being said on stage. Coloring didn't work either because they kept fighting over the colors. Their chairs kept getting pushed forward and backwards, probably because they weren't sitting in them. Finally after much exhaustion...(probably most of their behavior was only noticed by me and Jim) I took them outside. Zack followed. They ran around and played hide-n-seek, though there weren't many places to hide and they kept hiding in the same spot as the last person. While they were playing Red Light Green Light I slipped back in the cafeteria to see where they were on the program. When I turned back around I saw that the sprinklers on opposite sides of the amphitheater had come on and Isaac was right in the middle...dancing!! He had his arms up in the air and he was hopping from one foot to the other. I'd of gotten a picture if I hadn't been so caught of guard!

We managed to get back inside just before the percussion instructor began talking. He surprised all of us by giving Jade the Most Improved Percussionist Award. We had no idea. We were very proud. She has worked hard. This was her first year in band, whereas the majority of her peers have been playing since 5th grade. She joined the after school percussion ensemble where I think there were two beginning band members, counting her. Again....not ready with the camera!
Naissa and Isaac and I hung out in the back so as not to disturb anyone but to still be able to hear the band play!
Jade's name was spelled wrong on her medallion. Luper. Funny her percussion instructor, who knows her name, even said it wrong when he announced it!
Side note: her yearbook picture says, Looper. Yet in the back it claims that Loper was not pictured. lol!! I wonder who has the "difficult" job of copying the names from the card to the computer.

Mowing the Lawn

2008-05-29T23:32:00.000-07:00

Zack has got himself a job! We borrowed our friend Eddie's lawn mower and Zack wanted to give it a try. He did great! I'm sure it would've been easier if he were taller.

Jim giving pointers on how to turn around. I think that was one of the funnest parts for Zack. He's light enough to where he has to lean his whole body onto the handle to get the front of the mower to lift. :)
Isaac, dressed to mow, did his part too! (Thanks again Jen for the sweater vests! He has worn them out!)
"I'm using the mower"
"Isaac won't let me have a turn!"

OH MY GOSH!!!!!

2008-05-29T21:27:00.000-07:00

Just 20 minutes earlier Isaac had said he needed to go to the bathroom. I took him to use the library bathroom. We picked up his brother and went to wait until Kindergarten got out. I sat and talked with a friend while Zack and a friend made paper airplanes. I heard Zack say something to Isaac. You can imagine my surprise when I turned around and I saw Isaac standing there with his pants down and he was pulling up his underwear. I nearly jumped out of my seat to get to him. I asked him “Did you pee on the tree?” and he said “No’. I asked him several times, all in different ways. His answer was consistently, “No, I didn’t pee” I still wasn’t sure if I believed him or not but I wasn’t about to go over and feel or smell the tree or the grass around it!

At this point Isaac became a kid that I’ve not seen before. He started grabbing Zack’s paper airplanes and throwing them. He may still be 3 years old but he doesn’t throw like one! It wouldn’t have been such a big deal if he was just throwing them on the grass where they were sitting but no, Isaac had to throw them over the fence into No Man’s Land. (a dead space between the Kindergarten playground and the office) Thankfully Zack’s name wasn’t on any of the papers! What made this an even bigger deal was that I had told Isaac not to do it. Then I told him to STOP. Then I said it louder as I walked quickly towards him….as he kept throwing them over the fence. (let me add that he was laughing while all this was happening) (I was not) As I got within arms length of him and was about to grab him…..he was gone! Running! Running and laughing! I was not. I chose to wait. Wait and watch….as I slowly got into position….and he took the bait and ran closer and I surprised him by sprinting 15 feet and snatching him up before he could figure out what was going on! I carried him like a football, under my arm, bouncing him like a pom pom and he just laughed. I did not. I put him in the wagon and told him to sit there until we got home. I’m sure I don’t have to tell ya that he immediately started to climb out. I put my hand on his shoulder and held him. He started climbing out again. I put my hand on his shoulder and held him…He got out…He ran…Zack chased him…Zack caught him…Back in the wagon…Climbed out again…Zack grabbed him…Back in the wagon…I’m ready to tie him in at this point but I don’t have anything to use…not even shoestrings! We did this over and over until he finally just sat. I sighed a tired sigh. He threw a water bottle half way across the playground. (I’m not exaggerating) Then Zack’s snack bar trash hit the ground. Naissa’s class let out and she came over carrying a bear that she had made. She placed it in the front of the wagon and turned to talk with her friend Kaylin. Isaac started to get up and I firmly reminded him to SIT! He did, and as he did he reached forward and crunched up Naissa’s bear! He sat most of the way home with a pout on his face and his arms crossing his chest.

When we got home he got to spend some time on the “thinking spot”. (which is like the naughty spot but you are ‘spose to “think” about where you're sitting and what you did or said to get you there) When he was released from the “thinking spot” I asked him why his pants were down at school if he wasn’t peeing on anything. He replied, “I had to go poop”. OMG!!! So he had been telling the truth the whole time! He didn’t pee on the tree! He pooped next to the tree!! I thought I would have a heart attack right then and there! OMG!!! I of course called Jim right away because I knew he wouldn’t want to be left out the loop. As I’m telling him about the poop, Isaac proudly blurts out “I WENT BIG POOP”! OMG!!! I told Jim he was gonna have to sneak into the school yard at night and pick up the poop because there are 6 preschool and Kindergarten classes that will be playing out there tomorrow and I don’t want some little girl who’s wearing her brand new Summer dress and sandals to get poop on them!! OMG!!! Can you imagine?!

2008-05-28T00:50:00.000-07:00

What is it about walls and furniture that attracts little hands with markers? That makes toothpaste want to explode and smear itself all over objects it has no business being on?

It seems to make perfect sense to the ones involved. Why shouldn't their name be written on their dresser drawer and their sibling's name on theirs?

Another victim of the "Can't Have Anything Nice" Syndrome. Now, Spiderman is not my kind of superhero, I'm not even sure if he falls in that category but because I don't know what else to call him he shall be called a superhero for the purpose of this blog. Spiderman was supposed to add a nice touch to the boy's room. They have Spiderman sheets and they had a Spiderman lamp up until 2 weeks ago when Spiderman's face was torn in half, hence destroying the lamp. I'm not quite sure what the story is on the Spiderman water globe other than Zack did it. So not only can I not have anything nice, the kids can't either.
You might be a Redneck if....

I was reading the last few chapters in Job, which happen to be some of my favorite scripture. I just love how GOD's power and majesty and splendor are revealed in His creation. These verses just put me in awe everytime I read them. I love how the great and might animals are described and how there are storehouses for lightening. Because it was raining earlier I thought of these verses in Job 38:34-38

"Can you shout to the clouds and make it rain? Can you make lightening appear and cause it to strike as you direct it? Who gives intuition and instinct? Who is wise enough to count all the clouds? Who can tilt the water jars of heaven, turning the dry dust to clumps of mud?"

Award of Excellence Ceremony

2008-05-27T23:55:00.000-07:00

It has begun...the Senior Activities. This last week my mom and I attended the California Scholarship Federation's Award of Excellence Ceremony which Leesha was a part of. We were served an interesting dinner while visiting with Leesha's Trig/Calculus Teacher. There was a video put together of all the participants, with pictures from when they were little, in between as well as their senior pictures. They shared their memories and their hopes for the future.

Several of Leesha's good friends were among the 120 honored.

Leesha and Janine have been friends since 2nd grade.

I tried to get a picture of Mr. Kuyper, the percussion instructor, but my camera focused in on the flowers instead!

:)

2008-05-27T13:53:00.000-07:00

Me: What do you use your nose for?

Isaac: For your fingers

got keys?

2008-05-25T00:24:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry to say I don't have a picture for the story I am about to share. You see last Sunday Jim went to Winco and LOCKED HIS KEYS IN THE CAR. He didn't call me because he didn't tell me he took my car and I was getting in the shower when he left. He instead called our friend Eddie, who didn't answer his phone. So he called Gary, who was at church and didn't answer it the first time. But when Jim called him a second time he thought something must be up so he answered it and God bless him, he told Jim he'd be right over. Gary picked Jim up and brought him home to get the other key to my car and then drove him back to get my car.
Friday night I get a call from Jim, who had gone up to Winco, telling me that Eddie will be coming by to pick up the other key because he has LOCKED HIS KEYS IN HIS TRUCK. I had him call Eddie back to tell him that I would take Jim the key. Thankfully Jade was home and kept an eye on her sibs so I didn't have to load everybody up.
So today I get a call....YES!! Jim has LOCKED HIS KEYS IN HIS TRUCK again, this time at Pep Boys. So once again I took Jim the other key and rescued his butt so he wouldn't have to call AAA and use up all our free "helps" in one week!!
Funny thing is, Jim has more than one hide-a-key....he just can't find them! So today before leaving Pep Boys, he had a couple more keys made! (lol!)

Can You Believe She's Graduating?

2008-05-23T16:48:00.000-07:00

Scanning

2008-05-20T17:14:00.000-07:00

I just figured out how to scan pictures on to the computer. Before I would get a whole page with the picture in the corner and couldn't figure how to cut or crop it. But now I found a way that does it automatically! YIPPEE! Of course now I have to figure out how to touch up these photos but all in due time...

odds & ends

2008-05-18T22:02:00.000-07:00

Naissa on her last day of T-ball. Not sure why her eye looks so weird but I know why her hair looks like it wasn't brushed....it wasn't! ;)

My very first zucchini grown in my own backyard! Funny, that right after I took this picture one of them went missing! I'm wondering if its fate was something like that of our eggs...which ended up cracked on our backyard fence and on the "grass".....hmmm.....?!?!

Zack had already left for school when I took this picture or his toes would've been in it too. This is an example of what happens when mom is gone. I didn't even know we had PURPLE nail polish. I KNOW we don't have polish REMOVER! I guess the kids will be wearing socks with their sandals until this wears off! LOL!!!

Isaac and T-Ball

2008-05-17T22:39:00.000-07:00

The last of the T-Ball and Baseball Games!! Of course there's nothing like ending the season with Naissa playing at 9am, Zack at 9:15am and Isaac at 9:30am ALL on DIFFERENT FIELDS!! Zack had to cheer for himself because we couldn't let Naissa or Isaac go to their games by themselves. To add to the schedule and the HEAT we couldn't find Naissa or Isaac's baseball clothes...No Shirt, No Shoes...We got a Problem! We decided not to stress on it and let them wear whatever! So they both played in sandals...Isaac wore his Yankees hat but he actually wears that every week anyway. You can see Isaac's clothes in the pictures below. As much as I love watching them play, I am so glad the season is over. I hate HOT weather. I hate driving and using gas. I hate flipping a coin to see who gets to see whose game. BUT I LOVE taking pictures of them playing! It was funny because Isaac got his hair cut and wasn't wearing his T-ball shirt and even though we were standing right with his coach, he didn't know Isaac was there! Nobody recognized him, until he got up to bat! I love hearing other parents talk. Especially when it's something good about my kids. (We all need encouragement that our kids are doing better "out there" than they do at home) I'm not afraid to say that Isaac is good at hitting the ball. I mean he's had enough practice! lol! But to hear it from other parents, just makes my heart swell. You can love something and not be that good at it.....baseball with Isaac is different so it would suck, if he did. (ha!!) ANYWAY each time Isaac got up to bat there would be chitter chatter about how good he was and blah blah blah. Little comments about his hair looking so cute and how they wouldn't want to be up against that little guy, he really slams it etc... It just filled my heart with things to ponder....or to blog about! :)

A couple of games ago, Isaac slammed the ball and it hit this little girl in the outfield, knocking the wind out of her and making her cry. Isaac paused, not knowing whether he should run to first or not. The dad patted Isaac on the back and told him "that was a great hit buddy" and that his daughter would be okay. So Isaac RAN as I listened to the parents talk about how hard "that little blond boy with the Yankee hat" can hit and how they were glad it wasn't them who got hit. After the game we made sure the little girl was okay, which she was, but she may have a mark in the morning! (That might be one of the reasons the 3yr olds play with tennis balls)

The Misadventures of.......

I'm back! (maybe)

Naissa and Savannah

slowly getting back to *normal*

T-Ball

Monterey

Dixie and Savannah

Jade Percussion

Choir

Jog-a-thon

Zack

Apricot Tree

Visit to Somerset

Look what's stole my heart

Raspberry Glasses

With bells on

The Best Ride in the Park

ToonTown

A little more Disney

More from the Merriest Place on Earth

The Merriest Place on Earth

Goofy's Kitchen

Santa's Elves Workshop

and he shoots....and he scores...and the Spartans win 42-40 over the Panthers

OHIO

Gracie and Kaya

So true, I had to copy

Favorite past pumpkins

pumpkins

Here are daddy's glasses

Naissa's reflection

Jade on Tenor

First Grade to the Fair

Zack and Football

Aniah and Tiahna's Birthday at the Tea House

Natalie Grant - I Will Not Be Moved - Official Music Video

One of many reasons "Boys Will Be Boys" is Crap

The Zoo

Pumpkin Farter Picture

Praise Alliteration (P)

You want a what?!?

Simon's Cat 'Cat Man Do'

Simon's Cat 'TV Dinner'

Simon's Cat 'Let Me In!'

30 second Barbie Wannabe

Gunner

Isaac and the Yellow Crayon

Happy Birthday

3 weeks old!

Back to School

Isaac

My Critters

We've got babies!

Mice, Eggs and Chocolate Milk

Beaches

mice

Misc.

Freedom Sale

Jophes Manhunter

17 years

Quick trip down Memory lane

Kristi the Frazzled

Set Me Free - VWOC - Ignite - SHOCKWAVE Drama Skit

The Butterfly - Author Unknown to Me

Lifehouse's Everything Skit

Lifehouse --- Everything

Linkin Park - Given Up (OFFICIAL Video)

Screaming!

Happy Sad Happy Sad Happy Sad

Cupcake Anyone?

Richie and Isaac Playing Some Football

Richie and Isaac Slidin'

Rissa and Naissa Slidin'

Why is it that everyday is "One of Those Days"??

Harley's Gift (and kids in the pool)

I'm back and so are the messes

My doll

BHS c/o 08

Kindergarten Celebration

Gunpowder and Lead

slowly getting back to normal