Project 365~Feb 22-28

Wow Another month gone by... I'm glad I have pics to document it all or I might not believe it. I love this project. I have already gone back a couple of times to see where all the time has gone. Its not too late to join either. Just click on the Project 365 button to visit the hostess. It really is worth the effort.


Sunday, February 22nd Kiah practices her verses for Awanas. Memorization is not her forte unless it involves all the words to a certain mermaid movie. It is much easier now that she can read. We go over the verses two or three times together then she is off on her own with her little lips moving without sound... its so cute.




Monday, February 23rd Mommy is never in the kitchen alone. I gave up some precious storage space long ago knowing that it would be worth it for the little ones to have something else to play with beside hot pots and things that could poke their eyes out.





Tuesday, February 24th everyone was sitting and studying so nicely I just had to take a picture. After all, this doesn't happen everyday ya' know ;-)

Wednesday, February 25th...

CAUTION:

Walks with Grandpa
may cause flights of fancy
and fits of laughter.

Thursday, February 26th the kids were bouncing off the walls (and I use that term literally) so as soon as the clouds parted I took them on a long walk. They. ran. the. entire. way. Stopping only to check out really important things like every puddle we passed.




Friday, February 27th the kids beg to paint stuff. I dislike painting with the kids. I find it stressful and I'm not sure why. No, I know why... Its because I'm a control freak... I confess. Despite that fact I do cave once in a while. Kiah is responsible for the ladybug family and James painted a rock car and a small pumpkin which is one of three left over from our October decorations. I don't think he meant to but my little man made a heart... awwwwww.




Saturday, February 28th its wet and sunny outside a perfect day to babysit a burnpile... and all the kids so that Mommy can get the Christmas Tree taken down and stored away. I know, I know, I am so ashamed. :-p

Now, on to March!

Pay it Foreward and Then Some

Look what Tabi is doing!

The rules are simple:

The first 3 people to post a comment on this entry will receive a gift from me sometime during the year. When and what are a surprise to the winners!

Then, post about this on your blog & come back and leave your comment telling me you are Paying It Forward as well.

Only the first 3 comments that leave a comment and post this one their blog gets the prize.

This looks like fun. And who doesn't like to receive something for free?

ABC, Wordful, and Watch Me Wednesday ~ A Triple Threat

ABC Wednesday

Today is the letter F

F is for ...

Frightening Fish cracker Fiasco

I have used this pic before on my other blog but thought it was, um... unique enough for a turn here. my little Marli went through a phase where she did not enjoy the PB&J. I think the mutilation of the offending food was her way of rebelling.

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Wordful Wednesday

Remember that serene snow pictures you all loved last week...




... a few days later, it looked like this. The nice thing about California winters (at least where we live) is that one day it will be dumping snow six inches an hour and the next it will be clear and sunny. In the picture above, James is being a good boy and helping Grandpa shovel his driveway while Flip supervises. A day or so later it rained for two days and one would never have known that it snowed at all. You've gotta love California.

Since our regular walk was a muddy, mucky, mess we stuck to the pavement of our private road where the kids had fun searching out road rainbows.

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Watch Me Wednesday

Marli learns to dunk her cookie...
and other cutenesses.

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Happy Wednesday!

Project 365~Feb 15-21

Sunday, February 15th at my wits end from telling Kiah 1oo,ooo times to keep her thumbs out of her mouth I finally resorted to digging out a mis-matched pair of mittens, cutting the fingers off and forcing her to wear them. Worked for the first couple of days... but they got rather grotesque and had to be tossed. The girl is seven... any ideas?



Monday, February 16th Cats do funny things. Booger(left) and Daphne are sisters and I know all too well how sisters do not always get along. Once or twice a week they have a face off. This time it was ovr who was going to get the prime napping spot next to the books. I snapped a pic because I thought they looked like live book ends. LOL.



Tuesday, February 17th I attempted to take snacks to Campus Life, but the weather had other ideas. I got about a quarter of the way there I knew that if I didn't turn around at that point I may not be able to get home.



Wednesday, February 18th Despite the snow the day before, by midday our skylight framed a glimmer of hope... a peephole into Spring.



Thursday, February 19th after Kiah's haircut we picked up some snakechow. The kids love to hold the mice but I make them sit in the bathtub so there is no chance of escape. There were six mice all together and they seemed to be overly attracted to Eden's feet.



Friday, February 20th A good friend called to see if I wanted to go to the park. OH YEAH, BABY!!! The kids had barely been outside all week. It was just what they, and I, needed.



Saturday, February 21st I took my mom to help her pick out a new laptop and we went to see Confessions of a Shopaholic. Then we shopped around but really didn't find much. the day wore me out and by the end of the evening all I wanted to do was sit with Boogs and watch Iron Chef while finishing this post. Battle Basil... nice. ;-)

A Hair Raising Adventure

My dear Kiah was in desperate need of some follicular restructuring, aka, a haircut. Fortunately for us we have a friend in the business who happens to be in love with our children. We sent James off for some male bonding with Grandpa and made it a girls day out. YIPPEE!!!

Here are the before shots of my oldest's perpetual bedhead syndrome.

During the process...

Sisters look on anxiously...

Goodbye Goldilocks...

Now for the style...
Will it look good? Will she like it?

Oh, YES!

At first, when she saw how much was dropping to the floor, I think Kiah became a little apprehensive. I, being the good Mommy that I am, quickly picked up on that and whispered in her ear, "Wow, Kiah, its going to look so much better. You already look more like a princess. You look older too. I'll bet everyone will think you're ten."

Kiah beamed. She is seven.

All the ladies in the salon Oohed and Aahed over what a beautiful young lady she was and how her new do looked so sophisticated and grown up.

Kiah beamed brighter. She was Queen for a day.

To continue our girls day out I let Kiah pick the place for lunch. Guess where we went? McDonalds. I personally don't eat McD's food but I did have a bad tasting iced coffee.

I kept telling Kiah that I just couldn't stop looking at her and taking her picture.

"Why, Mommy?" she asked.

"Because you just grew up a little bit, and you're beautiful," I replied.

She smiled and took a big bite of chicken nugget.

After lunch, we headed to the pet store to look at the birds and the bunnies and pick up some snake chow. Then on the way home we swung by My Love's work place to show Daddy the new do "before it gets messed up." LOL.

Kiah twirled and swished and ate up the moment Daddy had to fuss over her grown up hair. I know she will never forget this day.

Once we got home I took the opportunity to snap a few more pics.

Every time someone mentioned Kiah's new hair she would toss her head or sweep her bangs to the side... it was adorable...

*sigh*

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Later that evening Marli decided that Kiah shouldn't be the only one to get all the attention.

I know she got the scissors off the table while the other kids were doing crafts but I'm not sure exactly when it happened.

But, I fixed it.
Say 'hello' to
baby Audrey Hepburn.
:-p

Here she is imitating Mommy's expression when I noticed what she had done.

MARLI JUNE!!!!!

Writer's Workshop~Off Course

Hostessed by MamaKat

The Prompts:

1.) If you were starring on American Idol TONIGHT and HAD to sing, what song would you choose and why.

2.) Take a picture of yourself right this minute without primping and explain to us why it is you have not washed your hair today.

3.) I just asked Pat to help me with a writing prompt so here's his: "What do you think about the NBA All Star game"...blech.

4.) What's your number one pet peeve? Develop a punishment for anyone caught in the act.

5.) Write about something mean you did to a sibling growing up.

This week I'm going to start with #5

Ahem...

5.) I was the youngest of two children. My older brother, by three years, was a BIG. FAT. JERK! Now, I realize that is not a very Christian thing to say about your only sibling, but please understand that, when I say big fat jerk, I am being nice. Growing up it was sort of a Cain and Able situation. He worked hard at being bad and hated me for being good. I couldn't help it, I was born a kiss up. I'm a people pleaser and I like to be good. In turn I was mentally and physically tortured (pushing, poking, and arm punching, not beatings, although, I vaguely remember being pinned down and spit on or slapped on the forehead a few times) by my troubled bro and my parents remained blissfully unaware for the most part... because if he got in trouble ... I paid for it.

Now that we are all grown up he likes to pretend that we are all lovey and bygones are bygones and that we are friends and can have holidays together as a family... and we do but only because I know My Love would skin him alive if he ever tried to pull any of that c.r.a.p. on me now AND I love my nephews and think they need exposure to normalcy AND I do love my brother but I do not like him.

Wow, that didn't really have anything to do with the prompt. LOL, and that is quite possibly the most serious thing I have ever posted...sorry... won't happen again :-p Let me eat a brownie to regain my strength. MMMmmmm... *schmack*smack*...nummy...

Moving on...

4.) Sssoooooooo... things don't really bug me all that much... Oh wait! I hate the feel of toenails on my skin. My Love purposely puts his eagle claws on my legs in bed to gross me out. Yech! Is that a pet peeve? Punishment would have to be declawing. Just keep your toenails to yourself and we can be BFF!

Oh wait! I hope no one was in the process of reading this while I'm editing but I just thought of another one... I can't stand it when beautiful skinny people call themselves ugly and fat...or when someone is completely talented in, lets say, writing but they call them selves an idiot of the written word... or, oh I don't know, any self deprecating behavior... ARG! I just can't stand it! I mean if you are going to cut yourself down to earn a compliment I would rather you just asked me right out, "will you please tell me how beautiful/skinny/talented I am because I am having an insecure moment. I may cut myself down but at least when I do, its true! Punishment... to be locked in a padded room with yourself wearing a t-shirt that reads, "plesa compliment me or I may cry."

Ahhh, I feel better, you?

3.) Seriously skipping... nice try Pat. ;-)

2.) & 1.) Thats right look at me... going against the flow and combining to prompts in order to utterly humiliate myself by showing you my actual audition tape which I sent in to AI.

OK, that was a lie. I am so ashamed. I did the video for a blog carnival but I think if the AI judges could see this they would pull me in as a wild card for sure. And for my first song I would sing it exactly how I rewrote it and I would dedicate it to all the tired moms out there, because I know Simon loves that.

Here are a couple of pics from one of my mini photo sessions today. Yes, I took them just before posting this... no primping I promise...

... just a little posing... but thats normal for me.

Here I am reading one of the bestest, funniest blogs in here-o blogship (see, natural born kiss-up).

And no, I didn't wash my hair today because I took a shower late Tuesday evening and Wednesday morn I opted for an extra 30 minutes of sleep instead of rinse and repeat.

ABC, Wordful, and Watch Me Wednesday ~ A Triple Threat and a Double Feature

ABC Wednesday

Today is the letter E

E is for Enchantingly Elusive Eden

My lovely third child is my most willing helper, especially when I am making cakes and brownies. I always use my special spoon for batters and Eden helps me stir then claims the spoon as her reward.

When she is not helping me bake, hand out snacks, set the table, or make a list (pretend of course) then she is making little piles of toys or blankets or fish crackers to use some other time. She is a little chipmunk and likes to hide things away for later use. When asked about what she is doing she will simply say, "I will put this away for when I need it, 'K Mommy." Then she smiles and laughs at the confused look on my face and I have no choice but to smile back.

She is one of those kids that has a knack, when she is quiet, to completely disappear off of the mom radar. Often times while playing outside or on a walk I spurt out, "Where's Eden?" Only to hear her giggly reply from right in front of or behind me, "I'm here silly Mommy, you don't see me."

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Wordful Wednesday

Well, you get two pics this week because I couldn't decide which one to post... it was all or nothing I guess, lol.

This is a picture (above) of my mom sanctuary. In case you don't remember it looks like this in the Spring and it is usually alive with birds and squirrels. Nowadays it goes unused by anyone... feathered or not.


The other day it actually stopped snowing for about five minutes. I was suffering from a bit of cabin fever so I decided to take advantage of the nice weather and take Flip for a stroll. She is the little black dot with a tail in between all those snow laden trees.

Now, I realize that some of you would relish such days of languid bliss without the hum of power and the seclusion that comes from the phones being out. No doubt you could wax poetic for hours about the beauty and peace and stillness. However, there is no stillness when you are trapped in a 1500 square foot house with four kids 7 and under and nothing to entertain but the flicker of a candle.

Playing pioneer days grows tiresome, little bodies are not equipped for snow drifts, kiddles are bouncing off the walls, eyes sting from reading aloud, board games have become bored games, stinkiness sets in, and Mommy just longs for Elmo to take over if even just for twenty minutes so I can put my feet up... or even go to the bathroom.

AHHHHHhhhhhhh... I feel better. I just needed to get that off my chest. I really am making the best of it, and I don't mean to whine... ok, yes I do, but I know all of you 'been there done that' mommies are rooting for me. As I write we do have power, water, and phone service so we are golden.

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Watch Me Wednesday

These are a few moments of fun in the snow from last week. The snow is much deeper now.

And, yes, I do live in California! Its not all fun in the sun... I live in the foothills of Northern California at around 3000 feet in elevation. We often get buried when the snow level is much higher though, due to the fact that we are in a saddled between two high mountains. In essence we live in a snow drift. :-p

The kids don't seem to mind though.

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Happy Wednesday!

Project 365~Feb 8-14

My dear bloggerinas and bloggers, I do apologize for falling of the face of the blogosphere. The weather has been unstable at best and our power has been off and on... but mostly off. It wouldn't be so bad except our phones are down too which means no internet for this poor mommy.

I have finally been able to escape the madness and drive to Safeway to connect with the real world and leave a post. I did have time to play with my pics a little though... at least until the battery died. Let me know what you think.

I am afraid I will not be able to catch up with all of you... not right now any way... because I will have to get home before it begins snowing again and to make dinner. ;-)

But for now, on with the show...

Sunday February 8th My Love is his usual cleaning machine self. During the week I will actually allow dishes to build up in the sink then do them all at once just before My Love gets home. And occasionally I will even let them go until after dinner. *GASP* I know! I'm such a daredevil.

However, on Sundays My Love just can not let one dish sit without stickin' it in the washer. I grab a glass and drink a bit of water, set it down and BAM! ...its gone before it touches my lips again.

Really, trust me on this one, I'm not complaining. I know he does it because he wants the house clean when we get home from church... I think its cute and enduring and his empty counter fetish has been the source of many smirks between us... especially when I am trying to remember where I set my water down!?!


Monday, February 9th James insists on sneaking under the table over and over again during "nap" time. I know he doesn't take naps but I do sometimes just need him to stay in his room for a bit of quiet time so that my eardrums can have a chance to heal. No such luck. And yes James, I can see you very clearly from the recliner... even when my eyes are closed. :-p


Tuesday, February 10th I knew it would a somewhat lazy day. Snow was threatening and the sky was gray. On particularly cold quiet mornings I am usually awakened by a squinty Boogs trying to get under the covers to warm her icy toes before she sleeps the day away.

Oh, to be a cat.


Wednesday, February 11th we were heading out to ballet lessons and were haulted by giant cottonball snowflakes falling from the sky. Flip stepped out to assess the situation and the look on her face was enough to make me decide to stay home. Each white spot on her back is ONE snowflake. They. Were. Huge!



Thursday, February 12th was a busy day. Eden had a dentist appointment that morning and I got to take all the kids since my babysitters (parents) were out of town. That was ... um... fun?... no, interesting. The pediatric dentist we see is fantastic. They have a toy room all set up like the inside of a giant tree with a movie playing in one section and video games in another. Eden was treated like a princess, that's even what they called her. With all the special treatment Eden was getting the other children of mine quickly became jealous, and whiny, and extra specially bitter that they were not queen/king of the dentist office. *sigh*

Then in the afternoon I had my post op check up which was a waste of time but nice anway because I got to sit and read a magazine and get out of the house alone. Very nice.

Did I take any pictures??? No. And I didn't remember until 11:30PM. Eh... nothing to see around these parts at that time of night. But I did find a picture of the appendix... just in case you wanted to ... ya know...know where it is or something.


Friday, February 13th was my mom's birthday. The power was out but we have a generator and were able to cook her a nice dinner of Hawaiian Chicken. Hee hee. The power came on just before we sat down to eat. It stayed on for at least two hours before it went out again. The weird thing is that our neighbor told us that his power was only on for five minutes. We know it was Gods answer to our prayers that kept our power on for so long... Mom hates it when the power is out... HATES it.

Our goal at every gift giving holiday is to try and get my mom to cry... its not that hard, LOL. Once again with the help of homemade gifts from the kids we were successful at getting her to squirt some tears.

My Dad was quite disgusted because we spent less than five bucks and got tears and he had bought Mom a new computer and, "didn't even get a drop!" LMBO!!!



Saturday, February 14th ... Valentine's Day! After a morning of chocolate lips and candy hearts we setted in for yet another day of snow boundedness... is that a word? It is now ;-)

Fortunately, there was a break between storms so all the neighbors brought out their tractors and helped us dig out so we could make a run into town before the next storm. We were up to about two feet already and since my kids are all pretty young we generally keep them indoors when its so cold. Except for James. He NEEDS to get out. So, when I went for a walk over to my parents house I took him along... He doesn't seem to mind the wet and cold as much as the girls.



My Love and I were able to get into town for a nice homey resturant lunch sans kids and then we did the grocery shopping together which we rarely ever do. That was our Valentine's Day. It was very romantic. OH, and My Love gave me a Starbucks card for Vday too. He sure knows his way into his lover's heart. ;-)


My Love just called me on my cell phone and told me the power is out AGAIN! *sigh* I guess it will be another long quiet night. At least all the kids got baths this morning. No power = no water. :-p

God Bless you... and if you think about it pray for my sanity. :-D

Writer's Workshop

The Prompts:

1.) What was the first CD (or record or cassette) you ever purchased? Write about the way that particular album made you feel then. Write about how it makes you feel now.
writersdigest.com

2.) You were recently laid off. Instead of moping around, you've viewed it as a chance to start fresh. Pick a new career and write about your first day on the job.
writersdigest.com

3.) List your five most recent favorite things.

4.) I'm hungry. Share your very favorite recipe!!

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1.) I don't remember for sure, but I think I used some money I received for my 12th birthday to buy a Weird Al Yankovic cassette. Oh. Yes. I. Did! LOL.

2.) In all honesty I would mope around... if only I could get paid to sulk.

3.) Oooo... this sounds like FUN!

1. My Love. OK, I know he doesn't necessarily qualify as recent but what if I told you that he never ceases to amaze me. He does the dishes, watches the kids, changes diapers, does the baths, works his butt off (six days a week), gives me footrubs (I don't even need to ask), supports my blogging, guides me spiritually, always makes me feel like I am the best wife/mom/woman on the face of the Earth, he makes me laugh and at times wonder what I saw in him in the first place (in a good way ;-} ) I AM spoiled rotten ... I could go on and on... but I digress. My apologies to those of you who hate when wives looooooooove their husbands, LOL. Go ahead... hate me :-p

Just kidding, please don't hate me... I have issues. I'll get a complex and it will be all your fault.

2. Blogging. So my blog has been around for a while but I never really paid much attention to it until recently. Now I actually have people who come back again and again (whu? I'm still scratching my head as to why, but I love it DON"T STOP!) I have gone out and found some blogs to read as well, and I have cyber met some incredible peeps and remain quite entertained/encouraged/shocked/enlightened.

3. Gourmet Divine Raspberry Chocolate Bark.

4. Christmas decorations. I must really, really like them because a lot of them, including our tree, are still up.

*sigh*

5. Our new Goodyear mud and snow tires. Seriously. The ones we had on the minikidhauler before this week were for city dwellers. We are not. I attribute making it home safely through blizzard-like conditions* over white roads to these bad boys. They were so worth the extra $. I didn't slip ONCE! And I was praying the whole time. The last mile of our drive home is up a road that climbs 1000 feet from the main road to our driveway. I made it home... I love my new tires... they are one of my new favorite things.

*so maybe blizzard-like is a little bit of an exaggeration, but it was snowing really hard ;-)

4.) This is one of my faves and it goes great with steamed white rice and broccoli or green beans.

Hawaiian Chicken (maybe even gluten free... let me know)

Heat oven to 375*

Place a dozen rinsed, skinless chicken thighs (I have used boneless and bone-in) in a 13x9 glass casserole dish.

mix (I use a salad dressing shaker):

1/2 c soy sauce

1 small can of pineapple juice

1/2 c brown sugar

tsp. garlic powder

tsp. ground ginger

1/4 c corn starch

Shake it up, Baby, then pour it over the chicken. Cover the dish with foil and put it in the oven. Boneless should be cooked 45 minutes, Bone-in an hour. Halfway through cook time flip the thighs over. When serving dribble some of the sauce over the rice and chicken. YUM!

For more great writing (like that :-p ) click the pic of MamaKat.

Wow, that rhymed!

ABC, Wordful, and Watch Me Wednesday ~ A Triple Threat

ABC Wednesday

Today is the letter D

D is for a Dozing, Dainty Dog

When Flip was a pup we never let her on the couch, but we have allowed her a few comforts as she gets older. She will be eight this Summer. She is, by far, the best dog My Love or I have ever owned... or been owned by as the case may be.




Her daintiness shows in the way she eats... if you give her a whole hot dog she will eat it one tiny bite at a time... and when she lays down she always crosses her paws. Such a lady that Flip.

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Wordful Wednesday

There are many times when my kids do something that totally impresses me. Not because I didn't think they could, but because I didn't know they could. On Monday we had quite a bit of snow lying around so my lovely daughter Kiah decided to make a snowperson. ( I am not trying to be PC but I dislike the word snowwoman).

I had become wrapped up in conversation with my mom for a while and when I turned my attention back to Kiah she had completed this masterpiece. Everything about her was perfect. She even had bangs, LOL. Her eyes are happy, she is having a good hair day, her buttons are straight, she has a cute, upturned nose. Kiah said it was supposed to be Grandma, but I think it looks much more like me. Good work, Kiah, good work indeed. :-D

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Watch Me Wednesday

In case you missed it I was the fortunate winner of an Ugly Mug Contest. Take a look at the top of my sidebar and you will see the mug that rocked the world of ugly mugs across the nation.

NOT MY FACE!!! :-p The coffee mug, silly goose!

Along with this win came a fabulous prize. A whole package of goodies from the hostess with the mostest, Linda @ 2nd Cup of Coffee.

Um, sorry the video is sideways... you'd think I'd know better by now :-/

Now in case you can't watch the actual opening of the package, below is all that was inside.



YUM! and YUM YUM!! and fun fun fun! Look at the adorable hand towels for Heart Day. Then there is that mug with a challenge to Espresso Myself everyday. A tasty smelling hazelnut candle (how did you know that was my favorite coffee flavor?) and of course, the reason I entered in the first place, the Starbucks gift card, because Starbucks is gooooooood but its even better when its free.

AND OH MY LANTA!!! That gourmet raspberry Chocolate bark is to die for. Seriously, if you are like me and you don't care for plain chocolate but love it in every other form then you must contact Linda and find out how you can get your hands on some of this stuff. You. will. not. be. sorry. It is soooooo good that I refused to share any, not even with My Love, despite his best efforts.

Thank you Linda, for everything!
I Ken Lee you, a latte! ;-)

Kiah Thanks you too. :-)