messyjessy

from the mouth of one of the ones I love

2012-02-14T12:56:00.000-08:00

In the car today, Jack said a few funny things. I already reached my quota of status changes today on Facebook (2) so I don't want to be that annoying and put a third. So I'll write it down here, instead!
In the car on the way to school we saw a police man waiting on the side of the road. I happenedt to have been talking on my cell, so I immediately put it down and said "oh no, I just passed a police man. I think I'll get a ticket because I'm not supposed to talk on my phone!" I hung up with the person, and continued to drive. A DIFFERENT police car pulled in behind me, and I figured was in for a ticket. I kept driving, and Jack kept turning around saying "mom, that cop is STILL chasing you. Still chasing. Still chasing." Then we turned down a street and the officer did NOT follow me, but sped off a different way and Jack said "Phew, that cop is NOT chasing you anymore mom. You don't need to be scared." Thanks Jack.
Then after school we were in the car again and I had the rearview mirror set so that I could see his face, but he could also see his face, so he made faces and we laughed. Funny face. Sad face. Then he said "do you want to see my super mad face?" I said yes, and he made a super mad face. Then I said "Jack do you wanna see mine?" He said "no thanks, I have seen it." Oh man, as funny as that was, he didn't see my funny face, or my super mad face - but my sad face appeared. :(
Note to moms - show the super mad face less often.

what i'm up to

2012-02-13T09:45:00.000-08:00

I've hit myself in the face with my phone a lot lately. If you see an injury on my face that I can't hide with makeup, it's probably from dropping my phone on my face as I'm reading in bed and falling asleep. I want so desperately to finish a book, because I don't read as much as I'd like, I keep myself up trying to get to certain percentage (My Kindle App on my Android shows me how far I am through a book by a percentage instead of pages - because I bump up the size of my letters), so when I was at 89% and trying so desperately to finish last night, having my phone fall on my face over and over was very annoying. I should have just put it down, but I couldn't. The worst is when it would fall and wake up Bobby - embarassing. "Yes, I just tried to knock myself out with my phone again." Plus, he doesn't read and doesn't "get" reading. AND he doesn't want me to explain any of the story to him, not becuase he wants to see the movie, but simply because HE DOESN'T CARE! It's okay, but when I'm in a good book I want to tell him, and I can't! Frustrating. But still, not as frustrating as dropping my phone on my face. A book falling on my face might feel a lot sweeter. I would just leave it there, and hide under it. Or hope for osmosis. But I can't leave my phone there, I'd get brain cancer, right?

(Bytheway: What am I reading right now? Today I started book 3 of the Hunger Games Trilogy, Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins - yes, intended for young adults, no I don't agree that young adults should read - until they're older young adults, like 16ish would be my guess - but they are very well written, I like them much better than Twilight and I'm more motivated to finish trilogy than I am to finish Harry Potter, and I do not fall asleep reading them because they're boring, but because I'm sleepy. I am lovin' these books. That's probably because I'm a young adult - at least at heart.)

captured

2012-02-03T14:24:00.000-08:00

Just looking through and archiving some photos - stumbled across a lot of favorites, some of them so favorite I could get teary! I do love my camera. I'd be so bored without it, and my external hard drive would be so empty.

wandering

2012-02-02T17:20:00.000-08:00

I lived in Colorado only for a short few years, but one thing I loved about it was that I could pull my car over anywhere I wanted, it seemed, and walk around and explore, and that was just fine. I feel like that's one thing about California that I find hard - I feel like there are fences everywhere - at least everywhere I want to explore!
That's why I love where we live - I feel like it's halfway between California and Colorado - there are SO many places to explore so close to home, and when I pull my car off the road and start following some dirt road, I'm surprised and happy to find few fences and lots of open areas. Earlier in January we took the kids out on a very cold day to look for a few geocaches close by. They happened to be in such a cool place, overlooking a part of our little city, and we had so much fun! Who knew we had to drive just minutes and the girls found a "grand canyon" and all sorts of animal tracks, bush caves and other fun stuff. If my kids ran away, I'd look here first!

I'm so happy to live here. Of all the places we could have chosen, I'm so glad we ended up where we are.

New Year's Eve

2012-01-30T19:25:00.000-08:00

Here we are celebrating New Year's Eve at Jon and Michelle's house - JP, Andrea, Jon, Michelle, me, Bobby, Anne, Julian. Played Headbandz and just did a lot of general sitting around and eating. I LOVED every second.

My girls and me

Jon and JP

Jon and Michelle

Andrea and JP

Julian and Anne

okay, and these little guys - these are what I made and brought over for one of the desserts - they are rice krispie treats, some formed in mini muffin pans and then drizzled with pink and brown sugar, and some were dipped in Candy Quik vanilla flavor to look like truffles, then drizzled with chocolate - they were SOOOOOOO good! They're so light and fluffy, and covered in chocolate. I don't think I can eat rice krispie treats any other way now!!!! Thank you Pinterest, for giving me yet another good idea!

pushups

2012-01-30T19:10:00.000-08:00

Forgot to post about New Year's Eve at Jon and Michelle's. So cute when after the stroke of midnight, Michelle said to the boys "Okay, 20 pushups, then 12 pushups!" So they got down and did it.

Bobby, JP and Michelle

out on the trails

2012-01-29T23:48:00.000-08:00

Twice this weekend we hiked at the Wildlands Conservancy in Oak Glen. My kids are all so happy out on the trails, on a hike, on a walk, just sifting through nature. They're all in their element, and seem to soak it all up. We saw hawks, ducks, little birds, and lots of signs about "dangerous" animals that could be out in the woods. Sidney loved that part. There were signs that told the names of some of the native bushes or trees, and Jack loved pointing those out for someone to read to him. We were all together, and happy, which is what Alyssa loves. And of course Bobby and I enjoy every second of happy kids getting good exercise! I brought the big camera, and here are a few of my favorite shots:

Oh, I love living my life with these people all around me.

So grateful to God,

you just can't stop Mary

2012-01-26T20:31:00.000-08:00

Grandma Mary had her 60th birthday last week - she came down to celebrate the day before with her roller blades and riding the bicycle built for two. That lady has so much fun just oozing out. That's just part of why we all love her and love to be with her.
This picture is just so sweet to me - to know that Alyssa will always have a photo of herself riding on a bike with her grandma, it's just super sweet.
And this is why I never want to miss a thing, I never want to miss the moment to take a photo of something this precious.

whoa, slow down

2012-01-20T19:38:00.000-08:00

How many posts can I write about my kids growing up too fast?

As many as I want to.

How in the world did we get from there to here so fast?

First he's a baby driving his Little Tikes police car backward and doesn't care,

and now he puts up the entire hand when you ask him how old he is

and he's riding an electric scooter.

For goodness sake, slow down kid.

our little trip after Christmas

2012-01-20T18:59:00.000-08:00

A few days after Christmas we got away and spent two nights at Harrah's Rincon. I found out Christmas Eve I had pneumonia, so by now I was still feeling it and not feeling yet like I was recovering. I could write a whole post on the psychology of recovering slowly. It has not been fun, it has made me feel much older than I am, and it's been hard to have feelings of jealousy for those who can go and do and not run out of breath or have chest pains from a simple flight of stairs of a short walk. But this was weeks ago, I'm a LOT better now.
I know it sounds weird to leave and go to a hotel with your family when you have pneumonia, but to tell you the truth, it was the best choice for us. Our kids LOVE this hotel because of the "hot pool" that is shallow, but huge, and double-decker and has a waterfall. We also figured I'd have way less to do at a hotel - you know how it is, if you're sick at home, you just start working on something anyway - dishes, laundry, cleaning up, walking around too much, lifting things. I knew I needed to steer clear of any of that. So we left and went to this magnificent little place.
But on the way, we had to stop and shop. Of course for some food, because the room has a little refrigerator, and we like to stock that so the kids eat breakfast in the hotel room instead of paying for a big expensive breakfast that no one will finish. We usually buy a little set of boxed cereals and little disposable bowls and spoons, and some milk. It works for us, and Bobby is NOT a breakfast eater, so it works for him, too. We get that out of the way, and then off we go! Anyway, we had to stop to buy that, so we stopped at the WalMart in Temecula. My kids had each gotten a $15 gift card to WalMart (thanks Auntie Cherie) and they wanted to spend them. Yes, just a few days after Christmas, but of course they can still think of things to spend their money on! Shopping with them was really funny, and took a while. Luckily we weren't in a hurry, all we were doing was swimming once we got to the hotel, and we can do that at night. (no, no swimming for me!) So Sidney used a little bit of her money on some little dollar items from the toy section, and Jack bought himself some Dagedar thing he saw on a commercial and used all his $15 up, and Alyssa saved hers...she bought a bean bag from WalMart a few days later.
Here is a view of the BIG pool (the cold one) from our hotel room. This hotel really is SO pretty.

the pool at Harrah's Rincon

Here we are, Alyssa and me, hanging out in my little nook and crannie I found to sit in while the rest of the family swam.

All of my kids LOVe this pool - you can see the upper and lower parts, it's so fun for them to climb up and down into the different pools, and it is SO super warm - it's jacuzzi temperature and it's SO BIG, so we use it ANY TIME of the year - we've been in there when it was raining out, and it was lovely. Until you get out! That's a whole different story. So since I was feeling awful, but still wanted to see them having fun, the night we got there, and the next day while they were swimming, I sat myself in this wonderful beach chair they have out there. It has a covering, like a half umbrella, it's all warm inside (because yes the air was cold!) and I could bundle up in my jacket and sweater and YES, socks inside my TOMS. I don't care. I was freezing. I can wear socks with my TOMS if I want to. No I haven't seen anyone else do that, but I had pneumonia, so I think I get a pass.

Since I couldn't take a good picture of myself in my nook and crannie, I took a picure of an empty one on the way out...doesn't that look comfy? Now imagine it with pillows, and at night with soft lights in the palm trees...ahhhh. I do want one in my backyard now.

The second day we were there, we really wanted to take the kids out geocaching, since we haven't done that in a while but really love to! We picked a park we saw on the way in town, and looked it up on geocaching.com and it said it had about four or five caches! Yay, so we dressed for a day of geocaching in about 70 degree weather. I knew I'd sit in the sun somewhere, on my blanket, and eat the lunchmeat and cheese and snacks we'd brought with us. But when we pulled up to the park it was closed. Yes, we picked the one day a week it's closed. So we looked up on the mountain and I saw the Palomar observatory which belongs to CalTech, and we looked it up and headed there instead! We had capris and tshirts on, and as we headed up into the hills and our elevation got higher, guess what - snow on the ground. Not such a smart move for me, to be in the cold and wind, but in the sunny spots it was nice. What affected me more was the walking. But we thoroughly enjoyed our surprise visit to such a cool place. WIth kids who are pretty interested in space, they really liked this. They loved the museum part, which is very simple, but has lots of photos and things, and a SUPER SMALL (closet sized) gift shop, which they still managed to find things to spend money on.

And getting to go inside this huge telescope area was really cool - reminded me of the capital building in Sacramento! Someone was even kind enough to put up a nice camera stand for taking pictures of yourself with your own camera! Lovely. I wish every cool photo spot would have these.

Sid's attempt at holding up the telescope.

Alyssa and Jack, just doing what they do.

My kid and me.

We were in the sunny spot at the top of the hill, so with the little bit of snow she found, Sidney made this little tiny snowman. He's probably about 6 inches tall. You gotta work with what you have!

After the observatory, we headed down another route toward Lake Henshaw and found a few geocaches. It was VERY pretty at the overlook, but how strange to see a lake that is so desolate and looks UNUSED! Coming from Lake Gregory myself, I'm just used to seeing every square foot of shoreline used for something...a walking trail, a dock, a beach, houses, SOMETHING! But it was really pretty.

Some of my favorite times EVER with my family are these impromptu trips. I always fight them, they're usually Bobby's idea to get away and go to a hotel. I drag my feet, but once I get there and we see things we've never seen before, I LOVE it, and I love how my kids are such great explorers. I can't wait to travel more and more with them.

coasters, not of the roller type

2011-12-28T09:16:00.000-08:00

Every so often I actually make something I have an idea for. We made coasters as a craft before Christmas in my mom's group, and it was so cheap and simple, I knew I had to elaborate and make some for family members. Through looking at a few cute Pinterest ideas, I came up with these. I googled outlines and shapes of certain states and countries (places the gift recipients had either lived, had traveled to, or had family they loved living there) and then used Photoshop to make the states black, then placed a little red heart over a specific city or area, then printed on 4x6 photo paper on my printer, then decopauged onto a $0.10 tile from Lowe's. SO cheap and SO easy. Now I want to make myself a set. Each of my sisters in law got a set of five, with areas like California, India, Texas, Paraguay, South Carolina, Connecticut, Nevada and South Africa on them. They have little felt circles on the four corners underneath, too, for protection. I think they turned out all right for my first time, I don't love them, but I learned a lot, and I think the next batch, if I ever try them, will turn out much better.
What did I learn? LET IT DRY between coats, that's number one. LET IT DRY MORE, that's number two. Less coats of decopauge next time, and more coats of the acrylic laquer on top. Both the decopauge and laquer spray are from Mod Podge. I love that stuff. It's SO forgiving and wonderful.
Also next time I think I'd actually SEND OUT my images and have them printed at Costco through costco.com because the decopauge glue was making my ink on my prints run a bit. I don't think that would happen with REAL printed photos from Costco.

little stars

2011-12-27T21:39:00.000-08:00

My girls were in a musical at our church in early December. They'd rehearsed for it, along with more than 60 kids, for months already, and it turned out SO cute!
Sidney was part of the start of the show, in the picture below. She is running from a boy who was holding mistletoe over her head. She runs through the church, exits out the back, and then he returns wrapped up in the Christmas lights and wreath she's holding. So cute.

Sidney had a few costume changes during the show - she started out in her "street clothes" like the first picture, then she changed into a sheep costume, then into her lego costume. We made her lego costume here at home. It's made of shoe boxes, shoe box lids, and dixie cup bottoms as the pegs. I think she looks so cute!!!

My sweet Alyssa was dressed as a Teddy Bear. Her costume was hand made by my mother in law, Mary. Here she's pictured singing a few lines of a duet song. It was so cute to see her break out of her shell a bit and do a singing part with a microphone! Who is this kid? Anyone who knows her knows she's been pretty shy her whole life, and is just now starting to pull out of that!

The family after the show. (me, Alyssa, my dad Mike, niece Annie, my mom Isolde, Sidney, and nephew Jeremiah)

So cool to get a photo with BOTH of your grandmothers!

Okay, now JACK also had a show this year - his first EVER! His preschool put on a Christmas Story show. Jack was a shepherd, and it was so cute, he got to stand in the very front row, which was perfect for picture taking. I could tell he was singing VERY loud when he knew the words, and he also yawned NUMEROUS times - I think about 30 times during the whole show, I actually caught many on camera, so I'm really not exaggerating!

Yup, there's a classic Jack yawn. At least he wasn't pickin' his nose like that other cutie!

one of my favorite presents - EVER

2011-12-27T17:19:00.000-08:00

I got this very nice camera strap cover from my two sweet friends, Andrea and Michelle, last week. I cannot get over how sweet a gift it is to me. It was a surprise, and it made me cry. They are so good to me.

came with a little mirror that slips into a secret compartment! So cool!

They gave me this strap as a thank you for taking family photos during a day of fun at Michelle's in late November. I think this will be a yearly tradition now, for our three families to meet up and take our Christmas card photos, or at least some good family shots. I then took their photos and designed Christmas cards around them. They are so sweet and grateful, they thanked me with the sweet gift. What they don't realize is how much I love to do this stuff, that it's not a chore for me at all. I love it. But it does feel really nice to be appreciated by your loving friends. Who doesn't love that?

Jess, Andrea and Michelle

Here we are with our better halves

and here are almost all of our kids (one is missing - Tyler)

runnin' on empty

2011-12-27T14:56:00.000-08:00

As I write this post, I'm on day four of antibiotics, trying to get rid of my pneumonia. No, it doesn't have anything to do with running (in my expert opinion) but it's the ending to a month that started with a half marathon with Bobby, and the rest of the month trying to feel better from some sort of illness.

We ran in the Las Vegas Rock and Roll Half Marathon December 4, 2011. It was our first half marathon (my first official run at all) and it was something we'd been looking forward to for MONTHS! We trained using the marathon rookie half marathon training calendar and we had a lot of fun in training. We ran together a few times, but most of the time, we took turns on our runs, so someone would be home with the kids. With Bobby's heart rate monitor and with our Endomondo apps on our phones, we really enjoyed seeing how far we'd gone, our pace, and calories burned (Bobby only, since I don't have a monitor). We felt like part of a science experiment and grew to really love the science involved with nutrition/running/calories/sideaches/ etc.

Before the half marathon Dec. 4th, the most I'd ever run continuously (without slowing down to walk) was 4 miles. That's it. I say "that's it" now, but at the beginning of my training, I could not run a continuous half mile without stopping to complain, spit, get mad at myself, and wonder how big a wimp I was! So you can imagine my excitement when I ran my first half mile, mile, two miles, three miles, and four miles. I just could never really get past that four mile mark, and always told myself it was because where I train is right by my house, which isn't flat. Knowing Vegas would be "flat" really gave me something to look forward to, and I figured I could run farther.

Our weekend for the marathon started on Friday when we got to Vegas and stayed at Rio. We shopped a lot that weekend before the race, which started at 5:30 p.m. Sunday night. Friday, Saturday and Sunday morning we spent at Fashion Show Mall and the Planet Hollywood shops - Bobby was down about 60 pounds, so it was fun to shop for completely new and new LOOKING clothes! We counted all that walking as our training before the marathon. We also ate DELICIOUS food at Union in the Aria hotel, and Bobby treated me to tickets to see Viva Elvis, the Cirque du Soleil show, and it was awesome.

shopping spree in Vegas

grilled cheese, with burger in the middle.

some fish I had, i can't remember now...but it was a 10 outta 10

the apple pie with pecan something ice cream and a syrup sugar swirl on top...this was also a 10 outta 10.

we were SO happy with our dinner at Union - we will DEFINITELY go back there, it was amazing.

Still at Union in the Aria - one of our favorite dining experiences EVER.

our running shoes

The afternoon of the marathon we rested in our room and then started to get ready, and we were so excited. It was SUPER cold and windy the entire weekend, though, so I layered up:

disregard dorky face...it's the only first-layer pic I have

layer two

layer three - plus gloves

Bobby ran in shorts, of course, and two layers on top, but I don't have a picture of that. He started out in pants, but when we got down to the race start, at the Mandalay Bay hotel, so many guys were in shorts, Bobby changed his mind. He was glad. I thought he was crazy. The temperature at race time was in the low 40s, and by the time we finished it was in the 30s. It was COLD, I thought, and I don't care how cold it is, I still sweat like a boy, so my entire headband (which is by Moving Comfort, I bought at the expo, and I LOVE and you can find HERE now on sale for only $8!) was wet, my upper body was totally wet and I was frozen.

But back to the start of the race, here we are in our corral, #29, so it took us an extra 30 minutes or so to start the race, I think we started around 6 p.m.

on the strip in Vegas, waiting for the FIRST night run of the Rock and Roll half marathon.

It was SO crowded. For our first run ever, we didn't know what to expect. We had to dodge and weave around so many people, it was insane. I heard there were more than 40,000 people registered for the marathon and half marathon, and soon after we started running I realized all the marathon guys and girls were merging in with us, and people were yelling "Marathoners stay to the left, half marathoners go to the RIGHT" and just yelled and yelled.....it was kind of annoying. Just tell us nicely BEFORE the race how it works, don't make us feel like idiots DURING the race.

But I have to say, our pace was so much faster (and our pace is relatively slow) than the people in the half marathon area, we DID go over to the marathon area on the left hand side of the strip, because that way we weren't running over WALKERS! I dont' mind walkers, are you kidding me? Walk, go for it. Just don't walk arm in arm with 5 other ladies and make ME stop! We felt SO held back at the beginning of the race and thought maybe it would let up in a few miles. It didn't. But I think that's what kept me running with Bobby instead of slowing down - I wanted to find that free open space, like a pioneer! I was headin' toward open land! There never was any.

I felt like I was chasing a little bunny through the crowds. Bobby is such a good runner, and with 60+ pounds gone from my sweetheart, he just bounced around through the crowds and made his way through. I lost him a lot of times, but always caught up. I ran for 8 miles without slowing down, except when my shoe came untied, but even then I tied it at mach speed and was so proud of myself for getting right back to it!

At about 8.5 miles, that's when the wheels fell off. My bowels felt like they were going to BURST. Not just a regular "hey I need to use the restroom" kind of feeling. It was a "did someone just remove some of my intestines without telling me?" kind of feeling. I won't go on and on about it, but it was horrible. And it was scary. I slowed down to a quick walk, saw Bobby speeding away, and as soon as I could, I sped up to find him. I did. I did this about 4 or 5 times, but the pain was unbearable and at one point I had to completely stop on the side of the street and fold my body in half...arms to the ground, just so I could get rid of the intestinal cramping I felt. I wanted to quit, and I totally didn't want to quit. I was kind of in a fog and wondered how far away Bobby was now, or if he had finished, because I didn't know what mile I was at, I just knew I was coming up toward the Venetian, and I saw the volcano at the Mirage going off. I knew I had at least a mile or two left til the Mandalay Bay finish. I walked, and ran, and sprinted, then walked, and walked some more, trying to stay out of the way of anyone else. My body got tingly, then stopped, then I'd run. This went on and off for several minutes. Finally I saw Bobby jogging in place on the side of the strip, somewhere near the Flamingo maybe? He urged me to run and I did, and we finished together! He waited more than 5 minutes for me to catch up, so that tells you how far ahead he was! He could have finished without me, but didn't. I love him.

We ran over the finish together, got the metallic blankets they give you, and I was FROZEN. Took a picture with our medals, and then I went down. Literally, I had to get down on my hands and knees on the ground about 20 times on the way to bag check, and I felt queasy and achy and cold and like I was going to white out. Finally Bobby got me to bag check and I proceeded to throw up like nobody's business. It was horrible. It's a bit of a blur how we got home, .a bus, and a taxi, then I was in the bathtub at my hotel room and feeling awful. A few more hours of vomiting and horrible abdominal pain, and sleep, and it took me about 48 hours total to feel better.

I thought this was all my fault. I had eaten a sandwich about 4 hours before the marathon started and I figured I'd messed up my system.

But when I got home and told my friend Shari about it via email, all she answered back with was this link to a news story she'd read. Reading about the lady's symptoms, I felt like they could have interviewed me! I still dont' know, and I never will, if my taking water at all the stations had something to do with this illness I got or not. I know they've tested the water and say nothing was found. I'll never know. But I have spent the rest of December ill. I got over this illness quick, but then had a cold. Felt better, then worse. Better, then worse again. Every time I thought I was better, I was knocked down again, and on Christmas Eve I took myself to the doctor and found out I have pneumonia. I hate to think that RUNNING is why I've had an unhealthy month. I don't think that's the case. Things happen. Illnesses lead to weakness and other illnesses. It's just unfortunate. If I DID get sick in Vegas from the water stations, though, how gross is that. I was telling my friend, I didn't know what to expect at water stations - if someone was there with a garden hose and I had to get under it and drink, I would have. I just wanted water. It didnd't bother me in the least that they were dipping my cup into a trashcan full of water. It should have, I guess, but it didn't. I didn't even think about it then!

All in all, I'm so proud that both of us ran the marathon. We have plans for two or three more in the next few months (one at the Safari Park in San Diego, a relay with friends from Huntington to Coronado Island, and one in Redlands), although I haven't run once since the marathon because I've been under the weather. I surely won't run for a few weeks now, since I'm recovering from pneumonia! But I look forward to the next run - I need to prove to myself that I'm not so weak that I'll puke after every event! :)

I'll leave you with a little video of a tiny part of the run - in the old Vegas part, where it was dark and quiet.

that's bobby in the black beanie ahead of me. Boring video, but gives you an idea of how crowded it was, and this was at about mile 7 or 8.

Oh and by the way - my time was 2:35:52 - which is one second shorter than Bobby's time, so technically I beat him. He waited several minutes for me, and I beat him by one second. TWO HOURS, THIRTY FIVE MINUTES and FIFTY TWO SECONDS. I cannot believe I did something for that long. Cheers to that.

And telling the story as "I beat Bobby by one second at our first half marathon" would have been such a cooler post!

this girl

2011-12-14T08:46:00.001-08:00

Sid, my 10-yr-old, all dressed up for some Nerf otuside. Thanks to playing some Nerf wars with our friend's kid Jake, Sid staged her own little battle and had to get the right look. This is when she came to me and said "mom, does this look right for Nerf gun battles?" Yes, Sid, looks perfect.

I was at the computer when she shot the window and came to say hello. Love this girl.

my favorite little boy in the world

2011-12-01T12:58:00.001-08:00

My heart is full - happy, sad, achy, grateful.

It really strikes me how the ACHY feeling comes along even when my kids are being the cutest and sweetest...I feel like watching them at their best sometimes just makes my heart hurt...it just aches that we only get THIS long with them as kids.
And it aches because the 6 year old daughter of a friend of a friend passed away unexpectedly last night, and when my friend called me to tell me about it, I was just speechless. What do you say, what do you do? What on earth could help that mom and dad today as they grieve their daughter's passing away through the night, unexpectedly? Nothing on earth. Only God.
To imagine what I have, then imagine it being swept away from me, it breaks my heart for parents who have experienced that.
And just after I heard that news, I got off the phone and was back into my world - my few hours of the day of just Jack and mom time, and all of the conversations we have and things we do together while the girls are at school.
Jack says some of the funniest things lately, as any kid his age would - he mixes up words, says them wrong, and I don't want to correct him because it's all too cute. But his big questions, oh they reveal so much about his heart and his thoughts, I can't help but share them on Facebook each time he says one that cracks me up or really makes me wonder what's going on in that magnificent head of his. Today he said to me, as we drove home from preschool, "Mom, its really not nice to say 'hey you have an owie, I like that on you.' Is it?"
I said no, Jack, that's not a nice thing to say.
And then in my head I started to pick apart why he'd ask that, or what exactly he means, but he was on to something else - pointing out some alpacas and some barking dogs and birds flying.
And really, he probably just meant his question very literally - that's just nice, to say you like that someone has gotten hurt, I guess. Unless he's talking about when HE gets hurt and I say "well I call that a battle wound, and that's cool, even if you have that forever, it looks cool and now you have a cool story behind that scar/scratch/scab."
I really like this kid Jack. I always tell him "Who's my favorite boy in the world?" And he says "I am, and dad, and our dog Lucky." When he got into the car today and found Lucky in the car waiting for him (a rare treat) he said in a sweet funny voice to Lucky, over and over, "who's my favorite dog in the world, YOOOOUUUUU are, YOUUUU are, yes puppy, YOUUUU are!" just like I'd say to him, and my heart just melted. Lucky's probably did, too.
I told him I thought that was such a nice way to greet his doggy, and Jack said "well mom, who do you think is my favorite girl in the world....YOUUUUUU are, YOUUUUUUUUUU are!!!!!" like he was talking to a little baby.
I just love him. He is a ball of fire and a sweet cuddler and a funny big boy and a teeny baby when he has his feelings hurt, and he still loves to sit in my lap, and he loves to make me happy, and he is easy to reason with, and he is just a sweet person and the perfect mixture of a manly-boyish-caveman-gentleman for me.

One of Jack and my favorite things Woody the doll says: "Like a yodel without a 'Hey Hee Hoo!!!" That can't even begin to describe what life would be like without my babies.

My heart is full, my cup runneth over.

spied a spider

2011-11-25T13:49:00.001-08:00

Sidney, Alyssa and their cousins alerted me yesterday during our Thanksgiving festivities that they'd found a neat spider. Neat is relative. They think spiders are neat, and they want me to photograph them often. But when I finally saw this one, I got scared and excited all at the same time and had to take some photos. Then I stayed up all night, waiting to leave for black Friday stuff, and looked up this spider - turns out it's a Green Lynx spider and lots of it's babies, just perched in my mom's pretty succulent plant out in front of her house. When I told Sidney today that I figured out what kind of spider it was, she was delighted and immediately asked that I hurry and get this on the internet! She's so cute! I said I'd put it on my blog. She said "can you just put it on youtube?" Blogs aren't cool to Sid, I guess. Maybe this picture will help!

Green Lynx spider

a clue

2011-11-19T10:44:00.001-08:00

This ecard made me laugh the other day - I spotted it on Pinterest and just remembered my first days of being a mom. I thought I was horrible.

all dressed up

2011-11-08T11:53:00.000-08:00

my girls

2011-11-08T11:42:00.000-08:00

Just thinking of how much I love my girls, and how if I were 8 or 10, I'd want to be best friends with these cool chicks.

my trick to a good run

2011-11-04T16:31:00.000-07:00

I figured it out - if I have two more feet, I run way better. Those two feet just have to belong to someone else who wants to run, like Bobby, and happens to be running ahead of me the entire time and causes a fire to burn in me to want to beat him! I run a lot by myself, which I actually really like to do, and Grandma, if you're reading this, I promise I am totally safe and run at safe times, etc. I can't control all the other idiots out there, but I can control when and where I run.
Anyway, yesterday on a 6 mile run with Bobby, I realized I continue to run A LOT longer and farther if I'm not alone! What a concept! It was wonderful. Weeks ago I couldn't run a half mile without stopping to complain that I might die. Then suddenly, I was running a mile at a time and feeling good. Then in September, for the first time I ran 2 consecutive miles while we were camping up by Malibu. WHY? Because I was running with boys. Since then, the most I've run again without stopping to walk quickly, then pick back up with my running, was 2.1 miles. Not such a gain.
But yesterday, I ran 2.6 miles without breaking my pace - there was a lot of uphill, and finally I gave in and walked briskly for a few moments, then ran again. In that 6 miles yesterday, I'm happy to say only about .2 or .3 miles of that were walked (briskly) while I fought my inner self and yelled at myself in my head to start running again. The entire 6 miles, my husband who has lost 55+ lbs in this calendar year, NEVER stopped jogging. We ran our six miles together in 68 minutes. It was a triumph, in my mind! I've had longer runs than that - I did an 8 mile the other day, and I need to do an 11 mile this weekend. But yesterday was the most percentage of a run I actually spent "running." Yay.
When I run alone, I bring along my phone and headphones and listen to talk radio or 80s cardio music, or some other pandora mix. Yesterday, because we're so dellusional we thought we'd TALK and run, we brought no music, and I brought no phone. It was WONDERFUL to run with NOTHING in my hands, nothing tucked into my ears, or my top, or my shorts, or my pockets. Nothing weighing me down or distracting me. Did we talk? No. We were too busy breathing. And I was too busy looking at birds on wires, hearing cars and animals and trees and all the sweet sounds of the beautiful town I call home. I love it here.
But here are some of the photos I've taken on my runs lately - gives me a good excuse to stop sometimes and slow down and catch breath...I see a bird and think "Oh I have to take a photo of that bird with my phone's camera. Then I have the strength to run again.

*on a side note, my website hit 5,000 hits yesterday, and that's pretty cool, too.

one of those

2011-11-02T23:21:00.000-07:00

Just one of those nights....the kind when you can start crying a little, or a lot, just thinking of how they're growing up and wondering why it has to go this fast. And then you wonder, it's going so fast, what if I'm missing something?
What if I'm not teaching them something at this age that they need to know? What if I'm not doing them any favors by not being harder on them about something? Or what if I'm being too hard on them for that? Or what did I do today that I don't even realize they'll keep with them forever? What damage did I do that I don't even realize? What, if any, good mom thing did I do today that someday they'll be thankful for? Did I kiss and hug them enough or too much or too little for their liking? Was I too dictatorial with one, and too soft on the other? Did I make any of them feel UNHEARD or left out today? Did I expect too much out of someone today, or too little? Did I tell them thank you for their help? Did I help make a big deal out of nothing today? Should I have put my foot in my mouth today, just to keep things running smoothly?
It's just one of those nights. It wasn't even a bad day. It was a good day. A busy day. But it's those busy days that really get you - at the end of them, I find I'm wishing I had spent my time more worried about them and their stuff than me and mine.
It's just one of those nights.

But look, there's Jack, giving me the thumbs up. Everything's probably okay. It's just my job to overanalyze every once in a while, then go to sleep with puffy red eyes.
Thank God for new mornings.

candy corn birthday party

2011-10-31T12:21:00.000-07:00

My best friend just held a candy corn themed birthday party for her son's first birthday. His birthday is just a few days before Halloween - what fun they'll have in the future thinking up creative party themes! This party was held inside the rec room at a park, so the decorations were much needed to boost up this all white space. I loved the cute touches that added to the theme she chose:

candy corns hanging from the ceiling

cute planters painted like candy corn, decorated as centerpieces.

decorating the park's rec room with pumpkin garland she made

this was the tasty four layer dip made to look like a spider web!
Dip contents, in this order: salsa, guacamole, cheese, mashed up black beans - pipe sour cream from ziploc bag on top and pull knife or toothpick through to create spiderweb angled lines.

candy corn wreath

the party mama

the birthday boy

almost to 5 Gs

2011-10-31T12:10:00.000-07:00

Hey lookie there - my blog, which has been up for YEARS now, has nearly 5,000 views on it (page counter is below if you don't believe me :). So even if 77% of those hits are from ME just trying to access my page, that's still cool. 5 is my number. I'm going to have a teeny little party, with just myself invited, when I see the counter hit 5,000. I'll eat something super sugary, probably stolen from a kid's halloween bucket, and enjoy the moment.

famous animator park

2011-10-27T14:02:00.000-07:00

That's what I have to call it sometimes - "famous animator park." Like last Friday when i was on the phone with my mom, explaining to her that I was picking up the girls early from school because we were going to Disneyland. Except I couldn't say Disneyland, because Jack was in the car with me, so I had to come up with some other creative way, and usually at that moment I'd use some german, but even if I went with something with MOUSE, german for mouse is maus, and it sounds exactly the same....can't do that one. One time I thought I'd be slick and say "haus of maus." Thankfully I caught that in my head before I said it.
For some reason Bobby and I love to torture our kids on the way to Disneyland - one time we told them we were going to the dentist, isn't that horrible? I promise they weren't scared of the dentist, we just knew it wasn't the MOST desirable place they'd want to be. THen we pulled up to Disneyland, and it was awesome. This time, we told them we had to run out to orange county to pick up a new vacuum for mom. This story worked because all I wanted for my birthday this year was a vacuum, ask anyone. No, I didn't get it, thanks for asking.

Anyway, so this time, we told the kids we had to pick up the vacuum. They totally bought it. We ate fast food on the way, which we ALWAYS do on the way to Disneyland, and still no clue. We were diverted AWAY from the normal parking spot to a different side of the park, and when we passed by the main entrance of Disneyland, just like out of a movie, a BUS was on the side of the car and they couldn't see the park. BUT the side of the bus was decorated with Disneyland stuff, so that KIND of gave it away, but I very meanly said "oh, I'm sorry, is it hard for you to be THIS close to Disneyland and not be able to go?" Then we turned into the new parking lot and they got it. Well, most of them. It wasn't until Jack was in line to get on the bus to the park that he finally said "oh I get it, we're going to Disneyland now?"

We headed straight for California Park, which is MY favorite and NO ONE ELSE in my family's favorite. They all whine and cry when we don't go into Disneyland. Well, not really whining and crying, or I'd turn around and go home. But close. But because of the Halloween fiasco going on right now at Disneyland, we headed to California park first and the girls both rode the California Screamin' roller coaster for the first time, since it had a 15 minute wait and that's the shortest I'd ever seen. I rode with Alyssa, and this was her SECOND time in her life going upside down on a ride. Bobby rode with Sidney, and it was her FIRST time! She conquered the upside-down! Whoohoo. That's a big deal around here. Bobby practices crazy ride training with our kids, so they've all been dragged onto Matterhorn before their 2nd birthdays (yes, truly - look it up, that ride has SUPER short height requirements) and other scary things...like the rocking ferris wheel cars on MIckey's Wheel of Fun or whatever they call it. The last two pics are of us riding in that rocking car on the ferris wheel.

So glad to have passes - life just isn't complete without them.

my littlest pumpkin

2011-10-13T20:37:00.000-07:00

My moms group had a trip to a GREAT pumpkin patch - the smaller, less-commercialized kind that we've gone to the last few years in a row - Jack and I set up my camera on a bale of hay to take this photo after the tour was finished. It was hot. I can't ever get my outfit right for pumpkin patches. I dress too warm or too cool, then I sweat or freeze. Notice my boots...I was so hot. My kid would have been better dressed in shorts and flip flops, as he wishes each morning.

The funny thing about this littlest pumpkin of mine is HOW MUCH TIME I have with him. I love it. But sometimes in the middle of it I almost feel guilt that I didn't have the same amount with the girls.

Sidney was almost 2 when Alyssa came along.

I had 23 months of JUST Sidney time. She was a difficult baby and I often felt like I wasn't good at being a mom when she was a baby - like I wasn't doing enough to make her happy. I avoided lots of playdates with friends who had babies. I look back and regret that so much now. WHO CARES? Why was I so overwhelmed and self conscious about that? When Alyssa was born, then it was we three girls all day long while Daddy was at work.

When Alyssa turned 2, Sid went into preschool shortly afterward, and I had little snippets of time with just Alyssa, and I did just savor the Ally and me time. I knew, from having Sid already, that there wasn't much time you get just one on one with each kid. That's when I CRAVED my time alone with Sidney SO MUCH - when it was hard to find it!

Jack was born when Sidney was 5 1/2 and Alyssa was 3 1/2.

Just a half year later, Alyssa started preschool five days a week, and that was the fall of 2007. So I have had Jack to myself FIVE DAYS A WEEK during school hours since the fall of 2007, when he was 8 months old! He is nowmore than 56 months old (he's 4 1/2) so I've had about four straight years of time with Jack. I love that time - he is fun to be with, for sure. He talks funny, does funny stuff all day long, and is very entertaining - when I need entertainment. But he's also been a boy who lives in five minute intervals for many years - probably much like everyone else's kids!

Now Jack's in preschool two days a week, and it does feel very strange to have 8 hours a week that are spent not in the presence of Jack's watchful eye and talkative mouth. It's strange. I think about him SO much when he's at school - hoping he's having fun, hoping the dropoff went as easy as I felt it did.
Man this mothering thing is hard and wonderful. I don't have enough free time to be making up things to feel guilty about. As a wise mentor in my mom's group would say to me, "get over it." So I will. I'm glad for all the time I have with each of them, and I hope for more, and I crave more one on one, so I'll find more ways to do it.
Those kids.
I love 'em.
No, I don't just love 'em. I ADORE them.

return to reality

2011-09-26T17:42:00.000-07:00

We got home last night after a weekend away with LOTS of family, camping at Leo Carillo State Beach near Malibu, Ca.

Today I spent most of the day washing things containing an excess of sand in them, or dirt, or seashells in pockets. Last night, when we returned, I got straight to work on cleaning out my car - for the first time, I cleaned the sand and yuck from camping out of my car as soon as we got home instead of waiting a day (okay a week). It feels so good - even though our house is full of sleeping bags to shake the dirt out of, and clothes to clean, and shoes to hose off, and much more to do, at least my car is in BEAUTIFUL shape. I will try to make that a tradition - park and clean the car. The kids helped, too, by wiping all the seats and doors with cleaning wipes while I vacuumed crevices I didn't even know Tahoe Tessy had!

Anyway, there were more than 30 family members camping together, from Bobby's side of the family, and it was SO much fun. We biked, played hours of badminton, sat around the campfire and laughed a LOT, swam in the ocean, boogie boarded, ate great food, Bobby and I and a few others ran 4 miles (because yes we're still training for a half marathon and didn't want to miss a run day), and just got to enjoy every single person who came. It was one of those trips where I felt like I got to sit and talk for at least an uninterrupted minute to each and every person there. I'll upload some of my favorite pictures once I go through and see them all myself - there are a thousand of them, it might take a minute.

some of the fun cousins and additions

dolphins off the coast

I am so lucky to have married into such a fun family - everyone is so easy to be around and just adds so much to the group. And then they all keep marrying people who just keep making it even better! And then they have kids that are just adorable and add even more. I really do just love those Johnson girls (my mother in law Mary is a Johnson girl) and what they've shown me about enjoying your family.

Here we are - Me, Mary, Ashly (one of the other "married-ins" like myself, who reap the benefits of a super fun family of COUSINS who love to hang out with each other!!!!)

And as Mary says about camping, "it takes a lot of work to have a little fun." So true. I'm still in a bit of the "work" phase, so I'll post more later.

tiny slivers of time

2011-09-22T23:38:00.000-07:00

Uploading pictures - so boring, but at least I can sit and write for a moment while it's happening - I won't let it force me to waste time.

Facebook changes - seriously, I feel old when facebook changes things around. So many people are saying "stop complaining about facebook changing, big deal" but I realize those are the YOUNG people saying those things, not the people my age. Getting old stinks. You realize how much you like things YOUR way, or just the simple old way, and even if you think you're pretty spontaneous and flexible, you can see where you're not in more areas than before! Uggh. I don't usually feel old by the way, just when it comes to things like this. Most other times I feel young....almost too young. Like when I look around and see that I'm in charge of keeping three little kiddos safe and clothed and warm and fed....then I feel like a little kid myself and wonder "I'm so young, how am I supposed to be wiser than them! I kinda want to go watch a cartoon!"

This has been the busiest week - in the past week I've been to two baby showers, a bunco game, a rodeo dinner, kids to a church musical audition, watched my husband compete in a gym competition, attended a 2 yr old's birthday party, had a baking morning with a friend (we baked THESE and THESE from my friend Shari's blog, but the funny thing I'm realizing now is that neither is baked!), I ran more than ten miles total, ran out of papertowels and kitchen sponges and ziploc sandwich bags, filled up my car with only $35 worth of gas because it was late at night and I was creeped out at the gas station, so then almost ran out of gas the next day....and this is when I realize what my grandma means when she talks about "burning the candle at both ends."

But something that doesn't make me feel old, or busy, is taking my little run in the morning. I LOVE to get up and be running while the sun's making its way out into the sky. There is nothing like it. I feel like the most natural, nature-loving, granola of a person when I am out that early in the morning. And pushing myself to do something I thought I'd hate, but realizing how much I like it, it's very therapeutic. I thought running would be a great time to pray, and it is, in theory - you are out there alone, with the world and nature, why not talk to God? Well, the Lord gets the first few minutes of my time when I can still breathe and think. But soon, I realize I can't think of ANYTHING and I actually feel rather blank. That's probably good, because I frequently have so many things swimming around in my head, I'm mixed up quite a bit and it worries me. The blank feeling is okay. Today I ran on a track away from my house, and when I got back in the car to go home, I just sat there and realized as I got my breath back into a normal state, my brain followed, and my to-do list started popping up in my head.

Pictures are uploaded. Ah, feels good. Now I can get to bed and rest up for a BUSY weekend of CAMPING! Oh, wait...I still have to pack.

goals and running and pinning and costco and.....

2011-09-16T21:31:00.000-07:00

I love how my friend Kelly posts random thoughts on her blog - just the basics of what's going on. Today I'm copying Kelly - copying is supposed to be flattering, right? MY version of copying is.

Okay, first, I've been doing a lot of copying lately. With Pinterest giving me access to SO many wonderful ideas in every possible corner of life, I've been stealing ideas left and right - decorating, sewing, gifts, crafts, etc. I love it. I check out my pinterest mostly on the home computer or on the ipad, because it's too small on my phone and since I have a Droid phone, there's no app for that yet. Lame. But I can spend a LOT of time on pinterest, and sometimes feel guilty about it. But then last night, while on pinterest, I saw something someone else had pinned and it said something like:
Time wasted isn't wasted if you enjoyed it.
I may have super botched that quote, but it's along those lines. And I liked it.
Okay, now I have to go and find it so I can properly quote it.

I found it on pinterest, originally posted HERE on etsy.com

Okay, so I DID mess it up pretty bad, but I love the point of it. Really, I do spend some time on pinterest that I could be doing something else, but can't you say that about anything? I get ideas from it, and I sit and look at it while I have my better half in bed occupied by a good Dodger game or something...and I do notice, every now and then, he's peeking at it too. He likes the quotes. And he probably really enjoys hearing about all the stuff I WANT to do, but probably will never get around to.

I just ran. Pretty big deal. I'd call myself much more of a sprinter than a long distance runner, if by sprinting you could venture to imagine someone running about 50 feet with all their might, pretending to be chased by a gorilla, and almost fainting from loss of breath. So I just ran ONE MILE without stopping to spit, or undo and redo my hair, or complain, or catch my breath. I just kept telling myself "if you run the entire thing, you can blog about it. If you can't run it, you can't blog it." So anyway, pretty big deal to me - one mile, done. Now just to work toward that December half marathon. Wish me some luck. By the way, my new running shoes are Asics from Ross - $23.99. I thought they were SUCH a good deal, but I do have to say, they feel like the "bottom of the line" Asics instead of my TOP OF THE LINE Asics I already own, which were about $70 and killed me to pay that kind of money on. I'm so cheap, which leads me to the next thought. Running around the street loop that my house is on is .46 miles. Tonight I ran two of those loops without stopping to walk. It's my goal to run around it THREE times straight, no matter what speed, the next time I run it (which might be tomorrow morning!).

I went through a really hard time concerning my overwhelming feelings toward Costco. I LOVE to shop, and I LOVE to try on clothes and buy gifts for people and blah blah blah, but I think I'm allergic to spending more than $45 at a time at any given store. Not to say I don't do that - I have to - I just don't like how it feels. I'd rather nickel and dime (haha, what an old analogy, I haven't used a nickel or dime in forever) myself to death at Target or JoAnns or WalMart or anywhere really. But with the big checkout bills, I get clammy and nervous and I don't care how much there is in the bank with my name on it, I fear my card malfunctioning, like maybe it's been bent or sitting next to a magnet, or rubbed up on my phone or another card, and consequently I'd be LOOKING like I can't pay for something. So you can imagine how Costco makes me feel - it's like a mini tiny anxiety attack, except I'm able to breathe and don't need meds. Every single time I input my ATM code at Costco, I want to vomit, and I think I'm entering the wrong number, because it's not one of those "memorable" easy numbers like I invent for other things. No, this number gives me doubt every time I put it in, I always think it's wrong. It's like groundhog's day. I say to myself "is it THIS way or THIS way, which order do these numbers go in?" So there was a long period of time that I HATED to be the one who had to do the Costco shopping, because there was never a bill under $200 and that made me want to bite my nails. Also, if I left it for Bobby to do on his way home from work, he always ended up buying better stuff and spending more money and we were all just happier and I never had a nervous breakdown about it. But now, it's swung back over to me tackling the Costco trips, and I'm learning to love Costco again. I went this week, because I starve my car of gas until I reach Costco (poor Tahoe Tessy), because the cheapster in me thinks that if I get gas ANYWHERE else, they're stealing from me. After getting gasoline, walking around Costco was kind of a treat for Jack and me. And what cracked me up the most was the checkout, where I saw the most peculiar combinations of items being purchased by the people around me. The guy behind me was buying only coffee beans and iron pills. The people next to me were buying a big TV, which I felt envious of, and on top of it was a container of nuts. Walking out to the car, my favorite combo ever, was a guy carrying new jeans folded on top of that monster crate of eggs. I guess these combos could be made elsewhere (Target, or WalMart, for instance) but at Costco, with no bags, and everything being so huge, it was just very funny. Jack and I laughed about the guy with the jeans and the eggs for quite a while. The point of my story is, I'm finding the funny in Costco to make it a little easier for me. It's like a comic strip in there. It's my goal to just have fun in there next time and not feel any sort of nervousness.

Part of why my blog name is messyjessy is because I think of myself as pretty messy in my brain and in my projects. I am SO in over my head right now with little crafts and projects. I promise myself I won't start one until the first one is finished, but it's not working. I am SO MessyJessy right now. I have sewing stuff out, paper stuff out, the kids have painting stuff out, and when I say OUT I mean it's taking up some sort of flat table-ish surface (okay, some of it takes up floor) and it's very cluttering and as much fun as the craft itself is, the mayhem around is not. I need less Messy and more Jessy.

(My name is also MessyJessy because I do that thing where I leave my clothes in piles of what I wore that day - so you can look around and see what I was rockin' on Thursday, or maybe Wednesday or Tuesday even, just by the little mound of clothes I leave behind. I've done that forever, I wish it would stop. But to stop, I probably have to do something about it.) Okay, it's my goal to put my clothes away RIGHT away for the next week. If I ask it of my kids, I oughtta be doing it myself, right?

I'm still pretty terrified of earthquakes, and I'm very happy to report I did not feel the earthquake this week that was very close to my house. I was awake, just walking around and getting kids out the door, so thank God for that. Feeling an earthquake puts me into that old Costco mood I was referring to before. I found someone who fears them as much if not moreso than I do, just talked to her about it today, and that made me feel good. Feels good to know other people's crazyness along with your own.

I take SO many pictures, but I'm getting frustrated with myself for not printing them or decorating my walls with them. It's my new goal to take some good shots of my kids (TOGETHER) to frame and get up on my walls BY CHRISTMAS. It's also my goal to take TWO Pinterest ideas I've pinned for MY OWN HOME and finish those by Christmas. Those seem doable.

I think I need to hold the reins a little tighter and get done the things I look so forward to doing, instead of just "pinning" them and saving them for later.

paid off big time...for a little while.

2011-09-04T23:02:00.000-07:00

So I've had this ritual with my girls now for years - princess massage night. When I notice I've neglected to clip their nails or remove their polish, or when I want to clean their ears out with Qtips, or floss their teeth to perfection or even just brush them for a full two minutes because I'm SURE they cheat on the two minutes, I hereby declare that it's princess massage night and the princesses line up to get their beauty cleanup and a back/leg/arm massage. My girls LOVE it. What girl wouldn't, right?

It's always RIGHT after a shower or bath, so they're nice and clean, which makes all the other stuff that much easier (like cleaning ears, right?). They both used to want to be FIRST, but now they're catching on and they want to be last, so they can go straight to bed after I finish.

Another reason I started it with the girls was so that I'd somehow urge my girls to NOT to be too tied up about their bodies and just realize bodies are bodies and girls are girls and it's all no big deal. When I was little, I was wacky about that stuff and had a really strange body image and didn't feel comfortable in my own skin - and when I realized that, I vowed I'd take a step toward making them less wacky than I am. We'll see how that turns out.

But as for right now, I love it - I explain muscles and bones to them while they're getting their massage, and they love it.

Of course since Jack's been about two years old he's been in on it, and we call his version the "superhero massage." He makes all sorts of manly caveman grunts and noises when I massage his arms, where he says his biggest muscles are. Its adorable.

So this has gone on for a few years and I really do love that time with my kids because it's usually one on one time, which I treasure. I honestly feel that when I give them a little mini massage, I can FEEL their little bodies relaxing. Sure, I have to get them over the ticklish phase each time, but sooner or later they do relax, and I promise not to tickle them anymore (because don't you hate it when you're in the middle of the most relaxing massage ever, and then the masseuse tickles you? Hate that!). I LOVE to feel how relaxed they can get, and it just feels so good to make them lay there, completely still, quiet, and actually chillin' out. I wish I knew what they were thinking of when they are that completely peaceful.

They enjoy it so much, they actually like to return the favor to ME! I'm always begging one of them to scratch my back or play with my hair, and they do, for a split second, and even that is wonderful. Usually, if my middle child finds me on the computer, and she wants something from me, she climbs up into the computer chair behind me and either plays with my hair or chop-sueys my back for a moment to butter me up. It works. I won't lie.

But tonight, for some sweetheart reason, my younger two decided they wanted to give me a princess massage...minus the Qtips ( please, I need my brain!) and clippers (duh). One massaged my calf muscles with his hands and feet (ew, I know, but he just took a bath, so I was momentarily okay with it) while the other massaged my back with her tiny hands, which are strangely strong for her age. Where was my older one? She could have been braiding my hair or something, but no - she was reading in bed. Still, it was heavenly. I was in pure relaxation mode. I even pulled out a book - and I read 24 pages! That is how long they stuck with it! Oh it was so lovely....until suddenly my middle child had the brainiac idea that mommy didn't want her back "shiny" anymore, so she got a towel SOAKING wet and returned to my bed and began wringing the towel out on my back to get the last remnants of lotion off! ICE COLD WATER dripped all over my back and my bed, and my inner peace shifted to outer chaos. Such a sad way for a massage to end. She felt bad, I couldn't contain my shock, so she knew it was no longer a princesslike massage..it was like a prisoner of war torture (okay, not that bad).

I'm so glad I began the princess massage nights long ago - without that tradition, I wouldn't have received some of the most relaxing moments tonight. But oh, something so lovely, taken from me so quickly. I hope they try again tomorrow night. :)

And, if you have kids - start giving them massages now and then. Once they know how great it feels, hopefully they'll turn around and give you one, too!

there's no time to be bored

2011-09-01T12:57:00.000-07:00

At a recent meeting I was asked to share a memory from summer. My mind went blank, I didn't even know where to start, but couldn't think of anything specific that stood out above other things. Now I realize, I blanked because we did SO much this summer, I can hardly believe it all fit, and I can hardly begin to pick my favorites, so here are some highlights of things that took place this summer:

We have two summer birthdays in the family - that meant two birthday celebrations - one at Sea World, one at San Diego Safari Park - both also with small get togethers, like a party at home, and a bicycle trip to our favorite frozen yogurt place.

Sea World was beautiful and what I loved about this trip was NO STROLLER and everyone's big enough to do ride Atlantis, and even though it was hot, the kids had great attitudes.

Seeing my college roommate and her family for a beach day.

Party of 14 at our palacial vacation pad in Rancho Mirage.

Safari Park with cousins and grandparents!

We saw two couples get married this summer!

We stumbled upon a U-PICK orchard/farm and LOVED it. Pleasant surprise on our way up north.

Hung out at Grandma's in the mountains with cousins.

lit up the sky on the fourth of July.

I visited a childhood friend recovering from a stroke, and this was one of my favorite moments - making her mommy a pizza.

Held this guy a few times....baby DJ.

Lit some stuff on fire.

Watched my sick girl on vacation try to suck it up and stop crying about not being able to go to the waterpark across the street from our hotel since she had a fever and chills and was vomiting. Poor kid. We made it up to her, we went to a waterpark just days ago.

Witnessed this kid go from FLOATIES to NO-FLOATIES NEEDED this summer! Watching your kid learn to swim is so much fun.

Hung out with this entire family and love them so much.

Got to enjoy a day at Disneyland with these kids, some of whom had never been!

Watched kiddos slip and slide.

Hiked with friends!

Watched from AFAR as my oldest and her grandpa got to feed giraffes on a safari.

Did a lot of hangin' out with my little guy.

Lost weight, but baked lots of things I shouldn't have, like this shortbread, bread, cookies, cookies, and cookies.

Went to this community park for the first time for a kid friend party - and LOVED it!

Had fun with cousins at this other pool, and watched a child nearly drown (not related) which was a good jolt to keep a better eye on everyone at the pool for the rest of the summer.

raised hawkmoths.

had hawkmoth races.
And so much more! Geocached, kids rode a horse, kids learned to boogie board at a waterpark, went on some scary water park slides, rode bikes a lot, exercised, went on lots of walks, had movie nights and movie mornings, made a lot of art and planted lots of stuff. I don't know how we fit it all in, but we did.
Now it's back to routines and alarm clocks and strict bedtimes, bathtimes and brushing times.
Oh, I loved summer.

sucker for succulents

2011-08-30T14:09:00.000-07:00

♪ Money.. burns a hole in my...pocket ♫

I think of those lyrics from the Dean Martin song every time I watch my girls scurry around a store just SEARCHING for something to spend their money on, even though they don't actually need or even want something. They just FORCE it. Usually, that's how my girls spend their ~~hard earned~~ birthday money.

Well for her tenth birthday, Sidney got a nice crisp ten-dollar bill in her card from my grandparents. She had me hold it in her wallet until she knew what she'd want to buy with it. Sidney's a bit of a planner. Alyssa's more the kid who will nickel and dime her way through her money.

Walking into WalMart a few days ago, Sidney had a light go off in her brain and KNEW what she'd buy with her ten bucks.

SUCCULENTS and CACTUS plants.

the three plants with the red and yellow flowers on top are the three new additions to her already existing succulent garden planter.

under major inspection by the girl with the green thumb

Sidney gets passionate about stuff without me really understanding why or where she got the idea from, but I love it all the same. She learns so much, she ends up becoming an expert on the subject and just amazing me with her brain, once again. I love the way she thinks.

By the way, planting poky painful cactus is no joke - wear gloves. Mom may or may not have been poked a hundred times in the process of planting three small cacti.

Something Sidney taught me recently was about aphids, and how ants "use" aphids. It was fascinating.

Here's the long story short from wiki.answers.com :
Aphids exude a sweet liquid which is a good food source for the ants, who look after the aphids and 'milk' them with their antennae to get the honeydew. The ants protect the aphids from other predators, and will even herd them around, moving them from one colony to another.

I learned this from Sidney, only after she spotted the ants on my mom's blackberry bush "herding" the aphids - by walking around on top of the aphids, but not eating them or harming them - it looked something like this:

When Sid explained it to me, I thought she'd made it up. She didn't. She just listens and learns and remembers. Thank God.

two shots

2011-08-28T21:48:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while, as I look through the many many photos I took during a fun outing, I find one or two that REALLY look cool and make me happy I dragged my camera along! These are from our day at the San Diego Wild Animal Park (Safari Park, I guess they call it now) and during our 8 hours there I took about 930 pictures. THESE are the NON-people shots that are my favorites (even though I tend to shy away from non-people shots, because what in the world will I ever do with them?):

Lorikeet pecking order

Gorilla with her 2 1/2 month old baby, Monroe - she's never let her out of her arms. I think that's amazing.

Now that I look at them again, these "NON-PEOPLE" certainly are acting very people-like in these photos! Probably why I took them.

someone said

2011-08-19T09:49:00.000-07:00

"I don't want to get to the end of my life and find that I just lived the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well." - Diane Ackerman

(yup, saw it on Pinterest and loved it)

Made me think of which things in life will make up the WIDTH of it. Right now, its:

-riding bikes with my kids
-reading books with my kids
-hikes and walks with the husband and kids
-getting healthier and fitter
-writing REAL letters to friends and families and licking real envelopes
-taking time out of my day to help someone else
-being READY - for anyone or anything who needs me
-playing a game instead of being busy
-laughing with the funniest and smartest man in the world
-reading God's word

I want to live wide-angle...just with better focus.

rules change

2011-08-18T11:25:00.000-07:00

Funny little thing I noticed yesterday as I was watching two of the most adorable kids on earth, along with my own Jack, while the girls were at school - when you are watching kids who are not yours, you let things fly that normally wouldn't fly - why? Well, for me, it was partly because they were super cute, and super cuteness is key. But also, because they were having so much fun, and I want them to like me, simple as that - and if I stopped this fun, would they really like me anymore? Probably not.

It was just better not to risk it.

So guess what my kids want to do today when they get home from school?

the big 1-0

2011-08-18T11:15:00.000-07:00

Really? Really Nini-bug? You're TEN? TEN years old? Are we sure?
If you're ten, Nini, then how in the world do I still see THIS so clearly in my memory, as if you're going to walk (or crawl) downstairs and look like this:

And how can I still feel and remember every detail of THIS day as if it were a week ago:

And how can my brain be HEARING the sweet little voice that was talking to me at this moment as if it were yesterday?

And how can it be that this photo was taken 9 birthdays ago? At your first birthday, the best birthday bash ever, with more than 80 people there to celebrate you? How does it feel like I just planned and pulled off that wonderful little hoedown?

And then you wake up in the morning, and shoot me this adorable little face and I remember, you're a big girl!

You with your shiny hair and light-up eyes, and words that spill out hundreds per minute about any and all subjects that interest you. It all happens too fast, so fast. When you were little, I couldn't wait for us to be able to talk about what was going on in that wonderful brain of yours. Now I know, and I'm fascinated by it daily, and I am so lucky to get to wake up every morning to hear what glorious things you've thought up next!

Here's Sid opening up her lava lamp - a big deal around here. She's wanted one FOREVER. I have to admit, I have spent a few pretty long moments staring at this lava lamp..it's pretty awesome and very calming.

I can't believe her birthday was ALSO her first day of fourth grade. Fourth grade was one of my BEST YEARS OF MY LIFE - my teacher, Mr. Soderholm, was a huge part of that. I hope hers is just as wonderful.

And then here she is meeting her new Fijit friend. Yes, these are supposed to be all the rage for Christmas season this year - we love it. And I just die with laughter every time I hear Sidney trying to converse with this robotic friend on such a high level of speech....Sidney, remember this little Willa Fijit ONLY recognizes certain phrases like "dance with me" or "chat with me" or "yes" or "Yeah" or "Okay." Sidney - WIlla does NOT recognize things like "well, let me think about it" or "I already answered that, Willa" or "Uh, I'm not sure, I don't know, I'll get back to you." But it sure is cute listening to her try!

Happy Birthday sweet girl.

took a hike

2011-08-03T15:33:00.000-07:00

Such a fun trip. We planned to hike with Michelle and Jon and kids a few weeks ago, but of course, something happened and we had to cancel. Seemed only right we should try again, so we did! Took this hike Sunday night, after a nice rainy day. It always amazes me, this great state of mine. California just has it all. I feel like within a few dozen miles any direction, I can be in a place that looks SO different from where I live. I love California.

I think it's only fair to share that this hike was meant to be a hike to a waterfall. But we never saw a waterfall - because of me, I did not know there was any other trail around, so we only went on the one I'd been on! We did see lots of other stuff, though. We were gone for two hours - the best two hours to hike - from 6 - 8 pm I think. It was wonderful. The sunset was beautiful. The company was so fun.

We saw muddy dirty creek water from the rains earlier that day. We saw quicksand. We felt quicksand. We saw dirty shoes, lizards, birds, bugs, and lots of rocks. Michelle got hit by a boulder tumbling down a hill. We saw Bobby roll down the side of a mountain and get up without being injured.

We saw the wrong trail, no trail, and saw ourselves become trailblazers - especially in Bobby's case. He REALLY blazed a trail down that hill. I have no pictures. I was too worried about my daughter having a heart attack thinking her dad had broken limbs. As he was falling, I was already sorting out which part of his body I'd help carry if we had to help him get to the car - I was going to take one of his feet, Michelle would take the other, and Jon would have grabbed him from the armpits...we coulda done it, but I'm glad we didn't have to.

We had SO much fun with these people. They are good, jolly, optimistic, fun hikers, even though we were being bitten by mosquitoes and had to constantly put kids' shoes BACK on after they'd get them stuck in quicksand.

We burned a lot of calories. MyFitnessPal.com told me that I burned more than 700. I'm happy with that. Bobby gets extra calories for his "tumbling." He's fine, by the way. Two seconds after his fall, he got up and put Jack back on his shoulders and finished the wrong way hike. Good job everyone. Next time, I think we'll go see the waterfall.
This one:

Yup, I saw it on our drive home....so THAT's where the waterfall is. Got it. Next time, guys....I promise! We'll see it!

teeny critters

2011-07-30T22:48:00.000-07:00

my kids are all big fans of creatures. I have to give Sidney a lot of credit for that, though, because without her being fearless when it comes to animals and bugs (because she researches and has no invalid fears, like her mom does!) I think I'd be a bad influence on my other two kids and they'd fear all sorts of little critters.
Lately, these are some of the creatures we've enjoyed - watching my KIDS enjoy these wonderful creations is what makes me happy, not handling them myself. I'm not super wimpy, but I'm close.

This little tiny lizard was so sweet, to let all three of my kids hold it and play with it (and I'm sure one of them squished it a little) but it was so sweet and kind to them, as if it enjoyed it. THEY LOVED IT. Thanks, baby lizard. You held my kids' collective attention for more than 30 minutes without any arguing!

Tonight, during poker night, my mom sends me the strangest text....it said something like "i have some caterpillars for your kids, can I bring them by?" Uh, sure mom! Wow, does she know my kids well! (I think they're love for insects and animals is directly linked genetically to her, by the way) These are the tomato caterpillars she brought, at least I think that's what they're called. Since my kids are experts at hatching insect eggs and raising baby insects, or butterflies, or moths, they're the perfect candidates for these guys! I do NOT have these here at my house, but my mom and dad (only 3.5 miles away) have tons of them! So she brought over two. They're at least three inches long, and fat, and so cool to watch! Along with the leaves she brought for them, the girls spotted a small circle of tiny insect eggs! So excited to see what they'll turn into!

We are certainly delighted and fascinated with God's creations lately.

it's true, time flies

2011-07-23T22:32:00.000-07:00

It's so cliche, but I really do feel like it was just yesterday I was holding this bundle in my arms. Since when did time start going THIS fast? Has it always done this? Or does it just feel faster because I'm getting older? Either way, I don't like it. Slow down, time.

And now she's this bundle.

She's still all joy, though.

A helpful little bundle - she even helped me make one of her birthday cakes. Her original request - a cake that included chocolate, mandarin oranges and ice cream. It took a while to convince her that chocolate and mandarin oranges don't mix too well, so it turned into two cakes. One chocolate and chocolate malted crunch ice cream cake, and one vanilla and mandarin orange cake with cream cheese frosting.

My Alyssa Mae turned 8 yesterday. She is delightful and sweet and full of girly sugary fun. I adore her. Because she chose to come early, she missed my dad's 50th birthday by a day, but even though their birthdays are just a day apart, we still celebrate them together a lot. We used to do it a lot more when she was a baby and toddler - yup, he was there when she burned her widdle baby finger by touching the candle on her birthday cake.

Thankfully this year no one got burned.

(hey why's everyone lookin' naked in this picture? Don't worry - they were just outside on the slipnslide before cake time....no time for shirts when it's cake time...it's like the cake bell rang, and all the half naked youngin's ran in for some chow!)

But my heart felt a little sad. It's just not a kid's birthday without mom crying, around here. About an hour into the day, I cried. We were watching the video I made for her 5th birthday. Oh man. Tear-city.

Anyway, it as a great day - a nice low-key birthday which included a trip to the mall with Grandma for a new birthday outfit:

(I loved doing this as a kid with my grandma, when she'd take me school-clothes shopping, so I KNOW how fun this is for my girls) and lunch at the food court (because kids love food courts!) and then a small non-party here - just cake and ice cream, I called it. But with 11 total kids, it didn't seem like a non-party, it felt like a party. I have to stop planning non-parties. They just always turn out to be real actual parties - we can't help it!

The kids spent the first hour of the non-party on the slip n slide Alyssa got for her birthday.

They spent the rest of the next few hours eating cake, ice cream cake, playing in her dark room with the disco ball on, dancing, running around the house with nerf guns, screaming a lot, making most of the floors wet, and being cute and funny. It was a great non-party - and I'm so glad to have big family on both sides. We are definitely blessed with lots of family to love and love us!

Oh, and Alyssa says, come by for a snow cone!

And one more time, TIME, please.....slow down a bit, at least in the area of kids growing up. Please. This is getting a little crazy. I'm gonna turn around and that red snow cone maker will be a shiny red prom dress, or a shiny red car.

looking back a few

2011-07-14T10:00:00.000-07:00

Just came across some pictures from a little bowling party we had for jack's, daddy's and grandma's birthdays in January. Not too often you get a picture of Grandma with EVERY SINGLE grandkid next to her, no matter how squeezed out they are, they're all there!

land that i love

2011-07-13T19:37:00.000-07:00

We had a really nice 4th of July this year. Don't you just love it when the actual 4th falls on a weekday so you still have the weekend to celebrate as a bonus?
We spent the weekend with lots of family - half of it in Crestline, hometown to both of us (we watched the parade and the fireworks show - smothered in Crestline charm) and the other half helping Ashly and Mikey move into their new home. Packed weekend, but we loved it.
Here are a few highlights of Crestline:

Then on Monday, July 4th we headed to my sweet grandparents' house, where it's perfectly fine to let little kids hold flaming fireworks in their hands. Growing up a mountain kid myself, this was NEVER allowed, so it's always been a fun tradition to HAVE to get ourselves down to Grandma and Grandpa's house and swim all day long in the greatest pool in the world, then drag our tired butts out on the front lawn, put the ladder in the street, and let them rip. My kids were excited all week to "blow stuff up" and "explode things" or as Jack would say, "make stuff catch the fire." That they did, along with cousins and loved ones. We've done it this way almost every single Independence Day of my life, and I love it.

Brothers - James and Jeremiah (almost 14, and 12) - my nephews

my grandma, my grandpa, Tyler in the pool with Alyssa, baby DJ sleepin' on his momma, and up in the top corner, one of my sister's twin boys - don't ask ME which one, I'm always confused!

Andrea and her babies on the lawn, my sister's kiddos with sparklers, and Alyssa down below with sparkler, random cousins, and my charming Grandpa and me.

window shopping - i'm okay with that

2011-07-13T15:23:00.000-07:00

Oh how I love this store - Pier 1 Imports used to be the place I stopped EVERY time I had to buy someone (an adult) a birthday present. I was telling my kids this today as we walked in, just to browse. So cute, too, because my girls have "mom lingo" down so well! A woman asked if we were finding everything okay and Sidney said "oh, we're just looking." Said just like a grownup, it was so cute. Made me realize how much they copy me! (Scary thought, but cute at the moment.) So we walked around the store oohing and ahhhing, all THREE of my kids LOVED it in there, and it made me realize how much I LOVE this store! My reason for bringing them in? Well, we were a few shops down at PetSmart (which is like a mini zoo visit for my kids - 45 minutes we were there today, looking at and naming their animals!) and when we were finished, I wasn't wanting to get into the car yet, so I spotted Pier 1 and explained to my good shoppers how this store is SO cool because they have stuff from all over the world (do they really? I didn't look to make sure it's all not just from China, but I assume they have all sorts of stuff from all over the world, because it sure seems like it!). My girls, who LOVE to find treasures from around the world, just LOVED this store! So here are a few of our favorite finds!

very cute frame from Pier 1

Yes, that would look cute in my house. But I didn't buy it. I didn't buy ANYTHING, for which I'm pretty proud of myself!

cute beach bag/handbag from Pier 1

Seeing embellishments on pillows and purses like this makes me want to run home and sew. I didn't. I came home and cleaned. Then maybe I'll sew.

It's like they found treasure...giant utensils at Pier 1.

OH they were SO excited to find these forks and knives and spoons for GIANTS, and so much more excited when I actually let them TOUCH something in the store!

huge fork from Pier 1

huge knife from Pier 1 Imports

Look at that happiness! One of her few times handling a knife by herself!

red clock from Pier 1 Imports

After looking up red accents for kitchen for pinterest boards, seeing this in person today was kinda cool. What a pretty clock! It's HUGE! (not as huge as the forks and stuff, though)

bird salt and pepper shakers from Pier 1 Imports, just $3 for the set!

I'm obsessed with birdies, as noted previously on this blog, so I LOVED this little salt and pepper set, but I DIDN'T BUY IT! Now THESE are the items I get home and get mad at myself for not buying, but honestly, I told myself and the girls we weren't buying ANYTHING TODAY THAT WASN'T NEEDED. I need to reassess what I consider needs. :)

beautiful red flower rug from Pier 1

Eventually, when and if I ever do get a wood floor, this is the rug I WOULD LOVE on top of it - this red flower rug was so pretty, so soft, and the layers actually kind of build and get higher off the floor - just by a little, it wouldn't trip you, but it's noticeable to the eye, and just beautiful. My husband would never go for it. But I love it.

And there's my dreamy wishlist from Pier 1 Imports. What a good day. And my kids didn't break a thing, or whine when we left with nothing. Now that's really something.

how cute are we

2011-07-07T17:46:00.000-07:00

They're married now, almost two weeks! But I had the wonderful privilege of taking pictures of them at the beach the week before their wedding, as well as a fun shoot we did at least a month before the wedding, just for fun and to put some cute shots of them on the tables at the reception. Any extra time I got with them, I consider myself lucky for! I got to sit at that wedding feeling like I know a little about who Tim is, instead of him being a total stranger to me! Congrats Steph and Tim. I had a blast with you - at both photo shoots! You guys are so much fun!!!

Here are my favorites from the beach (Aliso Beach in Laguna, by the way - such diversity, if you're there at the right tide - at this time we were limited and couldn't make it out to the tidepools, the tide was TOO high and we would have gotten more wet than we already did).

My favorites from the Redlands/Yucaipa shoot. We did it at the EXACT wrong time of day, out of necessity, but still a few came out okay!

Love you guys. You're so easy to take pictures of!!!!

surprisingly fun

2011-06-15T00:55:00.000-07:00

I am a monster when it comes to food. In my whole life I've never been a portions girl, or a limit girl.My husband one time jokingly but sweetly said at a restaurant "she's my little eater" in a give-your-little-brother-a-noogie-because-you're-proud-of-him sort of way. It doesn't bother me at all that he said that - he's a funny boy, and I was eating a ton that night, and he was right. I can put it away!

Anyway, I feel lucky in that I feel like I have a good metabolism. I don't even really know all that much about metabolii, but I feel like mine is good, because after recently joining http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ , my eyes were opened to how much I USED to eat, and what that looked like in terms of calories, carbs, fat, SUGAR (my weakness) and protein. And I still cannot understand how, with what I was eating, I don't weigh a hundred more pounds at least!

If I had logged a day in the life of my eating just two months ago, let's say around Aprilish, no joke my caloric intake would have registered around
2600 - 3000.
I'm not kidding. My biggest calorie killers - sugary foods, LOTS of milk, LOTS of bread and butter (toast was probably my favorite food), and FAST FOOD - and just having no limits. Easting it all up. Yup - good old Fish Tacos from Del Taco, or Chalupas from Taco Bell. Let's just take a look....a Fish Taco from Del Taco has a total of 300 calories, and I rarely ate just one - it was usually two fish tacos if I stopped there, OR it was a fish taco and a bean and cheese burrito (490). Chalupas were my food of choice when I was pregnant with my third...I craved them. A Beef Supreme Chalupa (because that's the ONLY kind worth getting, in my opinion) is 350, and a double decker taco is 320. Those are the things I'd eat together, becuase I believe in ordering two things from a drive thru, one is not enough for one person. WHAT WAS I TEACHING MY KIDS? So we're talking about me having lunches that were at least 500 - 600 calories, along with all the other grazing I was doing all day. Not to mention the bars of butter I'd go through because everything tasted better with butter! In the past month, an average lunch for me is about 350 calories total, and made up of completely different substance.

I am NOT one of those girls who thinks they're fat when they're not. I do think I have a very realistic view of me. I hide things well. I have horrible stretch marks from three pregnancies, I have some areas where fat likes to camp out and never leave, and I just don't like the overall feel of how my pants fit or the jiggle in places I don't want it. I know what I'm supposed to feel like and this isn't it. I'm 5 foot 6 or 7 and I've been in the mid-high 140s for the past four years, and I know that's not where I'm supposed to be. I just know I'll feel it when I'm there, there isn't a certain number goal for me, and I also know I won't be wearing a bikini ever again in my life because there is nothing I can do with the thousands of marks.

Lots of friends and loved ones are members on myfitnesspal, which also has an app we use on our phones - mine even SCANS foods and inputs them (as shown above), and it's become our "fitness facebook." I now check in on myfitnesspal before ever even thinking to check my facebook. I LOVE it. It's become a little addiction, and with the addition of ACCOUNTABILITY through your friends being on the site with you, it has been TREMENDOUS over the past few weeks seeing the change in my diet.

#1 I am NOT a water drinker. I'm a milk drinker. I've always wondered, since I would pound about 3 - 4 cups of milk a day (yes, seriously - at least it was skim) did that mean I could somewhat COUNT that as water??? I mean, milk seems to have an awful lot of water in it, and breastfeeding infants don't get any plain water, just milk. So it must be fine. STILL, I was lucky if I drank one 8 oz glass of water a day, and that is NO exaggeration. The cool thing about Myfitnesspal is that i don't exaggerate on it, whereas I do exaggerate everywhere else.

#2 I did not care about the balance and makeup of the food I was eating. Sure, I cut out about 90% of our red dye intake in the past two or three years because of things I'd read, but nothing affected my other eating choices like high fat, calorie and carbohydrate foods. OR HIGH SUGAR foods! Now trying to make the numbers right, and eat things at the right time, it's all like a new game to me. I want my food to fit together in a way that compliments each other and gives me energy and doesn't leave me hungry. It takes thought and planning and preparation, and I am LOVING that part!

#3 Sugar is my weakness - I'm aware of that. I'm that stereotypical "i need a piece of chocolate" girl. People have bought me the "give me some chocolate and no one gets hurt" aprons, the "chocolate makes everything better" mugs, etc. and on and on. I'm that girl. I'm a chocolate giver, too. If I find a chocolate I like, look out world, I will shove it down your throat and try to make you like it, too. It will top your birthday gift, or it will just be a "just because" present. Maybe I try to make others join in my addiction. I don't know. But in the past month, I have passed by chocolate bars with NO feeling of wanting it. Honestly. To hear myself say it, I have to ask myself if I'm lying, but I said I'm not lying, so I'm believing me.

#4 I am not a good runner or worker outer. I don't belong to a gym. I can't run a half mile without stopping to spit a bit loogie or say the following chant "I will not die, I will not die, I will not die, just keep going, make sure you get into the front door."

But after almost a month of just TRACKING what I'm eating, and seeing it in front of my face, and having the addition happening before my eyes, and knowing how much more protein I need, calories I'm "allowed" and things like that, I have lost four pounds. For me, four pounds in a month is huge. Because I don't stick to things, and I make excuses, and I get sick. When I get sick, all bets are off. I become the sickly little center of the universe and my plans just halt.

Here's what today looked like logged on http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ :

Obviously that picture is just showing from lunch on because it was too big to put the entire screen on. Before lunch, there's breakfast and morning moody snacks. Those are just little names I PUT IN THERE myself to differentiate from the typical breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks, because I'm a grazer and I needed more slots than that. I notice the cranky comes out when I skip those little "moody snacks."
(funny sidenote, when anyone seems a little cranky these days, among my fitness pal friends, the first question is "do you think they didn't have enough carbs today?")

Those little notes I wrote on there about the protein and carbs - those are just the guidelines I'm trying to keep myself within.. WHY? Because Michelle told me to. She is that friend who is the researcher - the looker upper - the buyer - the tester - the guinea pig. From all her research on fat loss and muscle and all things healthy, she let me know that for optimum weight loss, those numbers for me should be around the 150 rule - more than 150 grams of protein per day and less than 150 of carbs per day. I gotta say, trying to figure out a way to get those protein grams without the carbs is a challenge, a challenge I like. And there is a group of about 8 of us who are very die hard about getting it right every day, with our diets public to each other and it's SO MUCH MORE FUN than I would have ever thought!!!!

I know, like so many other things, my interest in this will die down, my weight will fluctuate, and I'll feel sometimes like I failed. But if anything, the most important thing I'm getting out of being a daily logger on myfitnesspal is just KEEPING AN EYE on myself.

Even if you have no weight to lose, sign up on http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ and SEE what you eat and how it all adds up. You will be surprised. For my husband, his sodium is above his limit every day and now he's working on that. For me, his sodium is my sugar! Sugar is something I need to get under control, and the challenge feels great.I'll share more as time goes on, about separate parts of what I've changed and if it's working, because I'm still new at it, but for now, please if you are not a member of http://www.myfitnesspal.com/, go sign up.

teacher thank yous

2011-06-10T10:25:00.000-07:00

I'm addicted to MANY blogs, some of them with GREAT end of year/teacher gift ideas. Through looking at those blogs (one of the MAJOR inspiration blogs I look at is http://www.eighteen25.blogspot.com/ and they have THE GREATEST ideas on there, but I took that inspiration and added it to other ideas I got from other places). I made the following little card for the top of their containers of cake pops:

Isn't that the GREATEST teacher quote? I LOVE it! My grandma is always telling me to stop burning the candle at both ends, and she was a teacher, and it just spoke to me. I found the quote HERE. I found the graphic HERE after doing a google searc for "vintage teacher" and putting the advanced settings to "large" so I'd get a nicer quality graphic.

That was one simple thing we did.

The other thing we did was to take clothespins, paint them, decopauge them with scrapbook papers, affix a magnet to the back, and present them in a cute way. I got the idea from here:

This was my first time buying this magazine and it had lots of great graduation and mother's day ideas in it.

Here's the directions from the magazine, that gave me the idea for the presentation.

Clothespins = super cheap - like 50 pins for $0.97 at Walmart! Magnetic strips are pretty cheap, too. And the black spraypaint I already owned, and the scrapbook paper I already hoard!

It just took a few minutes to work on the concept of clothespins and the words we'd use to say thank you. "Hangin' in there" came to mindafter way too much time thinking about it. But yay, concept down. Now to get the girls to do some of it, so it's really from them.

Check. Now to figure out a way to make the paper hold the pins without ripping.

Check. Using ZOTS medium sized glue tabs.

And I happen to think they turned out pretttty darn cute. I LOVE the font used - some people couldn't care less about fonts, most of those people happen to be boys and husbands. But I like fonts, and I used a font called Rosewood for the "Hangin' in there" part. And by the way I believe at LEAST two fonts should be used for any project, usually three. It just looks better.

Finally, after making three of these sets, I came up with the idea to put the paper diagonal to display the clips. Wish I would have done this on the first one, too, but oh well. Sometimes the best ideas come to you when you're almost finished!

Thanks again to all the teachers out there - well, at least the GREAT ones!

camping practice

2011-06-10T09:05:00.000-07:00

School's out, and I decided a few days ago (before I got in a bad mood) that we'd set up the tent and let the kids (and that means me with them) camp in the backyard as a surprise for the start of summer. I made a mistake in that plan - I told Jack. Jack is 4. 4 birthdays is NOT enough time to have learned what a secret is, apparently, because five minutes after I told Jack, he told the girls. I figured he'd keep the secret because he was PART of the secret - he and I were to set up the tent alone while they were in school. But once he told them, my excitement level dropped, and with them asking me every five minutes "are we gonna put the tent up yet?" for the past three days, I figured maybe we should just do it another day. What is with that? Why do we, when we want to surprise someone, then want to pull the surprise away if they find out? I do that all the time.
Back to the tent. Finally, it got decided on, whether they knew it or not, it was a good idea, and who cares if a surprise is ruined - they were still SO excited!
So, I timed myself putting up the tent yesterday - Daddy was at swim practice with one of the campers, so myself and two of the smaller campers set it up in - wait for it -..........22 minutes!!!!!! I was so proud of us! I've set it up before, but it wasn't THAT quick the last time!

To be honest, the rain cover on the top did take an extra five minutes or so to figure out...but we won't count that, because it wasn't NECESSARY, really!
So camping in the backyard is GREAT practice for the camping we'll do toward the end of summer. We are very excited, but it is smart to do a little run through, and I definitely go that from last night.

Seeing the kids excitement once the tent was up was priceless. They ran in and out, in and out, in and out, waiting for their sister to get home so they could start loading things inside.

One of their favorite parts of the tent is the dual dog doors..it's a three room tent, so in two of the rooms, there are zip down dog doors. They LOVE these, and they actually use them often to go in and out.

Here's a good look at the three rooms...and a good look at all the rooms we own BEHIND the tent, that we COULD have slept in, but for some reason, when you are a kid, sleeping in your REAL house is no fun. Sleeping in your vinyl/plastic cold damp house is just the way to go to celebrate the beginning of summer!

We borrowed my parents fire pit, and this made it SO much more campingish! In fact, we all STILL smell like campfire now! My entire HOUSE smells like campfire, as does the inside of the tent and all it's contents. Talk about AUTHENTIC!

Yes, we used Daddy's dry cleaning hangers to roast Hebrew Nationals. They were EXCELLENT. The kids said they were the best hot dogs they'd ever had. OF COURSE they would think that. Anything that takes time on the stove or in the oven, no thanks. Something from the end of a bent wire, AWESOME.

Where else can you wear your ROBE camping?

Daddy's superhero skills once again - they just thought he was SO cool for using his FOOT to move the logs in the fire. Every time he did it they squealed and thought his shoe would catch on fire. I can just see them, in the years coming, putting their shoes in the fire the way daddy does.

Utter excitement over all that is going on, while roasting a hot dog.
By the way, some things I learned from last night: OUR TENT ROCKS. It's just a regular Coleman we bought about three years ago. It was on sale at Costco, and I want to say it was a little over 100 dollars. My mom gave me a tip to go somewhere I NEVER go, Big Lots - she said she thought she'd seen a Coleman for way less. I took a picture of the costco tent, then went to Big Lots. It was the SAME tent, just green instead of blue, and it was half the price. I want to say I paid $50 or $55 for the tent (I have a horrible memory with numbers). This tent is SO fun because of the little walls you can put up inside which makes each kid think they're in their own room. Obviously once all five of us are in there for the REAL camping, they won't be in their own rooms, but last night, they loved that part. Jack slept with me in the big room, and the girls got the outer rooms. They loved it.
Also, I learned we need a few things to make our camping experience better. Both of us adults do NOT like air mattresses, but we WOULD like an egg crate cushion, so I'll probably invest in one of those. How is it that when you're younger than 18, sleeping on the hard floor is fine. Your sleeping bag is cushion enough! Not so much anymore.
Also, a good lantern. I know we got one for our wedding ten years ago, but I'm pretty sure I gave it away. A lantern or flashlight OTHER than my kids' kiddie lanterns would be magnificent.
And I learned - camping on grass is SO CLEAN and soft. No dirt in the tent. Nothing to sweep out. Our grass is lush and soft and tall, so it was like having an airmatress anyway! Why can't more camping grounds let you sleep on lush grass? :)
If you have a tent and have not camped in your back yard, I highly recommend it. PLEASE, do it. It's so easy, cheap and clean - and the kids will LOVE it. And the bathrooms are wonderful!

busy busy busy crafty crafty

2011-05-31T10:56:00.000-07:00

Part of why my blog name is messyjessy is because I am notorious for starting a project when I already have 2 dozen others in the works, or sitting out even. In the past two weeks, my project has been my grandma's 85th birthday party, and of course, the part that I was really intent on making perfect was the decoration part. Along with my mom, we decorated my grandma's party with an "85 Years of Adventure" type of theme, incorporating books and travel. And oh man, you can do a lot with old books and scrapbook sheets that are all about travel!

So here's a little visual of what we put together:

I started by buying some old books (took off their ugly paper jackets to see how pretty their binding was, and if the colors went with the party theme, and then made the decision). They were $0.99 each! I found a few reallllly neat books that I'm excited to keep - for instance, Eisenhower's "Letters To Mamie" - and suddenly Jack, my little helper who was supposed to be looking at kid books, came up to me with TWO BOOKS that were AMAZING FINDS - Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (important because when I was little, my puppy chewed my grandma's copy of Jane Eyre and we've always joked about it since!) and Erma Bombeck's book, If Life Is a Bowl of Cherries - What Am I Doing In The Pits! My grandma has LONG quoted the great Erma Bombeck, and so has my husband recently! I LOVE Erma. I was SO glad Jack, my hunter/gatherer, found these books for me.

I also bought two romance novels with badly torn and tattered paperback covers, and tore them apart for a few projects:

using two four-inch styrofoam balls, and ripping pages out and then cutting them in half, I used the old yellowed aged book pages to make a book page topiary.

I just twirled the half sheets, folded the small end and glued onto the styrofoam.

hot glue.

I LOVE how it turned out. I know I saw it somewhere a while back on a blog and just mentally tucked it away, so I can't say where I found it exactly.
I knew, once I had this topiary done, the colors of the party would be cream, brown, black, and then tied in with some greens and oranges (because that's my grandma's kitchen!).

Here's how the topiary looked at the party - using some pinto beans to hold it in place in the pot with the decopauged pages stuck to it. A little rickrack to the top of the pot, and VIOLA - that pot used to be decorated for my son's mickey topiaries for his birthday party, but no more!

The book at the bottom of the pile beneath the topiary is one of those cardboard fake books from a craft store, Michael's I think, and inside was her big gift a lot of us went in on together - a Kindle loaded with 19 books for her to read!

I took some more pages, folded them in half and cut into triangles, then stapled onto a grossgrain ribbon to make a little newspaper garland. My mom and my neice and nephew folded some papers accordian style to create the pretty paper flowers, which were strewn about on the tables during the party.

I used one of the paper flowers to put together this pin for my Grandma to wear during the party.

A few more shots of the cute little garland hanging in my house before the party..

I also put together a sign to be stuck into a plant, so she'd be aware of the theme and why in the world everything was about travel and books together. Basically, my grandma is an adventurer - she's visited all 7 continents and been to hundreds of countries. But wherever she hasn't been, she's read about. She literally reads about a book a day, still, at her age, and with only one eye in full use. She amazes me.

I made a larger banner that said Happy 85th Birthday Grandma, but somehow didn't manage to get any great photos of it. Super simple. Just cut 12x12 papers into 8 x 12s, cut out some letters, chose all papers from a "world traveler" scrapbook set, and started staplin' away and using all sorts of little dots to affix letters and embellishments of travel. Turned out cute.

Found a vintage hot air ballooon by searching on google for something like "vintage air balloon vector free" and came up with this cute one that I photoshoppped and printed onto cardstock, then cut out so there'd be double sided balloons stuck on toothpicks for the cupcakes.

oh....also made some cakeballs and cakepops. LOVE how cakeballs look when you put them in tiny little truffle cups.....

And this is the wonderful cake my mom made for my grandma. It's a yellow cake inside, and she used fondant to make it look like two books stacked - the top book being JANE EYRE! The bottom is a book called Lady Chatterly's Lover - a book that was so risque for it's time that women hid it so no one would know they were reading such a "bodice ripper" as my grandma would call it. My grandma likes hot steamy romantic books. So funny!

I gave my friend Andrea the job of helping A LOT more than she needed to, and she cut up my fruit and put it on these kabobs and stuck them into the watermelon in this super decorative way. I am amazed at how creative she is! Gotta love a friend who is SO HELPFUL!

The sandwiches were also made by my mom - you can tell she's a lady of extreme detail and patience! I'd have slapped some mayo and a few chunks of salami on there in a pretty fashion, then the rest of them would have looked like my kids made them!

Here's my mom, showing my grandma and grandpa her book cakes and explaining the title of the bottom cake!

more shots of Andrea's artististi ability with fruit!!! Thank you Andy!

This party definitely made my mom and I remember how much we like to do crafts and decorate things and come up with themes. That part was a blast!

the treasure hunt

2011-05-31T10:04:00.000-07:00

I blame Matt. And I thank Matt.
Matt is our friend who got us into Geocaching. And now that I'm on the subject of geocaching, you'd better brew some coffee and settle in - it's going to be a long one.

If you don't already know what geocaching is, you can visit Geocaching.com and watch their intro/tutorial video that explains a lot, but if you asked one of my kids, they could also explain it well, and it would sound something like this: Geocaching is a treasure hunt using GPS coordinates from mom or dad's phones to pinpoint the location of where someone has left a cache - a container or some sort, sometimes tiny (micro) sometimes huge (pictures below will detail this) with at LEAST a log inside (a paper you sign your Geocache.com membership name on) and lots of time contains goodies you can trade and help move along by putting them into other geocaches!
www.geocaching.com

For us, it all started here:

That's Matt and Bobby, pointing out Humpback whales to me, as they're jumping in and out of the water about a half mile or so off the shore. This picture was taken from Makapu'u Point in Hawaii when Bobby and I were there in March of this year. To make a long story short, Matt is a navy boy, who was pulling into Pearl Harbor as his last stop of a 9 month deployment. He asked Bobby to ride along with him on his navy ship from Pearl Harbor to San Diego, but Bobby just had to get himself to Hawaii to board the ship. That turned into a week in Hawaii with Jessy before Bobby boarded the ship. See how I snuck my way into that? AND, the best part, the trip to Hawaii was paid for by my grandparents, just because they wanted to. I know, you want to punch me in the face, because I'm so lucky, but we'll hold off on that, and get back to geocaching.

As we were watching whales off the piont, Matt pulled out his GPS device and said there was a cache nearby. We'd heard of Geocaching before from Matt, but honestly never thought we'd be into it, and didn't realize we could do it from our phones (Droids thru Verizon). But we could, and decided to "help" him find this one (as if he needed our help). When he located it, he let us help sign the log and see the stuff inside, then he told us about what he'd drop off inside it - it was a Geocoin ( a trackable geocaching item that has a serial number on it, so the person who finds it can log it into Geocaching.com, find out who "owns" it and what it's all about, and send it on it's journey!). This particular Geocoin looked something like this:

Pretty simple - this coin commemorated the life of a soldier who had lost his life in the line of duty.

THIS SPOKE TO BOBBY AND ME MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE in that moment. Matt had carried this coin with him throughout his deployment, visiting all sorts of countries, and looking for the perfect spot to drop this one off. This coin is actually linked to a specific serviceman who lost his life, so the "owners" of the coin, most likely the fallen soldier's family, can see where this coin has traveled - and they can see that their loved one's legacy and memory is still alive - for everytime it's found by a geocacher, before it's sent on it's way, they have to log the serial number, then they're told the solider's name and information.

So, we decided to Geocache.

And when I say decided, I really mean "became addicted, abnormally passionate, and excited about all things geocache-related."

We became so excited about this new hobby, we kinda became the nerds of our little social group. Seriously. We sounded SO nerdy trying to get people to get on board with geocaching with us.

But we hooked 'em, I'm happy to say! Even if their geocaching names are names that make fun of us in particular, that's okay - they're out there caching!

First thing I did when I got back home, and while Bobby was at sea coming home, was to create us a geocaching name. Easy - I blamed Matt for getting us into it, so our name is MattMadeUsDoIt. Our subsequent friends both have something to do with my husband and I being NERDS! I have to say, one of our friends and their family took off running, right away, I guess we sold it GOOD! They're currently beating us, but not for long. The others, it didn't happen so quickly for, but I think they're finally on track and experiencing it in a fun way with their families! Just yesterday, one of our friends took a long walk with family and found their first handful or more of geocaches. I KNEW her kids would love it, it just too getting out there and seeing and finding some. Now I do think they'll be hooked, and they'll be the BEST geocache inventers if they choose to set some out. They are SO creative and active, I cannot see how they COULDN'T love it!!!!

It's been two and a half months now since we became members, and we have about 250 caches found.

That's a micro - keep in mind, that's in a 9 yr old child's hand, not mine! That paper rolled up inside is a long skinny log, where you write your geocaching username and the date, as proof you've found it. Then after signging the physical log, you also "log" your find on geocaching.com, which keeps track of EVERYTHING (how many you've found, what sizes, what difficulty levels, what areas, etc.) to give you all sorts of neat statistics.

You can imagine the kids' excitement when we found this huge ammo box - so much inside to trade. This was listed as a large, I believe.

As you can see, there's a wide assortment of sizes and shapes and ideas. If you visit Geocaching.com there's a shopping section and you can see all sorts of cache containers to purchase if you want to set some caches out yourself.

for instance, the magnetic bolt, for sale at Geocaching.com:

https://shop.geocaching.com/default/cache-essentials/cache-containers?limit=all

http://thecachestash.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1_58 this also has great ones.

There are MANY caches that are Altoids can size - that's generally listed as SMALL in the listing, and they are big enough to fit small items to trade inside (think dollar store items mostly, things that kids would like to find, but don't mind parting with, since they need to be trading that item into another cache soon, instead of keeping it to themselves (one of my favorite parts of this adventure!) - some of the things we trade in and out of caches are small party favor kid toys, casino chips, some people leave pennies or quarters, and trackable items).

So the basic steps we take to geocache are the following:

CREATE a Geocaching account - it's FREE. Sign up using a username and password type of deal, make it up yourself, make sure it's something you are comfortable with writing out OVER AND OVER since you'll be penning it in paper logs each time you find a cache. My husband's hope is that our friends, Bobbyisournerdking will sometimes forget to write the word NERD in their name!

GET A GEOCACHING APP on your phone - if you have an iphone, I'm sorry, but your best bet is the Groundspeak app for Geocaching. Just look up Geocaching in your app store, and find the app that costs about 9.99 and buy it. It will save you SO MUCH HEARTACHE. I'm a Droid owner, and I started with GEOBEAGLE, which I highly recommend, but I have moved over to the Groundspeak app for Geocaching because it's just super easy, and no middle man, and it's constantly improving and works great.

DECIDE WHERE TO GO - One of our first geocaches with our kid was RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET from our house. Odds are, there's one right around your house, too. Once you create your FREE account on geocaching.com, you can look up nearby caches, and you will no doubt locate one within a half mile of where you are (unless you're where NO ONE wants to be). Anyway, we decide where to go depending on time, how many kids, how many caches we want to (or need to) find - we are often racing our friends to see who can find more - and what TYPES of caches we want to find. if you do some of your research before you leave, on the computer, or in the car as you're driving there, you'll be so much happier.

CHECK OUT THE ENTRY FIRST - when you find a geocache nearby, using your phone or you computer, look up the RECENT LOGS - that means, you're looking at who has recently found it and WHEN. If no one has found it for a while, and it still hasn't been checked on or replaced by the owner, just skip that one. Maybe put a "watch" on it if you really want to, and when they reactivate or fix the cache or replace it if it's lost or damaged, you'll know right away and can head to it later. We like to make sure we're hunting for a cache that has been found a few times recently (by recently I mean in the last six months or so). We do this for our kids' sake. It's really hard to watch them search and search and bring up nothing after we dragged them out of the house, away from the tv, and just as they were starting to love being out, we find out a cache hasn't been found for a year! Ugggh. The other thing I check in the entry info is the description and hint. Lots of times, the people who have created the cache will say something like "you're looking for a small camoflauged Altoids can" and the hint might say something like "look low" or "look up" or "under" or something like that. Those clues are super helpful. Or you might want to go hintless, which is fun if it's just the husband and myself, but for the kids, it's nice to give them a little help!

FIND - When you find a geocache (by using your app to get you to the location, using your phone's GPS, within feet of where it's been hidden), hip hip hooray, be careful to see who is around. The other day we found one RIGHT by a group of boys playing basketball at the park. My son yellled out "FOUND IT MOM, FOUND IT DAD, LOOK I FOUND IT" and everyone turned to see what he'd found. Geocaching.com lingo has a name for people who DO NOT geocache, and are either watching you or possibly going to go grab the geocache after you've put it back - they are called MUGGLES. Pretty funny, huh! A security guard once laughed hysterically when we explained what we were doing and I called him a security muggle. He loved it. So, be discreet. If we're by a lot of muggles, regular bystanders not having a clue what you're doing, we try to be really stealth, and if we grab the cache near them, we walk it back to our car to open it and sign it.

TRADE - don't take anything out of a cache if you're not going to trade for something out of your bag of goodies. You can find any goodie you want to start out. We found a Las Vegas keychain we'd never used. Who cares! We don't want it, but we can stick it in a cache and someone else will pick it up and who knows what that keychain has seen in the past two and a half months. I notice some people leave pocket change - lame - kids don't like to find pocket change, they have that in the cup holder of the car!

TRACKABLES - as I said before, Trackable items are items you BUY from Geocaching.com or other sites that have a serial number on them. For Easter my husband bought each of us one - they look like a dog tag, or a shaped tag, or a coin. Mine looked like a german flag on a small coin, and it's already been brought to Denmark by a wonderful geocacher who saw it and told a friend to grab it because they knew their friend was taking a cruise to Europe and when I activated my coin, I asked for it to please try to get to Ettlingen, Germany. Well, it's on it's way, and geocaching.com tracks its miles, so right now my little "Germany or Bust" coin has thousands of miles logged! THis is SOOOO fun for the kids, because as your trackables travel, you can show them online where it has been, how many miles it's gone, and it' a geography lesson! If we take a trackable item out of a cache, we usually LEAVE a trackable item as well. It's customary to leave an item with equal or greater value than what you took. I know, doesn't always happen, but it's GeoEttiquette. Make sure if you DO pick up a trackable, then go through the trackable section on geocaching.com to log that you've found it and log where you drop it off once you do. This way the "owner" of the trackable knows where it's going. We are in a race right now with some friends - we each have a trackable with a racecar logo on it - ours is the blue car, theirs is the red. Whichever car travels the most miles by Dec. 31st, 2011 at midnight, that family will be bought pizza dinner by the losing family. You can't imagine how excited our kids are when they see any mileage build up on our trackable race cars!

LOG IT! - Don't leave without signing the log, and make sure you digitally log that you found it - you can do it from your phone app if you want, or keep a list on paper or in your head of what you'fe found that day, and log them when you get home to your computer. IF YOU ARE CARRYING trackable items with you, but you didn't put them in any caches that day, make sure at the bottom of the log page, that you have those trackable items "VISIT" the locations you went today. That way, however they belong to, they'll see they are still getting around, even though they haven't been DROPPED off yet. I understand not dropping off trackables...sometimes I pick up someone's trackable, but I really want to wait for the BEST place to drop it off, so I hold on to it for a while! Totally understandable. But then at least just list that it's been VISITING other caches with you, then it gets credit for the miles you're taking it!

CREATE a CACHE! - Do as I say, not as I do. I have about three cache containers that are ready to be put out and listed - there's a process to it, and we haven't foudn the locations we want to lay the caches, so we haven't gone through the process yet. But we read somewhere, and I agree, that for every 100 caches you find, you should create and set out one cache of your own. This means we should have set out 2 by now, but we haven't. We'll probably go out and put three down in the next two weeks and be up to par with where we should be. It's just geoettiquette.

HAVE FUN! - our kids DO fight a lot over WHO GOT TO FIND THE LAST CACHE or WHO GETS TO PICK WHAT WE'RE TRADING - I KNOW yours will too. That's when we pull out the "okay, then lets go home and get some chores done" threat, and they quiet right up. MANY larger caches have so many things to trade inside, that we let all three kids each take something and all three leave something. That's fair, and they all get to participate. If it's just a log, and no swag inside, then we take turns letting the bigger kids write on the log if they want to, and for some reason, it's a HUGE deal in our family who gets to put the cache BACK in it's spot - I think they like being stealthy and knowing they put it back where it belongs.

KEEP GOING - if you don't find your first few, keep going. Somehow, your geosenses will kick in, and you'll notice yourself shoving your hand into holes and pipes you'd never imagined you want to touch before. (I have a friend who brings a glove along for that reason!) Our kids seem to have no fear - they'll stick their hand through spider webs, climb all over things, run through ant hills, slide down rocky hills, weed whack themselves through foxtails, and it's all worth it when you find it!

UPGRADE - Eventually we upgraded to the Premium Membership for Geocaching.com - I like the upgrade.You get a few better options (explained to you in the graph that shows the differences - just check out the site) and you get access to some premium caches that are only for paid members. BUT, you DO NOT HAVE TO PAY to have fun Geocaching. Part of why we fell in love with it is because it was a FREE activity that got us OUTDOORS with our kids, and we started to see parts of our area we'd NEVER dream of driving through if we had no reason to. Thankfully, I think my husband actually has a lot better of a view of our area now, and likes it a little more, seeing how much wonderful nature and hiking opportunities are around.

GET FRIENDS INVOLVED - I don't know why, but it's just WAY MORE FUN when you have friends to do this with you. EVen if you don't actually HUNT together, the fact that you find something that has your friend's name already in the log, or the competition of who has more finds, that just keeps you going!

I'm hoping to keep up on my original idea of listing "KID FRIENDLY CACHES" when I find them. I have a list of them, and can definitely share if any of you from around my area are interested. We are lucky to live in a somewhat rural area with lots of roads we can turn off and let the kids out, so they're not next to a busy street looking for something while cars whizz by. As I think of more things I love about it, and as we get more nad more finds, I'm sure I'll post more about it.

After all, I am the nerd queen., as my friend's name so eloquently points out.

MV

2011-05-30T09:33:00.000-07:00

This is the movie we played at my Grandma's 85th birthday party yesterday. Enjoy!

I'm a happy consumer

2011-05-03T16:08:00.000-07:00

I'm not one of those "my house is clean all the time" kind of girls, so it is a mystery to me WHY I love the CLEANING aisles of stores so much. Honestly, I probably spend 50% of my time in Target or Walmart just in the aisles that have mops, brooms, sponges, wipes, buckets, and Windex. I love those aisles. I also love the art on the labels and the look of bottles of cleaner, especially the cute ones like Mrs. Meyers and stuff - I love when companies want their product to look retro and simple and clean.

I got this new mop at Costco, but I think they also have it Target. I saw my friend Michelle's mop with its velcro on and off pads, and I loved it. So I had to find one like it. I thought maybe this spray bottle apparatus on it would stink, but it's GREAT! So now I feel like making a commercial for the O Cedar Pro Mist.

It is SO fun to use the sprayer on it (which I have filled with a mixture of a teeny bit of pine sol and HOT water) that even Jack likes to help me clean the floor.

Note: I am a HANDS AND KNEES floor cleaner...I have linoleum in the kitchen that looks like tile (but doesn't act like tile - I've dropped glass on it and it hasn't broken...many times!) and it does hide a lot of dirt. I was raised watching my mom on her hands and knees on our REAL tile, and then realized there really was no other way for me to get my floor as clean as I wanted it (which is only attained by testing with the feel on the bottom of my feet. I can't SEE if the floors clean as well as I can FEEL it - you know what I mean....you don't slip and slide, and you don't stick. It's somewhere in between).

SO I'll still HANDS AND KNEES clean my floors for the big cleanings, but I LOVE this mop.

I was introduced around Christmas time to Lindt's Touch of Sea Salt chocolate bars - they are the BEST. Salt and chocolate - yes please. Sounded strange to me at first, but I have fallen in love with this chocolate, and now buy it for anyone and everyone I can, trying them to share my addiction. (by the way, Target often has these babies on sale for 2 for $4 - instead of the 2.99 I usually find them at Target and elsewhere)

I have tried OTHER chocolate brands to see if they came close to Lindt on this sea salt endeavor. They don't. Ghiradelli - nope. Some other one I can't think of the name of right now - not even close.

But then my better half came home with THIS chocolate bar from The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Fleur De Sel (that means sea salt) Dark Chocolate, and I have to say - Lindt, you have some competition. I'm still going to say Lindt is the best, because I have had about 20 more of those bars than the Coffee Bean ones, but to me they're almost completely interchangeable. Yup, I just wrote paragraphs about chocolate. It's come to this.

Another recent discovery is the Irish Soda Bread from Stater Bros. Not ALL Staters, just the ones with the LOADS of bakery breads in baskets - usually if I find this loaf, there are only about 2 or 3 loaves in all. Someone brought it to Bible Study recently, and had strawberry cream cheese to top it, and it was the perfect breakfast. It's now my new favorite bread, for a while at least. The fact that I can't always find it keeps me wanting more. And those giant sugar crystals. Mmmm.

I think we all know I'm happy when I purchase these - then I'm sad the rest of the year, when they're gone.

FRESH and EASY - you make my day. I've long been HAVING to add your store to my list of musts, because of a few different items - but the one that first kept me coming through your doors was the Wild Blueberry Muffin mix. Then you changed it, but only a little bit - you didn't add the streusel topping, and now I have to make it myself. But that's fine. It's still wonderful, and I applaud your wonderful blueberry muffins. I buy one tin EVERY time I visit your store, which is often, since my little sister works there. :)

now at Costco

2011-04-21T08:51:00.000-07:00

Just a cute little idea for a girl's Easter basket, if anyone else's kids are a bit obsessed with American Girl Dolls and accessories - COSTCO has these pet sets available right now for just $13.99 - and you know how Costco is....they'll be gone soon, and then they may never come back. AND, we just bought one of these about a month ago, and it was $24.99 at the American Girl Doll Place in LA.

Part of why I like these pets so much is that my kids love them. They are NOTHING like a soft plushy animal, though, just so you're prepared. They are actually stiff inside, and stand up perfectly next to your child's doll, not all floppy. Just wanted to get that out there, since I was shocked the first time I held Sid's dog Pepper - I knew right away this was a toy I did not want in Jack's hands, since Jack could possibly throw it across the room or at someone, and Pepper's stiff body could hurt someone. :)

trains, buses, DODGERS

2011-04-21T08:32:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday, we took a trip on the Metrolink to see a Dodger game. It was SO much fun, I knew the first moment I saw the cute little Rialto Depot that I'd blog about it. So then my picture taking went into blogger mode so I could document EVERYthing. It's how I roll.

(Note: we got on at the Rialto Depot because there was a train museum/steam train exhibit at the San Bernardino Station - I'm so glad we headed to Rialto, because that quaint little station in their downtown district is adorable. As we drove there, Sidney said "mom, this reminds me of the Sandlot era." It really did.)

Well this particular Sunday we decided to roll on the metrolink because they have a weekend deal for $29 fare for a family of four (kids five and under are free, so in a world where Jack now is a paying visitor at Disneyland and everywhere else that's fun, on the Metrolink, he's still a teeny tiny baby!!!) To see the Family 4 Pack click here. And to see the specifics on getting yourself to Dodger Stadium, click the picture below.

So, back to the $29 - this deal was found by Bobby, and he planned the whole thing, and invited his parents along. The ticket package included the ability to get on and off whenever/wherever we wanted all day long along the entire line the metrolink travels. But we didn't do that. We sat nicely in our seats and waited for our stop. Okay, we didn't do that either. There was some "sitting nicely" in seats, but mostly there was "walking about the double decker train as if we owned the place" and "Mom - I have to go to the bathroom again" which only means "I'm finished sitting nicely, can I go play in the bathroom again and walk around while the trian is in motion?"

After an hour and a half on the train, which was VERY clean and nice, and patrolled by LA Sheriff's Department, we showed up to the beautiful Union Station (which I've blogged about before here), hung out a while, and then hopped the FREE Dodgers Express shuttle bus from the rear of Union Station, rode it for about 5 minutes, and then there we were, dropped off right behind the scoreboard of Dodger Stadium. (this is a good time to mention, the Dodgers were playing the Cardinals, and had lost all previous games in the series, so I knew if they lost, we'd have the LONGEST bus/train ride home!)

Once at the stadium, we met up with Mikey and Ashly and found our seats - in the sun - and they'd be in the sun the entire game since it was a 1 p.m. game. So after grabbing the hot dogs and drinks that came with our ticket deals, the boys decided to swap seats at this VERY low attended game, and sit right behind the plate in the reserved level. It was wonderful. And shady. All that sunscreen we put on was just a waste.

Sidney and Alyssa actually WATCHED a ton of the game! I'd hear things like "man, that guy wasn't even TRYING" or "Whoa, that guy really ran fast toward that base" from Sidney, which is more than I've ever heard from her regarding a game. Usually I hear things like "mom, there are 12 birds over there flying near that sign," or "mom, did you see the ad for that new movie coming out?" or "mom, can I go and find the cotton candy guy?"

THE DODGERS WON. Thank you Dodgers. Not only did they win, they won with a WALK OFF HOME RUN by Matt Kemp. I was very happy with Matt Kemp and the rest of the Dodgers for providing such a fun way of winning for my kids to enjoy and scream and jump up and down about. Also, that made the entire ride home much more enjoyable! After the Dodgers won, we realized it was "kids can run the bases day" so we waited in a long line, which moved QUICKLY (so I recommend doing it), and let the kids run the bases down on the field..they loved it. Bobby somehow weaseled his way into running them, too, explaining to the guy that Jack was so young he needed his daddy to go with him. As he was arguing this point, Jack was nearly rounding first on his way to second....he really didn't NEED daddy to go, but I think daddy NEEDED to run those bases. So he did...as other parents were turned away right behind him with the words "kids only!" If there's a way, Bobby finds it.

So will I go to another game this way? Yes. I'm a big car girl - I love the freedom of my own car, but I LOVED GETTING TO LA this way! My KIDS loved it, the bathroom was clean, the price was right, my kids loved it, we brought lots of snacks, the people on the train were nice and pleasant, my kids loved it, my kids enjoyed seeing all the graffiti on the side of the walls bordering the train tracks, I liked the deputies on the train who checked our tickets, and my kids loved it.

Oh, and about Dodger Stadium and safety - YES security was beefed up, and I liked it. I, personally, love to see cops EVERYWHERE. I saw lots of pairings of a security guard and a LAPD officer. They were in the parking lot as we were getting on and off the bus, by the food as we were eating lots of food, and up and down the aisles. I always feel secure at Dodger Stadium, but I did like the beefing up.

baby birds

2011-04-19T11:00:00.000-07:00

You probably already know I have a bit of an obsession and fascination with birds (without the feeling of wanting to have one as a pet, though - been there done that - RIP Jack Bird, Wally, and Whitney). Even my header has some birds walkin' around on the beach.
I have blogged about birds before, here, but now I'm just adding to the fluttery madness....I know they can be dirty, and when I see a bird feather, I don't want my kids to touch it. But the IDEA of birds, and the BEAUTY of birds in flight, to me it's just fascinating.
When I see a group of birds in the sky or sitting on the powerlines, I think of the Forrest Gump line (said by cute little Jenny - or JENnay, as Forrest himself would say), "Dear God, make me a bird. So I could fly far. Far far away from here." That's sad, because it's at a sad part of the movie, but still cute because said by a little girl in a cute little southern accent, and that's how I say it in my head. I think I love birds simply because of why Jenny wanted to be one - they can fly. I've had dreams of being a bird, or birdlike.
But one way I truly am birdlike is that I have "baby birds" to feed, as my friend Andrea so lovingly puts it.
I'm not sure if my bird obsession will last for a long time, or fade out like my "I like Elvis" phase. Oh don't get me wrong, I LOVE Elvis Presley. I just didn't love how much ELVIS STUFF I was stuck with once anyone KNEW I loved Elvis. Reminds me of a friend of mine who got a certain little ceramic figurine several years back, and somehow the word got spread that she LOVED those ceramice figurines, and EVERYONE bought her the ceramic figurines for EVERY occasion, and to this day she can still predict what's coming in that little box for Christmas - you guessed it, a ceramic figurine...to add the other hundred she already has, that she never realllllllly passionately collected in the first place.
My velvet Elvis is nowhere to be found...I must have left it for some other college student. But I do have some other Elvis paraphernalia that I should probably hand off to some little 50s diner or something.
Okay, back to the birds.
I feel like EVERYWHERE I go lately, birds are poppin' up - on pillows, artwork, dishes, shirts, etc. So here are a few of the cute bird things I found that knock my socks off :

UncommonGoods (this catalog is sent to me and I LOVE IT! Such great stuff! If you haven't visited this site, go there...you'll love it!!!!)

http://www.uncommongoods.com/product/parent-nestling-necklaces

http://www.uncommongoods.com/product/nest-egg-necklace

and this one from stylehive.com

also from stylehive.com

I was at Mozart's in Redlands the other day and picked up three of these for myself. They're only $2.95 each and I had to have them - one to represent each of my baby birds:

I love how they each have a little "personality." When my kids show me a little attitude, I turn their bird around in a way to reflect their attitude. I haven't had to knock a bird over yet, or turn it completely around...I'm going to reserve those movements for reallllly bad days. :)

There's also this adorable short film:

I may NOT go this far.....

but I can see myself in this

(from Etsy.com)

and hello, who doesn't love a little bit of this:

This morning I looked over at the coffee machine, programmed to make my day at 5:30 a.m., and saw this:

My better half said he was at CoffeeBean with his friend and saw these two birds on the mug from across the room and knew I had to have them. What a lovebird.

A few more things I found on the internet that I loved:

from design-milk.com

from http://marlenepatterndesigns.blogspot.com/2010_04_01_archive.html

I do think this would look great in my kitchen:

and this would look great under my feet:

and on my windows:

(from thisnext.com)

And how cool is THIS idea:

from apartmenttherapy.com ( http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/la/inspiration/bird-bedroom-wall-art-018405 )

or this:

from kaboodle.com (those are origami style paper cranes, by the way, the same as my cute new necklace from Hawaii that my better half bought me last month)

and one of my alltime faves I've found, because I'm a huge fan of the art, simplicity, and the balance of the MOBILE,

seriously...is that just adorable?

ode to the eggs

2011-04-13T14:40:00.000-07:00

It's not a REAL ode.
Everyone knows, I'm Cadbury's biggest fan. I'm Mini-Eggs' biggest fan.

I could eat these year round, as every candy treat I'd ever need or want, but they're not available year-round, which makes me so sad. It also makes me stock up and freeze them. I always imagine them lasting months after Easter, but they never do. Usually, within about two weeks of Easter being over, these bags are gone. I'm not proud to admit it, but I've bought 7 of these 10 oz. bags in the past month. They're about $2.89 each. $2.89 x 7 = $20.23. And yes, I pulled a calculator out for that one. $20.23? I think that's well worth it.

At a recent poker night, Sidney decided to set out a bowl of MY treats (I'm not a good egg sharer) and I loved the sign she put with them. She's always thinking of ways to decorate and entertain. Usually I have to shoot her ideas down, because they involve really elaborate setups, or they involve her hands in the food. But this idea, I loved.

Who & What & I Don't Know

2011-04-12T09:58:00.000-07:00

No secret - we are a baseball loving family and we all come from long lines of baseball loving families.
But the level of love my dad, father in law and husband have for the game is sometimes overwhelming. My dad can tell me a 6 to 16-minute version of an entire game my nephew played in, with every single out, play, call and sniffle - and at the end, I'm lost. Did you win or lose? That thing you said Miah did, was that good or bad?
My husband does the same thing when explaining something happening in a Dodger game. My mind just isn't sophisticated enough to SEE the game the way you're explaining it, boys. Give me a number, a score, and tell me if the player was happy, sad, or if he's going to get fired for dropping that ball. That's what I care about.
But anyway, there's been a lot of baseball analogies and baseball talk my whole life, so the whole "Who's on first" routine sounds very familiar to me. I admit, however, I have never seen the Abbot and Costello routine until this morning as I watched it with my dad and my girls at the kitchen table before they left for school (they were late, because of this video, too!).
I also haven't seen Star Wars. Yes, I am an American. I've just never sat and watched them.
Okay, but in case you haven't seen the "Who's on first" thing, here it is. My girls loved it. I admit, I loved it. It really is very witty - I guess wit and humor have been around a long time!

Jump to about 1:00 for it to really start in on the Who's On First stuff.
Enjoy, and play ball.
Oh, and Go Dodgers.

married 35 years

2011-04-11T22:07:00.000-07:00

My parents celebrate 35 years of marriage today. I think that's pretty wonderful.

Their story is pretty cute. My dad was a young, athletic, handsome, funny, tough-guy GI, stationed in a beautiful tiny town in Germany in the mid 70s. My mom happened to be "stationed" in Germany too, because she was born there and lived there her whole life. I've heard all sorts of variations of the story, but basically, my dad and my mom, who was this spunky, tall, long-legged, beautiful, red-haired, fiery, creative, artistic young girl somehow shared an attraction and a dislike for each other at first. My mom has told me she didn't like my dad at first, (but I totally don't believe her, because I happen to think my dad was a super handsome young man, who kind of reminds me of a mix between Elvis Presley and Pa from Little House on the Prairie (played by the wonderful Michael Landon). When my dad hears her say this, I notice he acts like he didn't like her at first then either (but I don't believe him either, because my mom was a drop-dead-gorgeous dream girl - she was kinda hippyish, super decked out with her uniquely-designed jewelry and patched up bell bottoms - totally stylish and a total individual). They're so funny.

Anyway, somehow my dad got my mom to move to the US with him (see, only a guy who looked like Elvis could do that), they married in Vegas - the tiniest wedding you can imagine for such a big love - and they've stuck like glue ever since. Talk about strangely alike, but also yin and yang. My mom learned to drive a car in the US. She learned how to speak English fluently in the US. Her family grew like crazy in the US. And as for the two of them, I've seen them argue and then burst out laughing seconds later...I've seen them make a face when they think the other one is wrong and they're right....I've watched as a grown up as they raise a teenager, and other little kiddos. I've watched them develop into farmers and ranchers. I've seen them as city folk, business owners, artsists, coaches, disciplinarians, crazy folk, wanderers, and adventurers.

Honestly, to me, they're the kind of people who never lose that "cool" factor. They were "cool" when they were young, they're cool now, and they'll be cool when they're 99 and 98 and just starting to feel old.

Oh how I love them. I should be so lucky, to have my kids ever love me as much as I love my parents.

Happy Anniversary Mutti and Papa.

Ich liebe dich auch.

My Take on Tangled

2011-04-08T20:40:00.000-07:00

Watched Tangled tonight on our Fios On-Demand.
I give it a 9.5 outta 10.
I really liked it. I cried three times. No one else did. (I do have a disorder that forces tears out of my eyes if I see other humans - or cartoon humans - cry).
Totally cute, well done, appropriate for all my kids (4, 7 and 9), humorous, witty, adorable art/graphics and just all around cute. I can't think of one time I thought "hmmm, I hope that went over my kids' heads." I like that.
Yes, I do recommend it.

In my freezer

2011-04-08T07:57:00.000-07:00

So a new friend Shari, who has a great blog (http://www.running-upward.blogspot.com/), came to my mom's group sometime last year and gave us ALL sorts of neat ideas on meal planning, meal prep, and things to make yourself and save money on. EVERYTHING she said, I clung to and think of often. I bothered my friends and family for weeks telling them all about what she taught me (and 65 other people) when she spoke to us. THEN Shari taught a bunch of ladies how to make bread. Again, I bothered my poor family and friends about all the details of this, and how I was going to totally do this with all my free time. Blah blah blah.

What is the little trick I use MOST that I've learned from Shari?

I make my own uncrustable sandwiches now instead of buying them.

First of all, I think uncrustables are a GREAT invention. My kids don't mind the crust on white breads, but when I get them to eat yummy fiber-filled wheaty bread, they don't eat the crust so much. They may eat california rolls, seaweed paper, crab legs, green olives stuffed with all sorts of stuff and top it off with a swig of pickle juice, but they won't touch wheat bread crust. Ugggh.

So I get out the wheat bread, the double fiber bread, and all the other breads I buy from Costco that they won't eat unless I FORCE them, and I turn them into cute little uncrustables, pop them into a Ziploc baggie and freeze them in the freezer doors (that way Jack can find them easily and have a snack that's premade, but premade by ME, and I know what's in there!!!).

Here's the look of the latest batch.

And here's my current jelly/jam of choice - Smucker's. Funny, since they are who make the uncrustables anyway. Usually I use the jam made by my wonderful mom - it's from fruit from her orchards (usually apricot) and it's all organic and great (or so I tell myself - really, only she knows what she does with her fruit!). Still sugary, but that's okay with me. As long as I'm coupling this with great fibery bread, we're all good. And I tell myself I'm saving money, which I probably am, and then I can go to Target more often.

(by the way, this Apricot Pineapple Smuckers is GREAT mixed into your oatmeal).

Go check out Shari's blog - you will love it, and you will be inspired to cook great things...and you'll laugh. She's funny.