Mountain bound

You know I couldn't leave without one more post about how thrilled I am to be going to my scrapbook extravaganza. I can't wipe the smile off my face.

I've got my aqua green sweats on with the drawstring waist. Three more pairs of sweatpants and a pair of jeans (you know. for dressing up--for going out to eat).

Hunka says he thought perhaps the rain would cause the event to be cancelled. But scrapbooking doesn't work that way, pal.

yeehaa

Seven is heaven

Here are some pictures of K on his 7th birthday. This year we decided to let him have a "friend" birthday party, so he chose four friends to go to Chuck E Cheese for the grand event.

I am not a birthday party mom. I do not have the ideas or the patience for all the party details. Chuck E was the way to go for me.

I know why now people have these crazy birthday parties for their kids. The look on that kid's face was pure joy.

Q and I left the party a little early. I took him to the doctor to look for an ear infection, turns out he had that, plus strep throat.

T-minus

It's T-minus two until the scrapbooking extravaganza. I've got a 12-pack of Diet Dr Pepper ready to go.

I'm packing my gear, my pictures....my snacks.

As this is a girls only weekend in a cabin in the woods, when I wake up at whatever time I feel like it, I'll decide then.....hmmmm should I wear the gray sweatpants or the darker gray sweatpants? Or maybe I'll just stay in PJs.

all day

Theres a new sherriff in town

Q with his new police man shirt and badge from Aunt, Uncle and Cuz in So.Cal.
He really wants me to spike his hair straight up, but his hair really wants to lay down flat.

I added this tough-guy-pose only because it shows some of the bow I went on and on about in a previous post.

My curly Q

I really do love this age. Today I asked the boys a series of questions that I save in the scrapbooks....things like....favorite color? what do you want to be when you grow up?

Q's answers haven't changed that much in the year and a half since I last asked.

His favorite person --Mama

Who does he like to play with -- Mama and KC

What makes him happy? when I see Mama the most

Often when I point out something gorgeous like a sunset or flowers in full bloom. He'll say "but Mama, it's still not as pretty as you. You are the beautifulest."

What a change from the day when he said, "mama, do you know what is special about you?...." A big fat zero

For the record here are the questions and answers for both boys

Q -age four

Fave food?
--hot dogs, pizza, macaroni and cheese and chicken

Fave drink?
-Kefir (a drink yogurt)

What do you want to be when you grow up?
- a policeman, a highway 'control' ('patrol' - like his uncle Rob), President, ambulance driver

what do you like to do?
-watch TV, play computer

fave person?
-Mama

Fave animal?
-crocodile, alligator, lion, tiger and leopard

what makes you happy?
-When I see Mama the most

Fave person to play with?
Mama and KC

If you could change your name what would it be?
still Q

What are you proud of?
-Mama and KC

Favorite color
Red


K's answers as a seven year old

1. food?
Stouffer's chicken parmesan

2. drink?
ginerale and sprite

3. Be when you grow up?
Mostly a mayor, a bus driver, a judge, an inventor

4. hobbies?
Teach, invent

5. Fave person?
himself

6. fave animal?
Gila monster (lizard)

7. what makes you happy?
doing scientific stuff

8. fave people to play with ? Matt, Alex, Andrew, and David

9. If you could change your name what would it be?
"Kaz"

10. What are you most proud of?
himself....
"Me!....inventor me, scientific me, bus driver me, mayor me, judge me!"

sunday food

We let the kids pick a restaurant when it is their birthday for a family meal.

K picked Macaroni Grill. The boys always eat everything and things are fairly healthy there for them. They eat broccoli, chicken, spaghetti and mac and cheese. There is always at least one cup of chocolate milk and a big bowl of ice cream with fudge at the end.

Tonight there wasn't even much to put in the to-go bag.

there are still...

There are still boxes in my foyer.

I still have an annoying cough.

But I am packing my things for my scrapbooking extravaganza. hope.

The weather has been beautiful, so I just don't know why it feels like winter to me. 60 and 70 degrees is not winter, but still it feels like it.
The boys have been off sinceTuesday. Maybe that's why I'm a little stir crazy. .

Hunka comes home and wants to go to Home Depot. We decide that he will delay it until after boys are in bed. He says he has to "get out."

I look at him with glazed eyes. "Get out," I think, honey let me tell you about not getting out.

thoughts of santa

Thoughts from the oldest the seven year old about the jolly man.....all uttered today while adults tried to assemble a "self-lit" tree.

"Why would I waste my time talking to the mall Santa? The real Santa doesn't have time to sit in a mall all day. "

"Does Santa ever die?"

"Does Santa have kids? Because if he dies, one of his kids could take over."

"Does Santa Claus know what you are thinking?"

"Maybe Santa Claus will know that you have really been trying to be good, but sometimes you just make mistakes."

scrappin

I'm going scrapbooking. Three glorious days of scrapbooking. It is keeping me going, just the thought of it.

Technically it is a girls weekend in the mountains, but it is full blown scrapbooking time for me, baby.

My scrapbooking passion comes and goes depending on what is going on in my life. I'm just heading out of a scrapbooking famine, which would be also be known as labor, delivery and post partum. OK so post-partum for me equals a full year, but who's counting.

deck em

I don't know how people do it.

As I put up the holiday, I mean Christmas, decorations (I know some people are very sensitive about that...more on that later). I don't feel all that merry or bright.

Though the boys are so thrilled with deck the halls and fa-la-la.

I made a big gold bow. My mom was the maker of all bows fancy. She did teach me how to make them years ago, but I have been salvaging her bows from the boxes year after year. Because to use another bow, would seem to be well, just plain wrong. Her bows are sad and ratty by now.

I pulled them out once again and thought that mom would be annoyed with me for hanging such a bad bow for another year.

So I bought a big roll of gold wired ribbon and set to work. I could hear her coaching me from years gone by. And let me tell you I did it. It took a few times, but it is now hanging on my front door. I'm so proud and she must be too.

The boxes of decorations sit in the foyer. There is so much to do. I wonder how I can decorate, when I can barely find the time to do the normal things I'm supposed to do....like take care of kids, feed them, wash them and their clothes.

Oh and here is another thing that gets under my skin lately.

Merry Christmas....Happy Holidays...... Some people seem so bothered that people are taking the "Christ" out of Christmas. I remember being a kid hearing people getting all riled when people would abbreviate Christmas to Xmas.

I say who cares. Say something, say anthing, as long as it is nice. What a change that would be.

People also get all riled about the sacredness of the "Christmas tree." And don't want people calling them "Giving trees," "Holiday trees"....whatever. Isn't this one of Bill O'Reilly's big complaints.
I say puuleeeze. First of all I don't remember Mary and Joseph taking time in Bethlehem to decorate an evergreen pine tree. Second of all, you can call a french fry a "freedom" fry...but it still is what it is....bad for your thighs.

Take a kid to the mall, point out a tree and say what is it? No matter what religion or ethnicity....I bet any kid will say.....ahm it is a Christmas tree, duh.

I wonder why in a nation that is predominately Christian are we so worried that others may have any voice. And for the most part, I think it is Christians trying to be sensitive to other peoples, and concern that they may exclude others. For once as Christians, excluding others, is probably something we should be able to avoid at Christmas.

eve of joy

My boy will be seven tomorrow.

I don't know when this happened exactly.
Seems so big to me.

He got a bike today. He found it by doing an extensive treasure hunt to our friends' (his babysitters) house.
(btw--babysitter family-- I think I deleted the message I told you about. anyway a shout out to babysitter and family)

This boy has been struggling lately with a bad case of the grumpies. I don't know how he got so mean. Though sometimes when he growls to his brother, "You know better," I think I may have a hint of a mini mirror in front of me.

Q spent one day playing with a friend. Just before K got home, he warned his friend, "Be careful, he can be very grouchy."

We work with him daily.... almost to the point of insanity. Relax we tell him, through clenched teeth. RELAX!

Though tonight when I went to his room to check on him I kissed him on his head. He woke up momentarily and drowsily asked, "Mama, how big is heaven?"

"Oh very big. Infinity. It has no end." I told him.

"Oh cool," he said and drifted off to sleep.

a frisket a frasket a freezer full...

I have a freezer full of promise.

This week I walked through the frozen food section with a thankful heart for all the people out there that grow, wash and prepare food.
I call it my ode to Marie Callender.

Nevermind her 17 grams of fat in her chicken pot pie. That woman has single-handedly saved my behind at 530pm many a night.

Walmart has expanded their organic and gourmet lines of food lately. So now I can get so much of the foods that I had to make a different trip for right there with all my massively marketed items.

I also buy in bulk. It is a genetic thing. I don't just buy a loaf of bread. I buy four. I've realized that milk freezes and thaws with the same taste.

We bought a freezer four years ago, and life has just never been the same. I love my freezer. It ranks up there with the appliances I love....microwave, TV, refrigerator, washer, dryer.....all things invented to make my life easy. right?

why didn't i think of that

After an exhausting trip around the block trying to teach a 4-year-old how to ride a bike with woobly training wheels, the two of us stretched out on the floor of the toy room staring at the ceiling.

Boy, were we tired and thirsty, but mostly just tired. Way too tired to get up and get a drink. At some point I realized that K's bus would be coming soon, I tried to convince my tuckered pal to get up and check the clock in the kitchen for the time.

"No Mama, I'm too tired." I begged some more in a way you only do when you are tired.

"Mama, what time is it?," he asks also concerned about our schedule. I don't know I say pleading with him to go look at the clock.

"But mama, we have to meet the bus. What time is it?"

back and forth we play this game....get up....no you....not me....i'm too tired...you go....

"Mama," Q says, "Why don't you look at your watch?"

So I did. silly me

i've been neglecting you oh blog of mine.

kids, work, house, kids, school, driving, reading

rainy days and elections

The boys are primed for the elections. Today they had campaigns for mayor and president in the living room. They are interested in this electoral process, which in turn is interesting for me because I never remember caring when I was a kid. I suppose I am planting the seeds of what they will become when they grow up. I don't know if my mom realized she was doing it when I was growing up. But I have a good idea that my grandfather knew he was grooming my political thought. And he was absolutely right, I mean correct.

so far so good

so far so good today.

boys are happy.

playing school.

they are healthy.

as my non native English speaker friends say...

Thanks God

my purple room is coming together

slowly

I try a new thing

for 15 minutes

I clean sort organize--one space.

then I stop or am stopped

I have coffee

and cereal

so far so good

who could ask for more?

a howling good time

Halloween 2006

Canine unit of the special forces