High Class Taylor Trash

Moved again

2010-11-07T18:38:00.001-08:00

Now posting over HERE

travel blog

2010-05-31T22:59:00.001-07:00

for now I am posting over here

Tee's!

2010-04-01T23:42:00.000-07:00

I was busy this Christmas! Every year I intend to make hand-made gifts and resist the buying frenzy from big-box stores. This is the first year I actually got passed the "intention" part of it, and got some real sewing done. Here are a few of the shirts I made.

I'm thinking about opening an etsy shop to sell custom tee's, and save up for an upcoming trip to Costa Rica. Until then, if anybody wants to buy one, e-mail me at amy . taylor 2 @ comcast.net (no spaces). I think I will sell them for $15/each for the "letter tees" and $20 for the "Mom" tee (hand-sewing takes more time!). Matching barrette - $2.

New blog header!

2010-02-21T01:18:00.001-08:00

I likey!

Check it out

2009-12-14T14:38:00.000-08:00

Check out Project 320....

On December 14th,

We are going to build a well.

You are going to build a well.

Because we can.

Because you can.

How?

Right now sweet, generous, creative and caring women from all over the country are sewing, knitting, painting, shopping, blogging, praying.

Donating.

Over 100 items.

Handmade and heartfelt happiness.

Starting

December 14th

and ending

December 18th

Project 320

will be holding a virtual raffle.

10 prize bundles.

Each $10 donation to the well

earns one virtual ticket.

You get to choose how many "tickets" to buy

and which prize package you want to win.

On December 21st we will "draw" ten winners.

But most of all,

we will celebrate the victory.

The promise of clean water for a village.

Life.

Are you excited?

You should be!!!!

Because it is going to be awesome.

Grab a button.

Spread the word.

Princess Ball

2009-05-29T20:58:00.000-07:00

Our church put on a Daddy-Daughter Dance called the Princess Ball. They are there right now. I hope she is having a good time with her daddy.

Mother's Day 2009

2009-05-16T20:34:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day Tea at the Preschool

2009-05-16T20:31:00.000-07:00

Commentary to come....

Multi-Cultural Fair at the school

2009-05-16T20:26:00.000-07:00

Commentary to come...

Road Trip Part 3

2009-05-16T20:20:00.000-07:00

Commentary to follow....

updating the vacation posts with pictures!

2009-04-22T23:05:00.000-07:00

See below.

Still have to post about our last couple of days.....

Still CrAzY.

2009-04-16T20:46:00.000-07:00

Day 5 (Tuesday). Packed up at the Pismo RV Resort Campground in the morning. While I showered and packed, Luke took the kids to the campground mini golf, but it sucked and the kids were fighting. We pulled out of camp around 12:00, and drove about 20 minutes before we realized neither of us packed the stroller.

Turned around and went back for it, to discover Zeke had pushed it to a neighboring campsite, and parked it at the door of a really nice motorhome. Maybe he was trying to upgrade? Sorry dude, you're stuck with us and the old, seen-better-days trailer.

We drove to LA, hoping to spend a little time with our friends Monica & Trevor who had a new baby boy 6 weeks ago.

Visit was nice, we spent a good amount of time trying to figure out where we could park the trailer close to Knott's Berry Farm so we could be close in the morning. In the end we decided to just stay parked in front of their house and drive the hour in the morning.

Day 6 (Wednesday).

KBF didn't open until 10:00am, and we were told we would hit less traffic if we left between 9:00 and 9:30. We were pretty on schedule with only a slight hold-up when Zeke got locked in the trailer bathroom. After trying to stick some pointy objects into the lock, Luke finally decided to remove the handle on the door. Zeke was freed, and we were on the road.

We circled the park a bit trying to find the RV parking, and finally got in the gates at about 11:00. Right off the bat Luke & Dane hit a roller coaster (the only one Dane was tall enough to ride - but a real roller coaster none-the-less).

Genevieve, Zeke and I went off to explore (for what turned out to be about an hour) while we waited. Zeke was having tantrum after tantrum, and was being a little hellion to tell the truth. By the time we met back up with Luke & Dane, I was about done for the day. Zeke is definitely a 2-parent kid.

We had a good day, the highlight being the log ride. The kids loved it. Zeke tolerated it the first 3 times or so, then was pissed the last 2.

The big surprise of the day was when we were eating dinner. Genevieve saw another roller coaster. A big one. The kind that goes upside down about 4 times. I would say similat to the Demon at Great America. She said she wanted to ride it. I told her she wasn't tall enough. She ran over and measured herself, and she was an inch or 2 too short. She insisted that she was tall enough.

Finally I told her, she could wait in line and see what the ride operator said. Luke was off buying food during all this, and I had the 2 boys, so I couldn't go with her. About 10 minutes pass, and she still wasn't back. Luke came back so I ran up the exit to see where she was. Well she was in front of the line, ready to go. I couldn't believe it. This tiny little 6 year old about to ride her first real roller coaster (and a doozy at that!), and she was going to do it by herself. I still can't believe the confidence she had. So I took off running to join her. I enjoy roller coasters less the older I get, and I had no desire to do this one. But I couldn't let her do this by herself. So we did it together. And she was hooked. We've got ourselves a little adrenalin junkie.

The last couple hours at the park there were virtually no lines, so we got to ride a bunch of rides. Minus the outrageously over-priced food, I think the park is a good bang for your buck for a family like ours. We didn't budget for Disneyland, and you can't do Disney in one day. KBF was a great fit. I'm sure it was a highlight of our vacation for our kids.

After we left the park at almost 10pm, we drove a couple hours south to park at our friends (the Berry's) house in San Diego.

Day 6 (Wednesday). We woke at the Berry's, and enjoyed a leisurely morning catching up. As leisurely as it can be with 8 kids running around. Yes eight. You might remember the Berry's from my other blog, where I explained how they were adopting 5 year old Ugandan twins. So the Berry's had their (now) 5 kids, and us with our 3. Actually for 8 kids, it wasn't that chaotic. We all went to Coronado beach, where it was altogether too windy and not nearly warm enough for a beach day. Somehow we still manage to get burned. I was a bad bad mommy who brought, but completely forgot to apply the sunblock.

We came back, showered, and unsuccessfully tried to get Zeke to take a nap. We had plans with to get together with a friend of mine form college for dinner, but she completely flaked on me. So we yet again imposed on the Berry's and they were gracious enough to feed us =). It was a sweet time that I'm glad we didn't miss. We got to look at some photo books that Brian made from their 2 trips to Uganda, and Becky & Billy (the twins) were right there getting so excited about the pictures. They have been here 2 months, and know soooo much english. Apparently they came over with quite a bit, and are picking up the rest at a rapid rate. In fact, we couldn't get them to speak Lugandan to us at all. Anyhow, all the Berry kids are absolutely adorable, and we are really enjoying our time with the whole family. Tomorrow we are going to the San Diego Zoo, and it will be the twins first time. Should be exciting!

Okay, done for now. The only new trailer news is that when Luke plugged us into the Berry's extension cord, he got shocked when he touched the outside of the trailer. We were plugged in all night, and he got a pretty big shock this morning. That one is much scarier than a leaky roof or even a flat tire. So um, yah, say a little prayer that we don't get electrocuted in this heap. =)

Yep, we're certifiably cRaZy.

2009-04-13T14:56:00.000-07:00

We're on a road trip. All 5 of us. 9 days. One truck. One trailer. Tight quarters.

But we're trying to build memories on a budget, so this is what it looks like.

When we pulled Grandpa Bob's trailer out of the storage lot last week we got a flat tire 1 block from the yard. Luke put on the spare, then later that week took the tire in for replacement. That's when we found out that while the tires didn't look too bad, they were in fact 13 years old. So we replaced them all. Except the spare.

The day before our departure it rained. That's when we discovered that the back of the trailer had a leak. When Luke got up there to caulk the "spot", he discovered there was actually a huge rotting "portion" of the roof. Thanks to Luke and his dad the roof was repaired, and all was well.

Day 1 (Friday). We thought we would head out of town around noon on Friday, catch the Good Friday service at church, and get on the road. I think we actually pulled out of town at 5:00pm. No service at church, and Jack in the Box on the road, just trying to put on a few miles. We ended up at Big Sur Campground. Did I mention we didn't make reservations anywhere? Yes, we know it's a holiday week. But we're like that. Sometimes. Fly by the seat of our trailer. Luckily we got a spot - although a little pricier than we had hoped.

Luke took the kids for a little hike in the morning and let me sleep in. I hadn't slept very well the night before. Maybe it was the bed. Oh yeah, this is funny. The last time we used the trailer we were a family of 4. Genevieve was about 3, and Dane was 15 months or so. Luke and I took the full-size bed in the"bedroom" (I use that term loosely), and we put Genevieve on the couch with a little bed rail, and set up a pack'n play next to her for Dane. That whole trip we apparently never pulled out the couch into an actual bed. So we didn't know that it was actually what Luke calls a "California Twin" Maybe a hair wider than a twin. I'm pretty sure it is the same width as a twin, only shorter, so it appears it's wider. Anyhow, we assumed the bed made into a full, and only discovered the teeny tiny bed after we had tucked all 3 kiddos into the full-size bed in the "bedroom".

So we laughed. And laughed. And laughed some more. Then we each hugged our corner of the bed, and tried to get some sleep.

Day 2 (Saturday). Only a few miles out of Big Sur, we hear a clunk - clunk - clunk..... outside. Luke pulls over to find that all 4 (5?) lugnuts on one of the new tires on the trailer are tearing up the rim. So he jacks it up and puts the spare on (you know, the one tire we didn't replace). And we spend the rest of the day looking for a tire shop. Nobody has that rim in stock, so we have them take the new tire off the ruined rim, and put it on the rim of the spare (old) tire.

Following this? We are on our way, however we don't have a spare now, and we still have to find someone who carries that rim.

Along the coast we see a beach with tons of sea lions on shore. The kids really enjoyed watching them, but it was super duper windy, so we didn't stay long.

After being told there's "no room at the inn" at a couple campgrounds, we end up at Morro Strand State Beach Campground in Morro Bay. Picture an asphault parking lot 'sort-of' on the beach - with no hookups, or campground showers =). We have a shower, but don't know how fast our holding tank will fill up. This place was kind of depressing. But the kids were tired of being in the truck, and we told them we weren't going to move for a whole day. So we dyed some eggs and called it a night.

Day 3. (Easter Sunday) The Easter Bunny came. The kids were thrilled with their meager easter baskets,

and we broke the news to them that we were in fact "moving" that day. We hid eggs, and while they were hunting, we quickly got the trailer hooked up and ready to move.

We promised we were just driving a tiny bit. We ended up at Pismo Beach at a nice campground, and to the kids delight we snagged a campsite next door to a little playground.

The campground is on the beach, but unfortunately when we got over there it was crazy windy and chilly. We were told it is like this every afternoon. Later we walked downtown, watched the surfers from the pier,

ate at a yummy BBQ joint (can' t remember the name), and finished off the evening with some self-serve yogurt & toppings.

Zeke was seriously delirious as he only had about a 20 minute nap for the whole day (not from lack of trying). Luke and I retired to our teeny tiny bed, only to have Zeke come paddling out of his room and insist on sleeping with us. Yes, that meant that Genevieve and Dane were living large in the full-size bed, while the 3 of us were all cozy in our "California Twin". I finally got up and slept with Genevieve and Dane with my feet hanging off the bed (we had put them in the bed sideways so they would all fit). Another night of less than average sleep.

Do I sound negative? I don't mean to. We are having a good time. It's just been somewhat of a comedy of errors. And this trailer has proven too small (and too old!) for our family of 5.

Day 4 (Monday). Are we already on day 4? Wow. We are still at Pismo Beach.

We decided to have a day where we are not moving. Although the beach is much to be desired here, the kids seem to enjoy being here (they love the playground and meeting all the kids who come to frequent it all day long). Right now Zeke is going on a 3 1/2 hour nap (hallelujah!). The kids are starting to complain that they're bored. We are heading south tomorrow, although not sure where. We're thinking of doing Knott's Berry Farm (because it's relatively inexpensive, and can be done in one day). But camping/RV options don't look great in LA, so we'll see. Would love to find a nice campground with a great beach. Have spent quite sometime looking for that, and have come up dry. I can find nice campground/poor beach access, great beach/parking lot campground. And nothing is close to KBF. We are willing to skip KBF if we can find a great beach destination. But between here and San Diego nothing looks great. Can you believe that? I had no idea.

Okay, off to get ready to do something when the baby wakes up. And yes, at 21 months he's still my baby. And probably always will be.

******Unfortunately no pictures until we return =(. I grabbed the wrong cord for my camera.

It's not only a name

2009-03-31T00:54:00.001-07:00

For those of you that thought "Taylor Trash" was just a cute little 'play on words' with our name....

Using the Force here at Taylor Trash

2009-03-27T22:53:00.000-07:00

Our little Dane Luke is turning 5, and wants to ring in his birthday Star Wars style.

So we are knee-deep in Darth Vadar, r2d2, light sabers, and jedi training prep. Should be a yoda fun. Get it? Yoda, instead of loada, or load of....

I crack myself up.

Invites....

My homemade stand-up in progress. In this picture I haven't attached it to the cardboard yet. I have to say I think it turned out really cool. It's probably 6 ft tall. I found a program that lets you turn any high res picture into a poster that you can print out in 8.5 X 11 sheets and put together like a puzzle.

She's our star

2009-03-23T10:57:00.000-07:00

But she also happened to be star of the week last week in her first grade class.

We didn't have much direction on what to do. I'm assuming the teacher sent something home at the beginning of the year, but since we're new to the class we didn't get it.

Anyhow, we made a poster. Okay, technically I made the poster, but Genevieve helped by filling in the little questionaires I made about her "favorites".

***Hint- if you click on the pictures you can see them in more detail =)

We are entering sports, starting with tee-ball....

2009-03-20T10:28:00.000-07:00

Dane is on the Little League Giants. They don't keep score. Every player has a turn at bat every inning. They don't get "out". They get to run a base at every hit.

So it's pretty much not baseball at all. But they get to wear the cute uniforms, swing a bat, and run. Can't be all that bad.

Cute towel, wrong name

2009-03-20T10:20:00.000-07:00

I decided to make a little hooded towel for our cousins new baby Grace Loren. Only I thought her name was Loren Grace. Notice the "L"?

Bummer.

I need to make her a new towel. Not sure what to do with this one. Don't think I have any friends expecting little girls whose name starts with "L" right now. Maybe she will just get both. And her parents can have a good laugh about it.

Soiled SUV

2009-03-19T14:33:00.000-07:00

My friend Wendy is having a contest. A contest I should be embarrassed that I'm a contender in. But there is something liberating about airing your dirty laundry, or "Dirty DMV" (Dirty Mini Van). The one last cool factor that I still hold onto is the fact that I don't drive a minivan. Luke and I made a pact, even before we were married. There would be no minivan. Ever. Not to say I don't drool over the lower vehicles with automatic doors and whole slew of make-your-life-easier-with-small-children options. I do. But a pact is a pact. And to tell the truth I realize there is nothing cool about SUV's, unless you're a mom and you're proud that you held out from the minivan. Then you think you've still got an ounce of coolness left. But really you're just holding out on practicality.

I digress.

Back to the competition. I'm entering my Soiled SUV. Last week when Wendy announced her competition I was so bummed because I had just driven on a field trip so I had "cleared" out my SUV. Notice I didn't say "cleaned" out. Wendy replied "give it a week, and submit your pics". I thought, 'oh no, not this time. THIS time, I am keeping it free from junk. No more STUFF. I'm taking everything in every time I get home.' Well here we are 10 days later, and I'm a contender. And probably a pretty strong contender.

The pictures don't really do it justice, but here goes.
#1 - The dash - We've got a NKJV Bible, 3 diapers, 2 preschool projects, and a bunch of bandages/ointment for Zeke's newest burn. Further down out of sight is a hat of Luke's.

#2 - The passenger seat. Always the first to collect all the crap. We have clothes I need to return to my SIL, about a weeks worth of mail (because that's how often I check our box at the end of the road), my giraffe purse, an empty lemonade container, another preschool project, and who knows what else underneath. In the consol thingy is another diaper, an empty Hansen's can, a hair clip, mailbox keys, DVD remote, and probably some garbage.

#3 - The passenger seat floor - A McD's bag, a Toys R Us bag with a couple birthday gifts, and the backing to 200 postcard stamps.

#4 - the 2nd row - 1 jacket, 2 sweatshirts, a sweater, 2 teddy bears, a dance costume, an old (probably moldy) sippy cup, a pack of stickers and a lid to a missing cup.

The "trunk" of the car has actually been uneventful. There are a couple pieces of cardboard for a project and a stroller. Not Taylor style at all.

Luke wanted me to disclaim that he doesn't even like to to ride in my car. I told him not too worry, as that seems to be the general rule with most husbands regarding the family car.

It is, what it is....

when I grow up

2009-03-14T15:26:00.000-07:00

Genevieve is 6 1/2. Many days she tells me what she wants to be when she grows up.

Today: "When I grow up I want to be a Professional Jump Roper."

Sweet. I guess your dad and I should start building the little cottage in back that you will surely be living in when you are 45. =)

And here she is being a monkey in her little jungle scene that she created.

My Valentine's Day gift to Luke

2009-02-19T23:43:00.000-08:00

This was my Valentines Day gift to Luke.

(turn off or pause the music player at the bottom of the blog)

It is only the last 7 years of our life because that's when we went digital. Scanning the previous 7 years will be a monstrous task. Someday maybe.

I realized Luke and I have very few pictures of just the 2 of us. I felt a little guilty cropping our kids out of all the pictures =)

Fun in the snow

2009-02-19T17:54:00.001-08:00

Dane had a ski lesson over New Years break, so this time he was a pro going up the rope tow and coming down the bunny slope.

Genevieve went to Ski School this time and did pretty good.

And Zeke just made a cute snow bunny

Lynda & Danny's Twain Harte cabin with lot's of snow. Gotta love the generous in-laws who share their cabin with us.

The King Family came up for a couple nights after they got over the flu.

Dane & Sam sledding in front of the cabin.

Genevieve & Grace making their way up the hill.

And a little winter hot tub fun.

Valentines Fun

2009-02-12T21:07:00.000-08:00

I love having the kids make their own valentines day cards. I don't go crazy, but I usually get some cardstock, do something cute with a picture of them, and have them add stickers. Simple, but homemade.

Sorry about the picture of Danes, my camera was a little flash-happy. His preschool class is the monkey room, thus the monkey stickers.

Cute little Dane-ism-

I was getting out the stuff for the cards, and he kept telling me "mom, there are 5 gils (can't say his "r"'s still). And I told him we were making the cards for everyone. And he asks "for the boys too?" Then when we were putting heart stickers on them he tells me again "I need 5 'hawts' for the gils". He couldn't believe that we were putting heart stickers on the boys cards too (we don't address the preschool cards).

I just think it's funny how he knows it's a kind of a "love" holiday, and wanted to just give the girls the cards. How cute is that?

Genevieve's turned out really cute. Hers are in spanish because she is in the dual immersion class. They didn't have to be, but I thought it would be fun.

And these are the treats I made to go with the cards. White chocolate dipped pretzel rods with sprinkles. Yummy and EASY.

Cutesie cake

2009-02-12T20:45:00.000-08:00

I made this little cake for my friend Kelli's birthday last week. I used a tiny little round pyrex dish and it was a personal little 3"-4" cake.

more water

2009-01-23T15:04:00.000-08:00

Can't stop thinking, and talking and doing water.

At the other blog

I so need to combine these.

need to combine blogs

2009-01-22T15:09:00.000-08:00

So it's apparent that I can't keep up 2 blogs. If I'm updating one, the other stands stagnant. I'm thinking there's a way to marry the two, but not sure what that is.

Any ideas?

Anyone?

Bueller?

Computer & Mexico

2009-01-18T09:39:00.000-08:00

Update on the crashed computer:

I found a guy via a friend of a friend who was able to retrieve all my data off the hard-drive. It cost $125, which I felt was a great deal considering my quote from Drive Savers for $2500. I then took my computer to apple so they could replace the hard-drive. Just got a call from apple, that it appears my hard-drive is working, and that something else was wrong with the computer to make it impossible to access the hard-drive. Ummmmmm, it would have been nice if they figured that out and told me BEFORE I went and PAID MONEY to have my data retrieved. THANK GOD we did not go to Drive Savers. Could you imagine if I paid $2500 to retrieve my data only to find out that it was never "lost" in the first place???? Apple just lost a few points in my book. They are the ones who told me that my HD was bad and to retrieve my data before I turned it over to them.

I will up the computer tonight or tomorrow and will know for sure what the scoop is. I am also learning that "backing up" my data gets a bit more confusing and involved because I am running Parallels and Windows. The only reason I am running these programs is because Quickbooks Mac is a crappy program, and won't do everything we need it to do, so I am forced to use the Windows version.

Way more than you ever wanted to know I'm sure.

Mexico! I realize from the different comments and e-mails that I never really explained WHY I took Genevieve to Mexico. Our elementary school has a Dual Immersion Program where students are taught in spanish starting in Kindergarten. It is a highly sought after program, and only half the school participates in this program. Priority is given by how many years you have lived in our town, and is open to the whole district, not just those who are supposed to go to our school.

We have had Genevieve on the waiting list since Kindergarten, and she JUST got a placement half-way through first grade. We got the call right before Christmas Break. So I had this crazy idea of taking her to Mexico to give her a little boost in spanish before throwing her into her new class. You know, since she will be A YEAR AND A HALF behind the other kids. Well my crazy husband supported my crazy idea, and it became our crazy reality. Our business is technically closed between Christmas and New Years, so Luke was able to be home with the boys while us girls went on our little mother-daughter adventure.

It was a great trip. The town of San Miguel de Allende was beautiful. The language school was top-notch. But the best part was seeing Genevieve in a new element. Wow, the difference without siblings to bicker with! It was great. I'm secretly planning our next mother-daughter get-away, because I truly enjoyed our time together like no other.

So Genevieve has been back in school for 2 weeks and she's doing great! The transition is going much smoother than I (or her new teacher) anticipated. I'm hoping that we can go somewhere this summer as a family to help keep up the spanish over the break.

A plug for the 'ol biz

2009-01-12T14:23:00.000-08:00

Back it up!

2009-01-11T14:41:00.000-08:00

Now.

Stop what you are doing, hook up your computer to an external drive (if you don't have one, go out and buy one), and BACK UP YOUR STUFF.

I'm the queen of reading these messages, and saying to myself "yah, I gotta do that....later".

Well later never came and my hard drive CRASHED.

NO WARNING. 9 month old computer.

ALL of our business information & customer accounts are on that hard drive. Our LIVELIHOOD.

All my pictures from the last 9 months.

I am a self-proclaimed IDIOT for not backing-up.

Right now I don't know what (if anything) will be salvaged. To send it to a professional data-retrieval place is between $2000-$3000. We MAY have to go that route. And we still MAY not get anything back.

Trying to have peace. These things throw me into such a tailspin. I have to remember that God CAN fix this problem. So if He chooses not to, I'm supposed to learn something from this ordeal. I'm pretty sure it is not supposed to be "panic" or "stress". I have to keep my eye on the bigger picture. Our lives may get really difficult for a while because of this, but they will not end.

One more lesson in PERSPECTIVE, that's for sure.

So why are you still reading this?

GO BACK UP YOUR PRECIOUS FILES!!!!!

Is it Lupus?

2009-01-07T10:29:00.000-08:00

My friend Danika has a new blog. Well, she's been blogging for a little while now, but her husband designed a new blog for her with different sections, and it's really cool. She talks about her journey with Lupus (which she is currently battling right now), and how that journey has affected her drive toward healthy eating, a healthy lifestyle, her parenting, her marriage, and her relationship with God. You should definitely check it out.

Is It Lupus?

need to update!

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

Hopefully tonight!

Remember these?

2009-01-04T18:13:00.001-08:00

My stork and (other signs) business has been plugging along ever so slowly, which I have been content with considering our crazy pace of life these days.

But it's time to kick this business into gear! Luke's painting business is quite slow right now, and the pool business isn't generating quite enough. So it's time to get serious about this business again.

Special Deliveries is back in the game baby!

Home!

2009-01-03T23:55:00.000-08:00

We got in this afternoon. Luke, Dane & Zeke came to pick us up at SFO airport. I was so excited to see Zeke. Of course all the boys too, but especially Zeke. He was the only one I couldnt' talk to on the phone (or at least hear his voice, since he STILL doesn't talk). And babies change so much so fast.

Can I just tell you how he just about broke my heart?

Seriously.

When he saw me, the look on his face was indescribable. It was NOT joy or happiness. It was confusion, a little anger, and just plain unhappiness to see me.

When I put my arms out to him he pulled away and clung to Luke.

I think he had come to terms with the thought that I was gone forever, and had settled into a life with daddy. And I came home and threw a wrench in what he thought was reality.

He has been hot and cold with me all evening.

Sometimes he would come sit in my lap, and other times only daddy would do.

Seriously broke my heart =(.

I will be updating my other posts with pictures and more info, so scroll down in the next couple of days.

Adios amigos!

can't sleep

2009-01-02T21:52:00.000-08:00

in bed, under the covers, fully-clothed. alarm will go off in 3 hours. still can't sleep. =(

Feliz Ano Nuevo! ~ Thursday

2009-01-01T22:58:00.000-08:00

New Years Day closed most of San Miguel down. However we did still have school (which I'm grateful for since we paid for a week!). There were still a few restaurants and stores open, but definitely not the crowds like the other days.

My teacher Eduardo took us to el mercado artisiennes (sp?) today. So here's the wierd thing about San Miguel which makes it distinctly different than other parts of Mexico that I've visited.

They don't bargain.

Nor are the vendors aggressive. They are the opposite of aggressive. They hardly will even ask you to buy something from them.

Once they name their price, that's it. They will let you walk away if you don't want it. It was so weird.

new post tomorrow

2008-12-31T21:36:00.000-08:00

need sleep.....

asta manana

fell off the blogging wagon - Wednesday

2008-12-31T19:43:00.000-08:00

Yah, a few pictures! Here is Wednesday.....

My maestro took us on a little walk around town. We went and visited Juarez Park (no pics, I don't want to press my luck!) and these public lavados (where people wash their clothes). Most people don't use them anymore, because the water is pretty funky. But there are a few poor who do, like in this picture. There is a spring that feed the "baths" (cement sinks).

After I took this picture the lady on the right charged me =). TIM!

We learned of an interesting Mexican tradition. It is customary to give the gift of underwear on New Years Eve, to family, co-workers, etc.

Here at the school the teachers and employees drew names (like a secret santa), and all exchanged their "gifts" after class.

It was pretty funny to watch. I guess different colors have different meanings.

The girls underwear kept getting smaller and smaller.....

Here I am with some camels. I'll explain more later. I'm in bed trying to get a few hours sleep before I have to get up at 3:00am to catch my ride to the airport. UGH!

Okay, actually I am here with a camel, an elephant, and a horse. They were guys on stilts representing the 3 Kings. Apparently Mexicans celebrate another holiday in early January called 3 Kings Day (or something like that). While they do celebrate Christmas & Christmas Eve, and they do exchange a few gifts, it is this 3 Kings day where they really go crazy with gift giving. Kind of makes sense, no?

And here we are enjoying New Years Eve at El Jardin (where everything that's anything happens). There was a band playing for like 45 minutes, with fireworks going off in between songs.

Genevieve loves these huuuge spaklers. They were like 3 or 4 feet long metal ones. It was a fun night although we didn't stay up to midnight to ring in the new year. It was freezing, we were not dressed-accordingly, and too late for a 6 year old who had school the next day.

Tuesday ~ more fun in Mexico

2008-12-30T19:53:00.000-08:00

Another great day here in San Miguel de Allende. Getting up this morning was a bear. Can't seem to get on the right time zone. Genevieve is still awake again, and it's almost 10pm (but her body thinks it's 8pm). You would think getting up at 7:30am (5:30am to our bodies) and all the walking we are doing would just make her pooped at night. I get her in bed earlier and she just can't seem to sleep. Unfortunately I am having the same problemo, but mine is no surprise since I have sleep "issues" in my normal life.

I'm not picking up the spanish as quickly as I had hoped. Too many people know enough english around here that I can get by without making too much of an effort en espanol. Kind of defeats the purpose, huh? But when you are stumbling through your spanish and they clarify what you are saying in english, it's not very motivating. It's not the case everywhere and with everyone, but the people here seem to be well-educated and have varying knowledge of the english language.

The coolest part about San Miguel is El Jardin, which I've mentioned before. It's the town square where everything happens. I love it. On one side of the square is La Peroquia - huge gorgeous catholic church. Today we got to see the festivities of a quincinerra taking place. It was literally like a mini - wedding. Heck, there was nothing mini about it. There was a full on "bridal" party with girls in matching dresses, boys in tux's, and even a "groom",which I guess was her date. There was no expense spared, let me tell you.

I really love Main St in Pleasanton. But it holds nothing to a town square. I think every town should have one. With little cafes and outdoor seating, a bank, a church, some restaurants, a little park in the middle. It's charming.

No real TIM moments today if you can believe that. We've decided to walk most everywhere instead of the bus. I didn't realize that the bus was only saving us a few blocks each way.

More to write later. I can only get one photo to upload. It's of La Peroquia (not sure on spelling). It's gorgeous at night when it's all lit up, as is the rest of El Jardin.

Adios for now!

Lunes- a good day

2008-12-29T19:40:00.000-08:00

Can't get my photos uploaded tonight for some unknown reason, so this will be a picture-less post for now.

Our B&B hostess keeps asking what we want for breakfast each evening, but when I make suggestions she says "no". So then I ask her what she makes and she answers eggs. And huevos rancheros (um...eggs?). So eggs it is. One of the reasons I picked this place was because I read reviews what a phenominal cook she was, so I'm puzzled. But TIM!

Today we got up at 7:30 (ouch) and got ready for school. The school is great. The people who run it are nice, the teachers are nice, they seem to really have it together. They are definitely my information source for all my questions. They take the kids on little field trips to the park, market, and so on. They include field trips in the afternoon for the adults as well - market, walking tour, cooking lessons, dance lessons (um no) all included in the tuition cost.

Genevieve is in school from 8:30 to 1:15. I am in class from 9:00 to 11:00. So that gives me a couple hours to do all the walking and window-shopping I want without boring Genevieve to death.

I'm ashamed to say I had Subway for lunch today, but let me explain why. I a=only had about 45 minutes to catch a bite before I had to go back to get Genevieve. So I wanted something quick, cheap, and predictable. I went back to the over-priced La Terazza because it was convenient, and I had seen someone order nachos the day before that looked yummy. So I ordered the nachos and a drink. It was 12:30. However, I am told that they don't have nachos right now, but I can have chips & salsa, chips and guacamole....... so I ask "you have no cheese?", and the waiter answers oh no, they have cheese, but nachos are on the comida (lunch) menu and they are still serving from the desayuno (breakfast) menu, but you can have a quesadilla con queso (which is on the comida menu). So they have chips. And they have cheese. But they can't make me nachos at 12:30pm because they are still serving breakfast. But I am allowed to order a quesadilla from the lunch menu.

Again.

TIM.

So I went and got Subway =).

Genevieve made some friends in her class from Seattle. The family is staying here for 3 months, taking in the culture and learning the language. We had a play-date with them this afternoon. Super nice people.

We came back home for a siesta. Funny how I really need one here. I don't sleep, but I do need the rest. I guess I am doing quite a bit of walking around town.

Lastly we went to an italiano restaurante for cena. The food was pretty good, although Genevieve didn't agree (see a pattern here?). But again she didn't complain, she was just "full" after a few bites.

We finished the evening with a little shopping and homework. We got a late start in the evening and it was 10:00 by the time G got to bed - oops. Need to figure out our schedule a little better.

Asta!

Sunday - a new day

2008-12-28T21:13:00.000-08:00

We slept in until 11:00am. Well, I did. Genevieve got up with the alarm at 9:00, got herself dressed, then realized I wasn't going anywhere and she got back in bed with me.

With a full night's sleep, some daylight, San Miguel was looking much better to me.

This is the inside or courtyard of where we are staying. The big wall and metal door on the street is deceptive of what's inside.

I got dressed and we were getting ready to leave for the day. Then the B&B owner used her key and came into our room without knocking. Nice. She apparently needed to get some towels from the closet in our room and thought we were gone. A simple knock at the door would have told her otherwise. But This Is Mexico - here on out referred to as "TIM".

We jump on a bus because Genevieve wanted to ride one ever so badly. I ask someone at the stop where the bus went, and thought I knew where I was going. But the bus driver told me to get off somewhere else. Apparently he didn't go where I thought (or was told) he went. Our main goal for the day was to find Centro Bilingue -the language school we will attending tomorrow. Just wanted to find it so we could get there on time at 8:30 monday morning.

But once again we are starving. We find a place at the Jardin (the town square) called La Terazza. I have Genevieve excited about pancakes, but by the time the waiter actually comes to TAKE our order, they are done serving desayuno, and have moved on to the comida menu. Apparently they stop serving breakfast at 1:00pm. Who knew. So we order 1 hamburgessa con queso, 1 order of papas fritas and 1 refresca naranja, (which G was pretty happy with), and the bill is $125 pesos! That's $10 USD. CrAzY. It's freaking Mexico for crying out loud.

Comida was done, it took like an hour and a half. Service is slooooooooow here. Especially for a woman and child.

We went and found the school. It was closed since it's Sunday but at least we know where it's at.

Now for the fun part. At the town square (La Jardin. Or El Jardin....I don't know), there was a clown putting on a performance for kids and families. We sat down to watch. We didn't understand a thing he was saying but he was apparently quite funny as everyone was laughing. He had a good audience of about 150 people I would guess. He then starts asking for volunteers. 4 boys, then 4 girls. Genevieve (surprised me) and raised her hand and was picked. As she goes with the clown I call out "no habla espanol!", so he would know.

The clown lines up 4 pairs by height. Each pair has a boy and a girl. He then leads them in a version of "Simon Says". Genevieve doesn't understand his words, but follows her partner and teh ones around her. He has them put their hand on their partners head. Then on their partners shoulder. The he has them go forehead to forehead. Cheek to cheek. Everyone is cracking up by now. Nose to nose. Chin to chin. Then he speeds it up and has them do it all over again really fast, and the last thing he says is lips to lips. Poor Geneveive doesn't even know what he said and gets lips planted on her. The 2 older pairs balked at the last request, and were dismissed from the game. The 2 younger pairs were declared the winners and given a prize.

Genevieve later told me that she had fun, except at the end. She said it was like they were getting married, but didn't get to pick who she married. =)

(she's talking in her sleep as I type this).

After that we did a lot of walking around. We discovered Starbucks - which is sooo weird.

And finally hopped on another bus (which didn't really take me where I wanted to go), to come "home". The plan was to take a little rest and grab a late dinner, which is customary here. But I was too tired to go back out, so we had a seriously healthy dinner of granola bars, cheese-its, and popcorn.

I finished off the evening with ichatting Luke, and blogging =).

It's now midnight (10:00 CA time), and I need to hit the hay because the alarm will ring at 7:00 for the first day of school.

Adios!

here we go

2008-12-28T20:40:00.000-08:00

Okay, yesterday was a rough one. Let me start at the beginning. We had a 12:50am flight from San Francisco. Yes, you read that right - 12:50 in the middle of the night. So we get on the plane and someone is sitting in our window seat. Genevieve says "I want to sit by the window", and Seat Stealer who obviously thinks he is sitting in the right seat, says she can sit there for take-off, but then he needs it back because "he needs to get some sleep". I'm irritated, but don't say anything because he thinks he is being nice. THEN, a lady comes down the isle and says we are in HER seat. So I take out our boarding passes and show her that we are in the right row, and Seat Stealer takes his out and realized he in the wrong ROW. So we get our window seat, although still didn't get much sleep.

3 hours of flight and we get to the Dallas airport where we are supposed to have a 3 hour lay-over. It's torturous. I'm exhausted and there's nowhere to rest. All seats have arms on them so there is no laying down (think they did that on purpose?). Comfort is not much better than on the plane. And Genevieve was on an adrenaline high. Oh, but it gets better. The 3 hour layover turns into 5.5 hours, as there was a storm in Dallas, and teh plane we were supposed to take was delayed. Longest 5 hours of my life. Especially because they kept saying another 15 min. or 30 min. or 45 minutes. Then we got hungry and didn't have enough time to go get food. LAME.

We hop on the next plane - which was a teeny tiny 40 seater. I didn't know this. I didn't like this. No sleeping on this 2.5 hour leg either. Ugh.

Finally get to the airport where we see the transportation service holding our name. Awesome. But wait. We can't leave now because we have to wait for another person coming on another plane in another 40 minutes. So we go to find some crappy over-priced airport food, and use the ATM. I accidentally took out 200 pesos (instead of dollars - hey I was tired!), and paid a 75 peso transaction fee to do so. Then I found out that the airport ATM has bad exchange rates anyways and I should wait.

We go back to meet our transporter, and find out that the extra passenger we waited for, wasn't there. Great. We could now start on our 1.5 hour drive to San Miguel. I ask the driver if he can take me to an ATM (he doesn't undertsand) so I say "bank". He tells me that they close at 4:00, and it is already 3:45 because we had to wait for imaginary passenger.

The drive to San Miguel was uneventful. Genevieve chose to play her Leapster instead of look out the wimdow. But in all truth there wasn't much to see.

We FINALLY get to the B&B on the edge of town a little after 5:00. Driver unloads our bags and knocks on the door for us. No answer. He calls the number for the B&B. No answer. Me, almost in tears asks "but what do I do?". To which driver shrugs and says "I don't know. Wait?" And I realize he is also saying "hey look lady, I got you from point A to point B, you're not my problem ". So we sit on the cobblestone sidewalk of a street lined with walls, doors, and garages. I use every ounce of strength I have to not completely lose it. The one tear that escaped was quickly brushed away as I tried to hold it together for Genevieve.

I call Luke. He's worried, but also helpless. So we wait. About 30 very long minutes pass, and just as panic was beginning to set in, a car pulls up and a man gets out. I ask if he is staying here. He says it's his mom's place and he let's me in. Apparently the B&B owner went to the store. In all fairness I should have called to say our plane was delayed. But I never would have guessed that nobody would be there. So we were in. But not in our room, because the son didn't know which would be ours.

We were exhausted. And getting hungry. After we got settled, it was close to 7pm. We are assured the town is VERY safe, then told of a restaurant in walking distance. So we go. And it's dark. And creepy. And I'm doing the exact thing I said I wouldn't do. Out at night alone in the dark. Tired, hungry, and waiting for the banditos to jump out of the bushes. However all was uneventful. Found the restaurant. Food was pretty good. Genevieve didn't agree, but didn't whine and complain at least. Poor kid is going to starve here.

Get back "home" and settle in for the evening. And just about cry myself to sleep, thinking what have I gotten us into?

blogging again!

2008-12-27T22:11:00.000-08:00

I'm going to be on here a bunch in the next few days. You just wait and see.

I'm in Mexico. Just me and Genevieve.

Details tomorrow.

I'm lonely. And overwhelmed.

It's weird not having another adult to rely on.

Trying to get some sleep.

Signing off for now.

Adios!

Putting this one off

2008-11-17T00:42:00.000-08:00

This is a hard one. I've been putting off writing this for 2 weeks. It was a mommy moment I don't care to ever relive. Although I'm sure I will in some form or fashion.

Zeke burned his hand. Like really bad.

The short and the long of it is that our kitchen was a little out of sorts because we had lost 90% of our power the day before. The coffee pot was moved, the stool was left down, and Zeke was not in our sight. On Friday morning (Halloween), I was hanging with the older 2 kids in the living room trying to wake up, and Luke was walking out the front door when we heard the cry. All mom's know that the pain cry is different than all other cries. Luke ran back into the kitchen to see Zeke standing on the stool below the coffee pot. His hand was red, but did not look horrible. But I knew by the cry that it was bad. Luke said I think he's going to be okay (nothing against dad's - Lord knows Luke is a great one, but they don't have mama bear instincts). I grabbed Zeke, grabbed my keys and raced out the door to the urgent care clinic in town. My poor baby did the pain cry the whole way there. I did the mom of a baby in pain cry the whole way there too. The doctors and nurses were great. They gave him some Tylenol with Codeine for the pain. I was hoping they would give me something too. =)

But it didn't stop.

He cried. I cried.

He cried more, I cried more.

He didn't want to be in my arms, he didn't want me to put him down. He couldn't be consoled. He hurt.

It was killing me.

Finally they decided to give him more meds for the pain.

While there, the redness of the burn got more intense, and then large white streaks appeared where the burn must have been most intense. And a couple tiny blisters appeared. By the way, the burn was on the back of his hand. We think he grabbed the handle and pulled the coffee pot toward him and burned the back of his hand on the glass.

The nurse cleaned the burn and bandaged it up really well. We got a prescription and went home. And slept.

While on the pain meds he actually seemed to be doing quite well. I had pictured Zeke and I having a quiet evening at home that night, but we decided to go ahead and stick with our plans to go to the Candy Zone at the church.

Here is our little stinker bandaged up.

We were given instructions to clean the burn every day and to redress it with fresh bandages. I wasn't home the next day when Zeke took off his dressings, so Luke did it solo. I was secretly glad, because I was really dreading looking at it. Luke said that it didn't look too bad.

But the next day I didn't escape the duties.

When we took off the dressing, I almost puked and passed out. It looked awful. The burn was bright red and the white areas had swollen and filled with what looked like fluid. It just looked sooooo painful.

That was the worst of it. A few days later the swelling went down, and the skin looked melted on top with bits of raw flesh peaking out underneath.

The picture below is at the end of that stage - and not nearly the worst of it. It was still gross, but looking so much better by then. Thus the picture. I couldn't bring myself to take a picture in the earlier stages.

This last one is nearly 2 weeks later when it was really starting to heal. You can't tell from the picture, but the new skin was still pretty raw. It has only been the last 2 days where his skin is actually starting to look good.

Zeke was really a trooper. After he got those 2 doses of pain meds he was great. Much better than mommy. I kept him on those for about 3 days, then he didn't seem to need it anymore. The dressings hardly bothered him. He hated that we would tape a plastic bag over his hand while he ate (to keep his bandages clean), but other than that, he acted like his normal self. He became a "lefty" very quickly, and did just about everything with his left hand with no problem.

I am just so thankful that he is okay, and that the burns weren't worse than they were. He could have poured scorching coffee all over his body just as easily. I thank God that he did not.

This is just one more thing that makes me hold him a little tighter, and a little longer each day.

The End.

Carving Time

2008-11-17T00:17:00.000-08:00

The day before the big "H", the kids had fun carving away. It's actually fun now that the kids can do their own pumpkins for the most part.

I look at these pictures and I'm so torn. Halloween is such a fun holiday for the kids. It holds 3 of the most fun things you can do~

1. Dressing Up

2. Collecting candy. Lot's of candy

3. Stabbing large squash to create funny faces.

What's not to love?

And it seems innocent enough.

The problem I have is the history of Halloween, and even what it still means to some today.

Even though we are not participating in any kind of witch-craft or worshipping of spirits, I know that it is a significant day for people who do. And just the fact that we are "celebrating" it in any way doesn't set well with me.

This year we went to the Candy Zone at our church. Kind of a Halloween alternative. Really a fun time for the kids. But I still can't escape the fact that we are "celebrating" and partaking in a day laced with evil.

So why don't we just NOT participate? Well, part of it is that I don't want to be one of those parents. And I want my kids to have fun. And experience the excitement. And I can't imagine not going to the pumpkin patch every year.

But really, those reasons don't appease my uneasiness. I know that by even putting this in writing there will be those that think I'm nuts for making such a big deal of this. And will already think I'm one of those parents. But I'm just kind of working this out in my head, and using this blog to figure out my thoughts. Not really sure what I'm going to do with this in the future. Good thing I have 11 and a half months to figure it out.

Is this me?

2008-11-14T23:42:00.000-08:00

I'm too lazy to post a real post, so instead I'm posting this.

Your Personality Cluster is Introverted Intuition

You are:

You are multilayered and complex. No one can quite understand you.

You are very inspired and driven to achieve your goals.

Whether you know it or not, you are a visionary with a complete life plan.

You are intuitive enough to understand difficult problems, ideas, and people.

What's Your Personality Cluster?

Wondering of those who know me if you agree???? Don't be shy, leave a comment. Enquiring minds want to know....

It was frozen!

2008-11-12T22:52:00.001-08:00

If you've been checking this blog, wondering when I was going to update it. You should know that my blog was frozen in cyber-space. I accidentally deleted my google account (Bloggers - NEVER do this to yourselves - learn from my mistake), and lost all access to my blogs. This one stayed up (minus the pictures), but I couldn't access it. My other blog came down completely. After much research and agony, I thought they were gone forever.

THANKFULLY some of the Blogger Support Team at Google had mercy on me, and restored my account! It took a lot of doing, and some persistence on my part, and the help of some friends (& strangers) for my case to get to the right people.

So here I am. I'm baaaaack. And I have a few updates. But no time right now. So I will be back soon!

The First Noel, the Angel Did Say.....

2008-11-03T15:23:00.001-08:00

Go check out the latest auction over HERE

Some pre-Halloween fun!

2008-10-30T23:48:00.000-07:00

Genevieve's school put on a Jack O'Lantern Jamboree last week. We had Dorothy from Wizard Of Oz, Batman, our Little Stinker and our Big Stinker....haha.

How cute are they?

Our Little Stinker got a treat!

Daddy, Grandpa & kids camping weekend

2008-10-22T14:50:00.000-07:00

Luke and his dad took Genevieve & Dane to the Rubicon to go 4-wheeling and camping, leaving mommy at home with Zeke (ahhhhh the quiet!)

They had a great (albeit cold nights) weekend together, and got to do all the fun tent, campfire, dirt, hiking, shenanagans they could handle.

We realized that with the comforts of our houseboat, we really were not so "into" the dirt camping so much anymore. Luke and I used to camp ALL THE TIME. And I loved it when we did.

Now?

Not so much.

Maybe when the baby gets older.

Here is the Bronco - resurrected from her LONG nap.

And the boys enjoying the campfire

The Rubicon at it's finest

Having fun at camp

And enjoying the wilderness.

Okay, that was fun.

Now go check out the auction over HERE

It's over there ----->

2008-10-21T15:54:00.000-07:00

The auction is UP over at "the other blog"

Super cute hand-made somethings you won't want to miss!

What are you waiting for....? Go NOW! =)

www.callingforjustice.blogspot.com

Check it out

2008-10-20T14:28:00.000-07:00

For some reason this blog gets twice the traffic as my WAY MORE IMPORTANT blog =)

So go check it out!

Go HERE

http://callingforjustice.blogspot.com/

On being "Luke's Wife"

2008-10-19T13:17:00.001-07:00

Most of the time when I walk into a room, I get the "she looks familiar, but I don't know where from" look. Or maybe just a blank stare, as there is no recollection what-so-ever. I'm vanilla. A Plain Jane. Nothing stands out. Nothing rememberable. I'm not saying I'm ugly, just not memorable. It's okay. I've gotten used to it. I guess it's better than being recognized by my big fat neck goiter or something, right? (No offense to anyone with neck goiters). (And please don't feel the need to comment that I am NOT plain, or that I'm NOT vanilla. I'm not fishing for compliments. It's just fact. My unscientific studies have proven it).

And then in walks Luke. And people who have only met him like one time, like 20 years ago, instantly know who he is....and now they know who I am....."Luke's wife".

These are actually not very becoming pictures of either of us, but one of the kids took them, and I thought they were interesting.

Luke definitely has a unique look. But I am not sure it is just that. I think he has a personality that people are drawn to, and remember him because of it. He was that kid in school that was popular but didn't even know it. He was "cool" without even trying. (If any CVHS alumni are reading this and disagree - feel free to post! Maybe I've got my perceptions wrong).

So yesterday I'm at a birthday party sans Luke, and halfway through the party I get the "hey you're Luke's wife, right?" from the brother of my friend (who is the host) and who I knew before he even knew Luke. And what I wanted to say was "Yah. I'm the wife of the guy you ONLY know through your sister, through ME. That's me. His wife."

Now "friend" if you are reading this, don't feel bad about your brother. It happens all the time, this just happened to be the most recent, thus the focus of my random post.

We had a joke awhile back where he would call me "Mrs. Luke". It was from some movie, can't remember which one. It always prevoked a serious eye-roll. Who knew how true it was?

This my friends, is what it's like to be Luke's Wife.

Mr & Mrs Luke

Cheesy Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-17T21:25:00.000-07:00

We tried out a new pumpkin patch last weekend - the one at the fairgrounds. Let's just say that my kids now equate pumpkin patches with (over-priced) rides and jumpy houses. Still, it was a good time. We met some (relatively new) friends Chris, Shauna & Isaiah there (& Isaiah's grandparents).

I love this picture because it captures Zeke and the infamous "pointy finger". He points all day long at everything he sees. It's adorable.

Genevieve enjoying a $3 ride on the carousel....

catching a ride....

and a video of Zeke walking, because I love the toddler walk -it never gets old

Been feeling crafty

2008-10-07T13:51:00.001-07:00

I've been busy! I made this little crayon holder for my niece Paige for her 4th birthday. It holds those little mini Crayola Twistables (which I love, because they don't break!)

I also made her a little coloring book

And here is my fancy-shmancy cam-corder strap. Why I felt the need to doll it up...I don't know. It's the small things in life sometimes...

Guaranteed I will be able to recognize it if it's ever lost in a sea of other cam-corders! But who am I joking. I don't take this thing anywhere anymore. That ended with the arrival of kids numbers 2 & 3. Ha! I'm pretty sure by doing this I have ended the chance of Luke ever carrying this in public. I guess I could have picked something a little more manly than strawberries...

I also made our friends daughter a dress for her 2nd birthday. Completely forgot to take a picture of it though. I'm going to have to see if I can still do that. I'll post when I get one.

Blog Auction

2008-09-29T23:55:00.001-07:00

Please check out the blog auction over here.

Thanks!

So cute I had to share

2008-09-24T15:37:00.001-07:00

Gosh, it's been like 3 months now, but I kept forgetting to share. I ordered a custom canvas piece for Genevieve's room. I "met" a gal from an online forum (the Diaper Pin), and when I saw her website I fell in love with her work. We talked about what I envisioned, and I waited anxiously for the finished product. I was really nervous because I have never done anything like this before. Would I like it? Would it be what I expected? Would it be good quality?

And all I can say is WOW. When I opened the box I was blown away. The details in the artwork are truly amazing. The piece looks perfect in Genevieve's room above her bed. Annie from Penny Pickles is truly gifted. The bummer is that pictures don't do her work justice. The fine details are what make her work stand out, and a photo just doesn't capture it.

Our little walker

2008-09-17T19:03:00.000-07:00

Please ignore my annoying high-pitched voice =)

A new skirt

2008-09-16T20:41:00.000-07:00

I decided to take some of my material scraps and make G a new skirt. No real pattern involved, just a brown paper bag I cut in the shape of the panels, some scissors, and an idea! I made it like a rag quilt, with the seams on the outside that I cut into fringe.

She loved that it was so colorful, and that it was unique to her!

Twain Harte with the Fam

2008-09-16T16:20:00.001-07:00

Fun times at Twain Harte Lake

Zeke is getting to be such a big boy.

Our little blondie. This summer Dane's hair got really blonde since we didn't cut it.

Genevieve & Dane playing on a makeshift wooden surfboard.

Zeke & Uncle Scott. Scott moved back to CA from NY a few months ago. We look forward to spending more time with him on fun weekends like these.

Rejected

2008-09-11T21:32:00.000-07:00

I am a carpool reject. Nobody wants me =(

I'm sure if I wasn't pms-ing it wouldn't be a big deal. But I am, and I want to cry. How lame is that?

Dane's first day of Pre-K

2008-09-08T23:41:00.000-07:00

Ms Kristen ~ isn't she darling? And she's single guys...

Playground kisses and puking

2008-09-08T15:55:00.000-07:00

I picked up Genevieve from school today (1st grade), and this is how our conversation went.

Genevieve: I kissed Isaiah, and he kissed me back.

Me: Oh really? (cut me some slack, I wasn't sure how to respond yet)

Genevieve: Yah, and we want to marry each other. I like him so so so much.

Me: Is that right? (profound words of wisdom, I know)

Genevieve: Isaiah and I were thinking we should have a playdate, because we really love each other.

I don't know who this Isaiah kid is, but I think I need to have a talking to his parents, and tell them to keep their sons paws OFF MY DAUGHTER!!!!!

When we pulled into the driveway, Dane began puking all over himself, the seatbelt, and the booster seat. Today was Dane's first day of preschool as a pre-K kid. What a way to ring in the new school year. Sorry in advance Ms Kristen and the rest of the Monkey Class =(.

And now I'm starting to feel queezy. Because that's what I do when my family is sick. What is it called? Power of suggestion? I know it's in my head. But I still can't help it. Yuck.

Clear Lake County Fair - Labor Day Weekend

2008-09-01T00:07:00.000-07:00

We spent the holiday weekend at Clear Lake with Luke's fam. It's tradition to go to the County Fair. This year for $5, you could ride in the back of a monster truck. Luke, his dad, and Dane all took a spin. Dane LOVED it.

Don't mind the obnoxious parents talking in the background. It IS ClearLake after all.....

Genevieve's first day of FIRST grade

2008-08-26T23:33:00.000-07:00

Mrs Gunn

New blog

2008-08-03T21:00:00.000-07:00

I've decided to start a new blog for all my "changing the world" posts. You can visit it HERE if you are interested. Actually, please do visit it, as I have some exciting ideas I want to share with you. In the very near future I will have some ways you can help change the world too!

I've never cared about blog readership before. Meaning, my blog has been more for me and documenting my life, more than anything else. But I really hope to gain some readers with the new blog. I am passionate about making a difference for the lost, forgotten, oppressed, and abused; and I hope that my blog will help others realize that there are things we can do to help them.

Changes

2008-08-03T11:34:00.000-07:00

I know these are small changes, but they are something, and I want to move with my momentum.
I am going to resist the fashion frenzy. It's such a waste of resources. Time, energy and money. Those of you that know me are probably getting a little worried right about now. There really isn't much fat to cut in that area of my life. Sometimes I am barely above the long braids and homemade smocks our sisters on the compounds wear. Even so, I find myself thumbing through magazines and checking out what Hollywood has deemed worthy for this season, and sometimes even make a lame attempt to "be in style". So the first thing I am going to do, is not buy the magazines (which I don't very often anyways). The funny thing is I randomly started receiving Glamour magazine about 3 months ago. I didn't subscribe to it. I mean really, I'm 32 with 3 kids, and I don't think I have even looked at that magazine in like a decade. After the 2nd one came I started to get paranoid that someone in my life thought that I looked THAT bad, and thought if they sent me this magazine I would get some fashion tips out of it. I don't think that anymore (although here's your chance to fess up whoever you are!), but I still don't know where it came from. So I'm just going to recycle it. And instead of trying to keep up with the trends of high-waist vs.low-rise, wedges vs. heels, (and well, that's all I can think of because I am not fashion savvy), I'm going to find my own style and stick with it. So if you see me rockin my cowboy boots that are oh-so passe from like 4 seasons ago, I'm wearing them because I like them. And heck, maybe I'll drag out that off-the-shoulder poncho that's still hanging in my closet from 3 years ago (okay, I never actually had one of those, because they were on their way "out" before I got up the nerve to buy one).
I don't think I'm going to just let myself completely go (although it is tempting, and what better excuse than to do it in the name of fighting social injustices!), but I'm going to spend a lot less time worrying about it. I'm going to try to be healthy, but not be so focused on the 10 lbs I would like to lose. Because in the big picture - it really doesn't matter.
Okay, that's it for now! 1 change a day is good. But the day is still early so you never know what kind of crazy stuff I'll come up with as the day wears on.

Inspired, to say the least.

2008-08-02T22:28:00.000-07:00

God has been preparing me for tonight's message. I've been moved. For quite some time I have had this all-consuming feeling of "not enough". I simply wasn't doing enough in the face of world hunger, the AIDS epidemic, child trafficking, modern day slavery, child soldiers, etc. There is so much corruption in this world that has forced people into unthinkable circumstances, horrific abuse and unimaginable deaths. I've laid awake many nights wondering how I, a nobody stay-at-home-mom could make a difference. It's overwhelming. It's daunting. It's scary to think that I am making a choice to take it on. Because with this choice, comes a whole new perspective. It's been something I've been processing for a while now. It's letting go of the "me & mine". My world, and all the details that I have put so much energy into, truly are insignificant when compared to the world's injustices. How can I worry about the huge stain on our new rug, when children this very minute are being sold into the sex slave trade? How can I spend one more ounce of energy thinking about my outgrown highlights or outdated wardrobe, when there are child soldiers forced by rebel groups to perform heinous crimes against one another? When I know that 25,000 children are dying EACH day from malnutrition? This is a dangerous road to go down. It is going to be a tricky process to find balance between my life as it is now, and the actions I am being called to. I don't know what all this means right now. But I'm putting it out there in writing. I am being called, and I will obey.

Tonight at Cornerstone we had a guest speaker - Gary Haugen from International Justice Mission.
He was a Washington DC lawyer who was sent to Rwanda after the genocide. 800,000 people were killed in the course of 8 weeks. Gary was there to prosecute the perpetrators. Part of this process was going through the thousands of corpses, and interviewing the survivors. It was during these interviews that he understood God's call for us to stand against injustice.

International Justice Mission is rescuing people. They are taking legal actions through the courts to free them from their oppressors. They have rescued children from brothels, widows who have been forced off their land, child slaves, and many many more. Please check out their website to see all that they are doing.

On Tuesday October 14th there will be a BENEFIT DINNER at the Fairmont in San Francisco (there will be others nationwide too, check the website). We will be going - and I'm planning on being a table host as well. If you would like to go and be at my table, leave a comment in this post. (Leave a comment even if you aren't going - just to say hi if nothing else!). The cost is $100/person. I believe this will be an eye-opening if not a life-changing event.

I'm tired of sending checks. For every worth-while cause out there, the answer always seems to be to send a check. This is one of the first times I am EXCITED about sending a check. And also finding out what I can do beyond sending money. I think this is one of those times where we NEED to inform society about what is happening in the rest of the world (and here too), and take a united stand that we will not let this go on anymore. I can no longer burry my head in the sand. If we won't stand up for these people, these children, who will?

So there it is. For everyone to see. Now I HAVE to do something :)

Please come back to see where God leads me. And please pray about how He can use you. Because now you know too.

in case you had any doubts

2008-07-23T15:47:00.003-07:00

how much Dane & Zeke look alike....

Dane~

Zeke~

he's into everything!

2008-07-09T10:44:00.000-07:00

This kid gets into everything. I didn't even child-proof the house because Dane didn't get into stuff. Not Zeke. He's into every cupboard, drawer, basket, and yes he's literally in the TV cabinet (at the houseboat). He puts everything in his mouth - including tiny toys, tiny anything, and dirt. This kid is a HANDFUL!

Taylor Trash in P-Town. The neighborhood is really goin down...

Taylor Boys...

2008-07-09T10:37:00.000-07:00

Quickie post before my laptop dies

2008-07-09T01:27:00.000-07:00

Fun in the sun....

Memorial & Family photos

2008-07-02T11:10:00.000-07:00

Luke's Uncle Al passed away about a month ago. His sweet wife Aunt Wendy held a memorial at her house. It was a BBQ, and a chance for people to share memories and stories about Al's life. She also hired a photographer to come take family portraits. This side of the family is rarely all together, so it was a nice treat to have a photo taken with everyone in it.

We also had the opportunity to take individual family pictures as well. We took some with Luke's mom, stepdad, sister, brother-in-saw and nephew.

We also got some of just our family of 5. Wow, 'family of 5" still shocks me even though it's now been a year with Zeke in our family, and almost 2 years of knowing we were going to be a family of 5.

Party Time

2008-07-01T00:42:00.001-07:00

What a fun day with family and friends. The weather was beautiful, perfect for an outdoor party. The food was outstanding (I can say that because I didn't make it!), provided by (our friend) Cabana Dave's Catering. Tri-tip & pulled pork sandwiches...yum!

I made the birthday boy's cake, and the guests cupcakes. I was running a little behind and was still frosting and decorating as guests arrived - but they jumped right in to help me finish up (thank you SIL's Lisa & Winnie!)
Zeke enjoyed his cake. He didn't dig right in, but was slow and steady. He had a rythmic pace going that was working for him.
Yum cake!
And what would a first birthday party be without a cake fight? Between the honoree's parents of course =)
I guess there's still a little bit of kid in all of us.

Happy 1st Birthday Zeke!

2008-06-27T19:35:00.001-07:00

I can't believe my baby boy is one today. I tell him every day to stop growing up, but he doesn't listen =(
He got his present today - giraffe made by mommy, but we will celebrate with family, friends and cake on Sunday.
Love ya sweet guy!

Happy 6th Birthday Genevieve!!!!

2008-06-24T23:38:00.000-07:00

Can't believe my little girl is 6 today!

We celebrated by taking Genevieve & 3 friends, and her brothers to the county fair for the day. They had a great time riding rides, and more rides, and MORE rides! They enjoyed cotton candy, lemonade, popcorn, and cupcakes.
Thanks for celebrating with us Grace, Victoria & Ella!

Need to revamp this blog

2008-06-18T17:18:00.000-07:00

I'm tired of this brown template that I got from blogger. I want one of those cool custom ones that everybody has nowadays (who says nowadays anymore?). But I don't even know where to begin. Do I need to know html? I have no clue when it comes to this stuff. Why do I continue to ask questions on this blog when nobody reads it? I don't know. It's kind of like my "Wilson" (from Castaway) I guess. And a picture, just because posts without pictures are blah.

Amy Gholson 1976

2008-06-17T21:53:00.000-07:00

This was my 1 year photo. My mom just brought it out to me. She wanted to show me that although Luke has strong genes and the kids look like him, that I had a little something to do with it. Do you see any resemblance?

An old one

2008-06-17T21:15:00.001-07:00

This is a picture of me and Dane at the Mommy & Me Tea his preschool puts on for Mother's Day. They bring us a rose and we watch a little slideshow in the chapel. It's very sweet. He is very sweet. My rough and tumble boy has such a tender side to him, and for that I am very grateful.

Best quote of the day

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

Genevieve:

"Can we have ice cream mondays tonight?"

(today is monday by the way)

.

P-Town babies

2008-06-11T20:52:00.000-07:00

We decided to enjoy the beautiful weather this evening and walked downtown for dinner at "The Quesadilla Shop", as my kids call it (AKA High Tech Burrito). As we were sitting outside eating, another family walks up with a little guy that looked about Zeke's age. He was making the same noises and gestures that Zeke does too. The mom went in to order, and I asked the dad how old the baby was. He said that he was going to be one on the 27th of this month. I said "you're kidding, so is he" pointing to Zeke. Then he asked me where he was born, which I answered Kaiser Walnut Creek. He said, "no way, so was he" pointing to his baby. So then I had to ask what time. Their baby was born at like 4 in the morning, about 3 hours after Zeke. So then he says, I gotta tell my wife this. She comes out of the restaurant and he calls "Hey Aimee", and I interrupt and say "what is her name....Amy?????!!!", and he says "yah, what is your name?" - we are all laughing by this point - except the wife who hasn't heard our whole conversation.

On the corner of Main St, two Amy's (Amy & Aimee) who have both given birth on June 27, 2007 at Kaiser Walnut Creek, meet.

So here's a shout out to Eric, Aimee & Peyton, should you ever stumble across this blog!

The cherry on top was that during the conversation with this other family, I meet another mom of 10 week old twins. Guess what her name was..... =)

.

Amazing Conversation

2008-06-10T17:22:00.000-07:00

All Genevieve's (almost 6 yrs old) deep conversations happen when we're in the car. That's when she asks how babies get here, how did we all get different last names if there was just Adam & Eve, who made God, etc. So today our conversation went like this.

G: Mom, this girl in The Wave (Sunday School) told me that her mom's friend had a baby and she isn't married.

Me: Yep, sometimes that happens. But it's not what God wants us to do. He wants us to be married when we have babies.

G: Well actually she was married, but then the dad moved away, so they aren't parents together anymore.

Me: Well, that happens a lot of times. And that's not what God wants us to do either. He wants us to be married forever.

G: Yah! Like you and dad are going to be together forever!

Me: That's right, forever and ever.

G: Well, not really forEVER and ever.

Me: Yes we will.

G: Well not really, because daddy is going to die before you.

Me: We don't know that.

G: Daddy is older than you, so he is going to die first. So you won't really be together forever. Except maybe in your hearts you will be.

Love it!

.

The Great Bambino

2008-06-10T11:27:00.000-07:00

I got an interesting "compliment" the other day. I was told that Zeke is the spitting image of Babe Ruth. Me, being the baseball NONfanatic that I am, took the "compliment" in stride, as I really didn't know what Babe Ruth looked like. I told the observant guy that I hadn't heard that one before, but that I had been told he looked like John Goodman (remember my old post?). Then someone else pointed out that John Goodman played babe Ruth in the movie (What movie I don't know. As I said, I'm not a huge organized sports fan).

So what do you think? Great Bambino? Yay or nay?

I need to capture a pic of Zeke with his furrowed brow. But for now this will have to do.

.

The cutest baby EVER.

2008-06-10T08:38:00.000-07:00

Zeke at 9 3/4 months.

The organic bandwagon

2008-06-09T13:19:00.000-07:00

Buying organic is totally en vogue these days. I think buying organic is great. Less chemicals in our food is a good thing. Now my information on all things organic is a little out of date. But waaaaaay back in my college nutrition class this is how it was explained to me. At that point in time, the jury was still out on if pesticides were harmful to consumers. There was no scientific proof that the amount we consumed was harming our health. BUT, the farmers and their families were the ones suffering from being exposed to large amounts of airborn pesticides. It was them getting diagnosed with leukemia and other types of cancer at disproportional rates. So for the sake of the farmers, it was a good thing to buy organic and support organic farming. If their health is at risk, why don't more farmers go organic you ask? It costs more to farm organically. The government gives subsidies for pesticides, but does not give subsidies for alternative methods (whatever those may be - I don't know). So if we are willing to pay higher prices for organic products, farmers will be more willing to farm organically. So my initial push to buy organic was to save the farmers and their kids. Now it just seems like a smart thing to do. There are so many more cases of cancer, ADD, ADHD, autism, etc, that you have to wonder how much of it is affected by environmental changes in the last couple of decades. Who's to say whether it's pesticides, preservatives, immunizations, microwaves, or the fact that we live in a plastic society. So my thought is to eliminate as much of all that crap as possible. There have been so many new products and inventions that were supposed to make our lives simpler, easier, & just plain better. But some where along the way we lost sight of health. And Earth. Everything is disposable. Are our lives so much better since we don't have to wash things anymore?

Oh back to organic. My main reason for even starting this post. I think it's good that people buy organic. But it's getting annoying how it's becoming some kind of status symbol. Like when you ask for a recipe and the person lists "organic" in front of each item. It's not like organic food tastes better. And it's not like because it's organic it's healthy. An organic candy bar is still a candy bar, only no crop dusters flew over the cocoa beans. People act like organic food has some special ingredient. It doesn't. It's just got less chemicals that supposedly don't hurt us anyway. Remember, the jury is still out on this.

Now go eat your organic ice cream.

Family of 6 adopts twins from Sierra Leone

2008-06-09T13:02:00.000-07:00

I've been following their blog for the last 2 weeks or so. I'm so touched by their open arms, and willingness to make their lives a little bit (or a lot) harder for the sake of giving two orphans a family.

http://jodyrlanders.com/

Abandoned blog

2008-05-28T14:53:00.000-07:00

This blog died because I was having problems uploading pics to my computer. And even when I was able to, it was taking forever to upload them to blogger. And what's a blog without pictures? Finally when I got the photo thing worked out, so much time had passed that I didn't know where to begin again. I have this weird problem where if I can't do something right, I just don't do it all. Like I can't send out thank you cards for Dane's birthday until I get the Christmas ones out first. And those can't go out until the Dedication thank you's...which can't go out until Genevieve's birthday thank you's..... And before you know it you have 4 years of thank you cards piled up on the to-do list. (so if you were wondering where your thank you card was, it got stuck behind the "DANE'S BABY GIFT THANK YOU'S" !!!!!! - no joke). Isn't that lame? It really is a problem for me.

Anyhow, here's to resurrecting this blog AGAIN!

And because I AM my anal self, only some backwards procrastinating way, I'm going to try to catch up with some missing photos over the last few months. Because what would happen in this blog world if I just skipped March, April & May? Who knows, and we don't want to go there.

I'm also going to try to link to some other cool blogs that I find along the way. That has become my new past-time, reading blogs. Luke thinks I have an internet addiction, as I CAN whittle away a couple hours on the computer in the evenings- no problem. I was starting to think I had a problem too, until I thought of it in a new light. It's more like I am reading...a book, that just hasn't been published. Seriously. It's not all just about families & pictures of their adorable kids. I like those too, but what really intrigues me are the people with "stories". I've been following the journeys of some different families as they go through the international adoption process - African adoptions actually. It's like I am reading their memoirs, only in real time. And when I stumble across a new one, sometimes I have a years worth of blogging to catch me up - or lot's of "chapters" if you will. So I guess you could say I'm getting a lot of reading done lately.

And heres some photos to bring us through May ;)

Snow Day

2008-02-17T02:52:00.000-08:00

We went up to Twain Harte with Luke's family over New Years Eve. The kids had a blast sledding. It fell into Zeke's naptime, so we just put him to bed and pulled him around. I felt like some sort of native. I want to say Eskimo, but now I hear that's not the PC term.

Oh Happy Day

2008-02-17T02:43:00.000-08:00

Tonight on the way home from rock climbing Genevieve told Luke she wanted to ask God to come be in her heart. He told her they would pray together when they got home (as we were in separate cars and he wanted me to be there too).

It was so exciting to hear her explain to us what she wanted to do without us leading her at all. She really seems to get it. She told us she wanted God to be in her heart so she could be with him in Heaven. She also said that she wanted our whole family to go to heaven to be with him right now. The excitement on her face was precious. We talked about how God could be with all the time, and she could ask him to help her make good decisions, to which she replied "I know".

Oh happy day.....

Our little monkeys

2008-02-17T02:35:00.000-08:00

In an effort to help Dane avoid the "middle child syndrome", Luke decided to do a little one-on-one, special father-son bonding time by taking him rock climbing at the indoor rock gym in Livermore. He took him a couple weeks ago and Dane enjoyed himself. Well the next week Luke wanted to see how Genevieve would do, and Dane was really excited about her coming as well. Well apparently she did great. Tonight I finally got to go down and see them for myself. Dane was having fun, but was more into just monkeying around. He did a little climbing, but a lot more swinging from the belays, and jumping into the big puffy pillows they have below the bouldering area. But Genevieve! That girl was all over it! She was scaling the walls like a little spider-woman. She would stop halfway up the wall and turn to me and say "I love this" with a big grin on her face, then keep going. She definitely doesn't seem to have the fear heights that mommy does.

Blog Revival

2008-02-17T02:24:00.000-08:00

I'm gonna try...

There's always lot's to blog about, but my prime time for letting the words just flow from my fingertips is somewhere between 12am and 2am. Fortunately I'm not usually up during those hours anymore! Halleluja!!! Zeke is FINALLY sleeping through the night after some grueling, but much needed sleep-training. He is consistently sleeping from about 7:30-8:00pm to 6:00-7:00am.

Why am I up blogging at 2:30am on a Saturday night then? Well, I fell asleep on the couch in the midst of making baby food, and I got up to finish before going to bed.

Now before you decide that I have gone off the deep-end by making homemade baby food, I just have to tell you that I'm a little embarrassed that I didn't do it for the other two kids because it is SOOOOOOOOO EASY. I thought it would be so time-consuming, and it's not. I just baked a sweet potato, steamed some broccoli and peas and put them in my little food grinder thingy with a little water, and presto! Then I put the pureed veggies in ice cube trays, silicone mini muffin tins and put in the freezer. Once frozen I plopped the cubes into freezer bags, and I have enough baby food to last me a loooong time. I also made up some veggies and fruit with the cereal already mixed together and put that in tiny canning jars, so I can just grab one when I need to feed Zeke on the run.

Pictures to come!

Christmas...

2007-12-28T09:41:00.000-08:00

Christmas Festivities

2007-12-23T14:07:00.000-08:00

This is long overdue, but we've been having fun preparing for Christmas...

We decided to cut down a tree this year. So on our way back from Thanksgiving at the Twain Harte cabin, we went through the little goldmining town of Columbia and up to a family-owned tree farm. The people were really nice, they had farm animals to feed and pet, the whole scene was just picture perfect. Until it was time to find a tree. You've never seen such sorry looking trees before. A whole farm of Charlie Brown neglected trees. They even had a a different breed of trees that were pokey like juniper bushes. But, the great thing about this tree farm is that all trees are the same price. So we figured let's get a Big Daddy of a tree. We ended up with an 11 ft skinny tree, with not so many branches. But I have to say after we dolled it all up it was beautiful. Now we've decided to make this our family tradition. We plan to keep going back to that tree farm for the challenge of finding a choppable tree out of all the duds.

We took the kids to see Santa at the Blackhawk Plaza. We would rather drive the extra 20 minutes and have no line, than do the mall thing. The kids did great. Zeke wasn't sure about the furry guy, but he didn't cry. I think it helped that he was there with big bro and big sis.

Don't you just wanna eat him up?

2007-12-12T23:45:00.000-08:00

Taylor Trash in P-Town. The neighborhood is really goin down...

A good Blogger

2007-12-12T23:44:00.000-08:00

A good blog is one that is updated frequently.
I'm a bad blogger.

Just an average day at Taylor Trash...

2007-11-17T23:04:00.000-08:00

Our little girl is growing up

2007-11-17T22:40:00.000-08:00

Genevieve lost her first tooth tonight!
She has been wiggling that thing around for a few weeks now. Finally tonight she has mommy pull it out. She was SOOOO excited. In fact, she decided she needed to go to bed right away so the tooth fairy could come....
Wonder what the Tooth Fairy will bring her???

My silly boys...

2007-11-17T21:55:00.000-08:00

One of Dane's favorite past times is dressing up his little brother. I wish I had taken more pictures of his funny little get-ups. I'm sure there'll be more to come....

Zeke as Captain Hook....

Zeke as a princess....

Wow Genius!?!

2007-11-16T10:33:00.000-08:00

You can get your blog rated here at this website.
It basically says what level of education is needed to understand your blog.
I don't know if it just counts the big words or what....

Get a Cash Advance

I think the program made a mistake. Genius? C'mon.......

Praise God

2007-11-11T23:42:00.000-08:00

This is a follow-up to the "Things we need to sell" post.
Drumroll please..................
We sold the houseboat, and BOTH Rossmoor units!
Praise God!

Tinkerbell, Captain Hook, and a turtle?

2007-11-01T23:39:00.000-07:00

The kiddos had lot's of fun at the pumkin patch. Rumor is that it's the last year for Joan's. How sad that we won't get to keep measuring the kisds by the 'How tall this fall' sign anymore.
We had a mellow Halloween. Luke took the kids trick-or-treating in the neighborhood. His mom & Danny met up with them along the way. I stayed back to wait on the plumber and to start cleaning the massive flood in our laundry room. At about 5:15 Halloween night our pipes backed up and flooded the whole 'laundry/storage of crap that doesn't have a home' room. Don't worry, not the sewage pipe. It was the garbage disposal/dish washer/washing machine drain....yuck!
As if I don't already have enough stuff going on right now, I really needed to add this to the list of things that has to get done NOW. The best part was that the plumber people said they would be here in about an hour. That would have been 6:15. He showed up at 8:30. But this seems to be a theme lately. Sunday night when Luke locked our keys in the car at the Bocce Ball place in Livermore, AAA said they would be there in less than 30 minutes. An hour and a half later as we waited out front with Zeke, the driver finally showed up. Mind you our house is only like a 5 minute drive from there.
But I digress. Halloween. The kids had fun and got WAAAAAAY too much candy. Another friend had the suggestion of having them pick out a candy and trading in the rest for a toy. I thought my kids would never go for it. But I asked them about it tonight and they seemed game. So we'll see.....