2013 Year in Review - Just the Good Stuff!

If you read my last post, you know 2013 was a year I'd rather forget. But it wasn't all bad. We made the best of it whenever we could. The highlights were (in no particular order, except the first item on the list was absolutely the best):

1. Alfred!  Born on March 1st, Alfie has been the shining star of the year. What a cute sweet baby boy! Love him to pieces!

2. Both girls learned how to tie shoes.  Life is easier; it takes longer, but it's sure a lot easier!

3. Kindergarten!  Libby started Kindy just a month shy of turning 5. We're so proud of our girl! She's doing well and loving school.

4. I didn't gain any weight.  I thought I'd try to pay more attention to my health and lose a few pounds, but I'm calling not gaining a total success!  I've weighed exactly the same for 5 years running, so no loss, but no gain is pretty darn good too.

5. Twenty trips to Disneyland! Every single one of our Disneyland days was an awesome day! Every one of 'em!  Usually I took both girls, sometimes just one, three times I took Charlie and I took Henry once. Brit came along with us a few times and we met up with friends on several occasions too. Every time we went we had a blast!

6. Lots of sewing. I don't know what all I sewed this year, but it was quite a lot! I sold a few custom made pieces and gave two Rapunzel dresses as gifts to my girls' favorite friends. I wanted to make more, but I actually did more sewing than I thought was possible in one year. It was a very good sewing year!

7. New car is awesome!  We started 2013 in the car on a roadtrip to South Dakota. That was a good trip! My new little car turned a  year old in December and I haven't once regretted the decision to trade in the minivan for the car. Sometimes I miss the extra space for the kids, but usually the perks of the car outshine any misgivings about giving up the space. The car rocks!

8.  School field trips.  Twice we've gone whale watching, and we went to Riley's Farm in Oak Glen, the school also hosted field trips to museums and we went places on our own to enrich Gracie's studies. It's been so much fun to have school field trips. The whale watching tours were by far the best!

9. Soccer, Ballet, Tap and Tball. The kids sure had fun this year with the City Rec dept classes and Gracie was in AYSO soccer. Lots of activity and entertainment! It's sure good for the kids to learn to be part of a team and be involved in physical activity. Hope to see more of that in the next year too.

10. 25th wedding anniversary.  We barely noticed, but we did have a big anniversary this year. It landed on a Tuesday and we were busy, so we didn't celebrate but it's been fun to know that it's been 25 years since our wedding day.

11. Everyone ended the year happy and healthy and all in one piece. This is the best way to ring out an old year! With everyone healthy enough to ring in a new one!

12.  Grandma, Uncle Eddy, Patty and Jennifer came to visit!

2014 Resolutions

I have no idea what next year will bring. I am just glad that 2013 is over! What a year, and I am happy to see it put behind us.

In 2013, we had a string of bad luck. The year started out great, we were not sure what the year held for us but we sure didn't expect a year of misery.  The bad luck began in January when my great aunt Spuddie died. Later in the year, her daughter passed away also. We weren't especially close to them, but they were family and it was sad. Then Charlie was severely burned in March which resulted in a CPS case and custody battle.  Because of that mess, Keith and I couldn't accept jobs that were offered to us in South Dakota, so we didn't move into our house as planned. In April I cut my finger so badly that I had to have stitches and then I broke my ankle in June causing all kinds of inconvenience for everyone and plenty of pain for me. Because of that, we didn't get to go on our summer vacation to see family. Actually, Keith and Gracie did, and they were gone when I broke my ankle. But poor Gracie wrecked on her bike while on vacation and she had to get stitches in her chin. Our dog died in July.  The fall wasn't too bad but that seems to be when the legal bills hit us hard and the lawyers all wanted more money. I sprained my other ankle and Keith had to return to work. Unfortunately, Andrew shattered his spleen not long after returning home from deployment and we worried a lot about him. We rented out our house in South Dakota. Turned out, our renter screwed us over and hasn't paid a cent in rent yet and only a fraction of the utilities. Now we're faced with evicting the poor guy in the middle of winter. At least he is shoveling the walks. December came along and Gracie started to doubt the magic of Santa Claus.

Even though we had more than our fair share of burdens and hard blows, we were able to scrape together a lot of good stuff to see us through the year in good spirits. The best thing about happened on March 1st: Alfred was born! He is such a great baby! That kid is the happiest and healthiest baby and he's most definitely the highlight of the year!  At the end of the year, we're all healthy! Charlie is healed and healthy, Andrew is doing really well, Gracie's scar isn't too bad, and I'm all healed up too. Nobody else ended up injured or sick (aside from the standard sniffles and snotty nosed colds that we all get from time to time).  Libby was able to start school here at age 5 and then finished kindergarten in November, and Gracie is happy to be back in her classroom instead of starting a new school in South Dakota. We had a very fun year using our Disneyland passes and we managed to take Henry and Charlie too. An online friend of mine from Canada moved in just down the street and a few of my friends have truly shown me what wonderful people they are as I needed help from time to time this year. Keith's job welcomed him back with open arms making our decision to stay much easier. At the end of December, our daughter regained full custody of Charlie and ending our year on a high note.

In 2014, I hope to keep all of the misfortune and hard luck behind us. We've had enough of that!  We are looking forward to a good year.

Libby will move up to first grade in January, as she's been doing first grade work for a month now and moving her to first grade will "begin" her formal education. If the opportunity arises again for us to move to South Dakota, she will not qualify for first grade because she is 30 days too young there and she will be required to either repeat kindergarten or sit out a year. With her moving to first grade now, she will be allowed to continue her education. Whew!  Plus that, she's doing great and is ready for first grade so we want to keep her engaged at her level of learning.  I anticipate that Libby will have a big growing year. She just lost her first tooth and has another wiggly one. I suppose the tooth fairy will be a frequent visitor in the next year.

Gracie will finish second grade, hopefully on a strong note, and begin third. She'll be in the same class with the same kids and the same teacher for third grade, and Libby might join her since they mix grades 1-3. I don't think much will change for her in the next year except that she will continue to enjoy being a kid. She's fun, I hope we can just enjoy Gracie for all the fun that she is and have lots of good times with her telling us corny jokes all through the year.

Charlie is going to start preschool (again). Now that he's three he is such a big boy. And he tries to be as big as Gracie and Libby. I suppose 2014 will bring changes for him too. He will probably meet and visit his dad which I pray will be a good experience. I plan to enroll him in swimming lessons and other big boy activities. He is sure to have a fun year. I would really like to get him out to Wyoming to see his Great Grandma and his Great Great Grandma. I know he would love it!

2014 is the  year that nothing is stopping me from going home to see my mom and grandma. I'll get there! My mom just bought a new house and I'm anxious to see it for myself. I'm very happy for her and of course I want to see my grandma. I love going to her house and since I missed out last summer, then it's a top priority for this year.

We would like to welcome a new dog to our family this year. We are very selective though, we want a female golden retriever like Sandy was. She was a great family dog and so we want the same breed. We've discussed getting one locally, but around here nobody adopts a dog, everyone "rescues" a dog. We don't want to adopt one from a rescue because they get puppies that have been malnourished, sick, the parent dogs lived in deplorable conditions and the dogs just have a very poor start to life. A lot of them have not only been abused with neglect, but with violence. We want a healthy dog that isn't going to fear or bite the children. We decided to look for a dog from a family or a source that has a healthy mama dog (probably from Wyoming or South Dakota). We are open to considering a dog that is up to 2 years old if that pup has been treated well and is healthy. Adding a member to the family is serious business, we're not just going to take any old flea-ridden puppy. We want a good fit.

The only resolution I have for 2014 is to have a better year than 2013!  I hope we all stay healthy and free from injuries and illnesses. We certainly don't need any more of that for a while. I'd love to keep adventuring with the kids to lots of places having fun and learning more about the world. They are such fun kids and I really do enjoy our outings, we all do. Hoping for many more! We hope 2014 is a  year that will keep us strong as a family and we can be good to ourselves and each other. We want to be good friends and valuable people too. We're hoping 2014 is just a good year filled with smiles and happy days!

Hoping the same for you too!

Santa's Loot

The kids did well!  Amazingly though, they did not receive any electronics or any toys that required a pack of batteries or much assembly. In that regard, Santa was good to us too!

Charlie got some Cowboy Boots. They weren't from Santa; they are from Grandma and Grandpa (me and Keith). I ordered them online from Boot Barn. The price was good and the boots are great. We got him a size 12.5. He's in an 11 in shoes now, so they should fit for several months. He's growing so fast!

Each of the kids got a hat and scarf set from our neighbor. Jessica crocheted these herself. The scarves are great! Just the right size for the little kids, but the hats are way too tiny. My kids have big melons.

Libby wanted paper, a lot more paper. Santa didn't disappoint! She got a pile of spiral notebooks and she went right to work drawing and writing.

From Grandma (Helen) Gracie got a game based on one of her favorite books. It is a geography game, so it's educational and fun! She loves it; we've been playing it over and over again. Libby got Candyland; between the two of them we are having a lot of fun.

Charlie also wanted a lipstick taser.  The kid wanted a tiny taser gun! He saw it in Despicable Me 2 and never let go of the idea. He loved it in the movie and wanted one of his own ever since.  Santa knows how to make the boy  happy!

Gracie got a Maze-Ball. It is the coolest thing!  There are no loose pieces, no parts, nothing to lose unless the whole thing gets lost. It is all contained. Just the kind of toy we like! Santa got this thing from Fat Brain Toys online and it promised to exercise the brain with focus, concentration, eye-hand coordination and all sorts of other smarty pants stuff like that. It's just fun! We've all been trying to get the little ball through the maze. So far, nobody has even come close.

The Barbie collection this year is a bit of an odd assortment. We have a Monster High doll named Laguna Blue, two dolls from Frozen: Elsa and Anna, and Ariel. The Ariel population in this house exceeds the Schumacher population, but who's counting.

Each of the kids got an Etch-A-Sketch. They love them! Santa knows  how to give the kids some  old fashioned screen time instead of getting each kid a tablet, these things are entertaining and fun.

Charlie also got a giant Darth Vader doll. It's huge! It doesn't do anything other than stand there and fall over once in a while, but no lights or noises or anything. It is currently guarding his room against bad dreams and spiders and any other intruders. Good job, Darth.

The coolest thing Santa brought was a Hot Wheels track. It winds up and whips the cars around the track. More than one car can go cruising at a time, but when they crash at the intersections. That's the fun part though, the kids laugh hysterically!  Since it is a wind up toy, they can play forever and not worry about battery power. So cool!  The hot wheels cars have already put a lot of miles on the track. Very fun!

Merry Christmas, Everyone! We have new toys to keep us busy and entertained.

What Will Santa Bring?

It's December 22nd. Santa is still puzzled about what to bring to our house.

Gracie, 7 and a HALF!,  has asked for several things, but doesn't seem to intent on anything so far. She forgets what she wanted the day before, so changes it up. She's been asking for Monster High dolls for a while now and I've flat out said no to those ugly things. I think Santa will bring some though. He is a lot nicer than mom after all. She's also asked for the 2013 Holiday Barbie. It's a $50 Barbie doll that will end up naked with ratted hair and Gracie will never play with it after the newness wears off. Gracie also asked for a Barbie Dream House. We already have two. And she asked for a singing Ariel doll. The current Little Mermaid doll population currently outnumbers the Schumacher population in this house already. She got the singing Ariel doll two years ago and didn't play with it much. Last year she asked for batteries for her singing Ariel. She got them and didn't play with the doll. It's in the bottom of a toy box, but it works! And she asked for a Chinese hand fan. Honestly, I don't think she knows what she wants. She doesn't play with dolls very often; she prefers cars. And she is growing up and out of the imaginative play stage. She wants to do things. She wants to be treated like she's older. She just doesn't know what kind of toys reflect her desire to grow up a little bit.

Libby, 5, knows what she wants and she seems to be persistent about her short wish list.  She wants paper. She wants a lot of paper to write on. We are running out around here and the girl just needs  more paper! She's also asked for a doll and some chocolate. But those are secondary to the paper.  When she visited Santa at the dentist's office, she asked him for a flying fairy doll. I thought she made that up, but there really is such a doll and it's $40. Looks like it will break the minute it comes out of the package. I think she's sort of forgotten about it. Probably not. Lately, she's been focusing on the wish for more paper.

Charlie, 3, knows what he wants. I wish Santa good luck! He wants his mom back and he got that wish. Everything else is frosting on the cake, but here's his list:  He wants a flying bumblebee that has a remote control and shoots lasers with its eyes.  He also wants a pet goose and his own electric cord. He wants a cord because he loves to play with cords in the house and I never let him. As he says, "Gramma won't share". So, he wants his own. Way to work Santa and Gramma against each other, kiddo.  Charlie has also been asking (since his birthday) for a lipstick taser gun. He saw it in a movie and it really stuck in his head. He wants a tiny taser gun and he wants me to dance when he shoots me with it. Hmmm. I asked him if he would like a toy car. He shrugged and said "Ok".

I think the kids will be happy with anything they find under the tree. They seem to be so happy to have a simple Christmas this year.

We put up the tree and they didn't ask for ornaments, they immediately started coloring and cutting and making their own decorations. Libby made a yellow star for the top. Not one of them asked to get out our decorations, so I just didn't. I love the little scraps of paper covering our tree!

Since I didn't get the ornaments out, I decided to make new stockings for the kids. Their good stockings are in the ornament box in the garage somewhere. I used up some scraps and made smaller stockings. They love them. Easy!

I think this is going to be one of my favorite Christmases. We've done no baking, no cards, and so far their favorite activity is to go driving around looking at Christmas lights. I am enjoying the lack of stress, overwhelming party schedules, and too much to do.  And I especially love the fact that the kids are not demanding the most expensive toys on the market!

Hello? Can Anyone See My Blog?

Anyone there?

I made the blog private. You have to be invited to view it. But, I'm not so sure that it works. I am wondering if you get to view it once and can never get back to it, or if anyone can get to it at all.

Leave a comment and let me know if this whole privatized thing is working out. Is it complicated to get to it? Annoying? Frustrating?  Does it work?

The comments are supposed to be easy. Are they easy to post?

Gosh, I hope this works, but if it's not easy enough to get to it then I want to find a different way to arrange it.

Leave a comment and let me know!

What Time Is It?

I had a busy morning today and was in a big rush for hours. Then when things settled down, I said to my husband and my adult daughter, "Hey, let's go out for lunch."  I was starving. I knew it was probably too early for lunch, but I threw the idea up in the air anyway. Keith said, "It's not too early, it's almost noon!"

They both agreed. We decided to meet at a nice little Italian restaurant where my daughter happens to work now. Fun!

We ordered and started eating our soups and bread basket, and I said "Remind me when it gets close to 1pm because I have to be at the girls' school for the 'Winter Program'" and it starts at 1:30".  My husband looked at his watch, he wore his nice watch today because he was wearing a suit, and he said "It's 12:40. You'd better go!"

I had the waitress box up my sandwich and I ran off to the school.  When I got there, I found a great parking spot, in fact there were several. Odd. Everyone must be right behind me! As I walked through the office to the MPR, the receptionist asked me to sign the visitor list. Um, ok. Wonder if she's going to ask all of the parents! haha!  She must be new.

I walked all the way through the school, across the play yard, and across the next building to Libby's kindergarten classroom. I asked her teacher if I could pull her out for the Lower Elementary's Winter Program. She said, "Sure. You want her now?"  I looked at the clock, because I was pretty sure time was running thin by now and I want a good seat, or at this point, any seat at all.

It was 12:15.  Yeah.  TWELVE. My husband sent me rushing to the school an hour before I needed to rush off. An entire hour! Well, that explains my amazing parking spot.

I had Libby bring her crafts and her lunchbox and things to the car. She and I had a picnic in the car. It was kind of fun! I love having her all to myself and listening to her without watching her battle for a moment to squeeze in a word between Gracie and Charlie. It was very nice.

When I got home in the late afternoon, I told my husband, "I got to the Winter Program nice and early. Got a great parking spot and a good seat too."  He  said "Yeah?".  "Yeah. Thanks, but I really didn't need an extra HOUR!"

Took him a second and then he burst into loud laughter. He said "I was wearing my nice watch!"  And I said, Yeah, you were and it's still on Daylight Savings Time".

My daughter said, "How was your sandwich?"  Well, it would have been better on a plate instead of in a cardboard box, but it was pretty yummy. Then she added, "We had a delicious desert. The chef made it extra yummy just for us."

Yup, they had the amaretto thing I've been drooling over. And I missed it. Next time, I will check the time for myself.

Tidepooling on a Homeschool Day

Took the kids out today for some fun since it was such a nice day. It was sunny and temps in the 80s! In mid-December! Love that!

We started off thinking we would go to a museum in Balboa Park. But, they are indoor, maybe we'll go to the aquarium in La Jolla instead. We got there and decided to first stop at the beach and see if there were any sea lions laying around.

Once we got to the beach, we had so much fun that we stayed for a long time! No museum or aquarium for us, we were beach bums for the afternoon!  We spent 4 hours on the beach and the kids had no idea they were there for so long, time flies when you are having fun.

First we went to the Children's Pool to see the harbor seals laying on the sand. The name of the eddy and the little beach is "Children's Pool" no people are allowed to set foot on it when the seals are there, which  is always. According to Wikipedia, it was a shallow area perfect for children to play in and families enjoyed recreational swimming in that area. Then they built the sea wall in 1931 and the little area filled in with sand and became a favorite spot for the seals.

Charlie wanted to see the seals closer. I said ok, we'll walk around the little beach where they were, but we couldn't go past the rope. He said "Please! I promise I won't hit them! I don't have a stick!" Clubbing seals? How does he know about clubbing seals? I said that's good, but they don't want us to come near them and they don't want us to pet them. They just like to see us wave at them from way over here.

We looked at the harbor seals and wandered around the Children's Pool and out onto the sea wall. The sea wall is showing it's age. It's battered and old, the walkway is rough and the fence is rusty. It's also built with 1931 safety standards in mind. Which is to say, it isn't Charlie-proof.  We couldn't spend much time on it for fear that he would fall through the fence and go for a swim. No, Thank you!  Luckily, he was listening halfways ok at that point and didn't fall off the sea wall. Whew!

After a little jaunt on the seawall, waving and yelling hello to all of the seals who would look and listen, we went down to the tidepools. I warned the kids not to get wet. I didn't bring dry clothes or a towel. What was I thinking? I knew I had extra pants for Libby and Charlie because I always bring some just in case they spill or have a potty accident, but I never bring much more than that. They tiptoed in the water, just getting wet up to their ankles. Then shins.  Knees.  And, then two of them fell in and one sat on a wet rock. All of them were soaking wet! Gracie and Libby managed to keep their shirts dry but Charlie was wet from the chest on down. His shoulders and head were dry, I guess that's something.

They found a little alcove which they called a cave and they explored it like it was a big dark cavern. In it they found a couple of puddles, crabs and lots of seashells and barnacles. They were fascinated by everything in it, including it's shapes and slopes. Very cool.

They also found what I think are anemone, but I'm not entirely sure. They are clumps of gooshy stuff with seashells stuck to them and they'll squirt you if you poke at them, so whatever they are, they are alive. But they don't look like sea flowers like the ones in the aquarium, so I'm not sure what these things are. Maybe a gooshy variety of anemone. I told the kids that they were anemones and I feigned confidence in my marine life knowledge. Hopefully, they'll never know that I'm just guessing.

The tidepools are so much fun, the kids could stay there hopping around in the water all day long! They just loved it. The seals were nearby, but not too near. Libby was having a great time finding sea shells. She found a few empty clam shells and we noted the huge piles of them all around where the seals lay. Seals think clams are yummy. I don't agree, but I might have to introduce the kids to clam chowder someday. They might like it.

We walked back to the car and I grabbed the emergency diaper bag (that contains no diapers anymore) from the trunk and we headed across the park to the restrooms. I got Charlie and Libby into dry undies and pants, and Charlie took off his cold wet shirt and just wore a jacket. But, poor Gracie was stuck wearing wet shorts. I got her a sweatshirt though, I was actually just pulled it from our donation bag and was using the old sweatshirt as a cover for some Christmas gifts that are hiding in the trunk, now it was being used for it's actual purpose. The afternoon was cooling off quickly and the wet child needed the extra layer. It fit her too! Guess she has a new sweatshirt.

While we were on the other side of the park, we looked over the railing to see the sea lions on that side. They were loud. One in particular was very loud. He was huge too! He looked angry. Did you know that they are territorial? They don't like anyone to get in their space. They look like blobs, but they are actually pretty fast when they want to be and they are mean too. They'll bite! Knowing that.... here is the dumbass of the day photo. The seal lunged at him and barked, but the guy barely flinched. Guess he didn't realize how lucky he was to still be standing.

The kids wanted to climb the trees. They are great for climbing, nice and low. I wanted to get going, but they are kids, and there were trees. There was no way I was gonna win over the trees, so I just waited it out while they got their climbing fix.

We saw a lot of birds too: seagulls and pelicans. And we saw an incredible amount of bird poop. It looks like the cliffs are painted white, it is bird poop! Tons of it! Can you imagine how much is in the water? Eww. And yuck, I let the kids wade in that! Overall, we saw a lot of marine life: Sea lions, Harbor Seals, anemones, crabs, and the birds. Turned out to be a good homeschooling activity!

Gracie's Santa Picture

Got the pictures back from the "official" photographer from the dentist's office when we visited Santa.  This is the picture of Gracie.

Ummm....?  Not exactly.

The Babysitter

As much as I need a break, and as much as I love to get a break, I just hate hiring a babysitter. For one thing, babysitters are hard to find and another, they are expensive!

One of Libby's classmates has a 17 year old sister who is a senior in high school, and she homeschools. She also has no boyfriend and no job. This opens up her availability and she enjoys babysitting. She says she is great with kids and her mom says so too. I'm sure she is. She babysat for us once before but she only watched Charlie. This time, I was sticking her with all three kids.

Her mom caught me at school the other day and confirmed the date and times. Then she laughed and said she has to hire a babysitter to watch her little daughter because Darby would be watching my kids. I told her to just have Darby bring Kindryn along. What's one more! She said she would do that.

Now I just created a little situation to worry about. I just invited one of Libby's little friends over at bedtime. This probably was a bad idea.

Problem: Libby still wears  pull-ups to bed. And Libby feels it is normal and has NO idea that other kids her age don't wear a "pajama diaper". What if the other little girl notices and says something to Libby? I wondered if I should tell Libby to wear panties for that one night and change her when I get home, but it would be risky and it would mean telling her that its not the norm. But, if her little friend notices she will probably tell Libby it's not normal. I don't want her to say something at school. I was really feeling weird about having another kid here at bedtime.

So, now that I've given myself something to worry about my night was complete.

When we got home last night at 11:15pm, Darby the babysitter, Kindryn and two teenage boys were sitting in the living  room watching a movie. She introduced the boys and then said she just now got the kids into bed.  Just now? OMG! Tomorrow is going to be hell!  I told her "I'm sure they were just excited to have you here." And that is probably true. The lolipop stick stuck to the carpet gave me another thought though, wonder if she sugared them up and then had to deal with the aftermath. Babysitters, listen, don't sugar up my kids unless you are on your way out the door. You don't want to deal with their sugar highs! Plural!

The movie then switched scenes and now there was a young lady sitting on a bed wearing a black piece of lingerie and talking on a phone. So I had to say it. Had to!  "Are you watching porn?"

I've never seen three teenagers get so embarrassed so fast! It was super funny! They all turned bright red and of course they fumbled with the remote and it wouldn't work and this girl in her underwear was still on the tv! They nearly died! I laughed! So glad I said that! Tormenting teens is great entertainment!

Kindryn had no idea what just happened. She looked at me and said, "Libby has a tiny bed."
I said, "Yes, she does. And her sister has a really big bed! Not fair is it?"
She shook her head.

Darby said Libby and Kindryn snuggled in the tiny bed for a while, but nobody was falling asleep like that. I asked her how the night went and she said, "Charlie was really crazy. He kept climbing everything and he tried to play with every cord he could find. He said he wants his own cord for Christmas."
"But, he's such a cool kid. I can understand everything he says and he's really funny. He sure has a good imagination.  He threw eggs on the floor but I got it cleaned up, and coins, they are everywhere."
"Gracie told me everything; she never stopped talking."
"Libby and Kindryn were really wild. They had a good time."

Well, not the best report but not bad considering there were four kids and only one babysitter. Or, three babysitters, not sure.

I told her I would drive her home and she said the boys were going to drive her, that's why they came. I asked her if she had a carseat for Kindryn and she said, "No, she doesn't need one anymore."
And I told her, "Yes, she does. She has to ride in a booster seat until  she is 8 years old. No worries, we have an extra that you can take with you and we'll get it back another day."
Darby, "Oh no, that's ok."
Me, "Yes. It's the law and there are a million cops just up the street doing a sobriety check. They are stopping every car and you'll get a ticket."
Darby, "Oh, ok. Are you sure it's ok?"
Me, "Yes, no problem.

So, I walked her out and handed her a backless booster seat from my car. We  have a spare in the garage and Keith has one in his truck too. It's always good to have an extra.

In the morning, the kids did not sleep in. The first one woke up at 6:30 and then the others got up just a few minutes after. All three were awake by 7am. They are going to bed early tonight!

Libby said, "Is Kindryn still here?"
Me, "No. She went home during the night."
Libby made a big sad face and marched away. I think she's mad.

Me, "Charlie, did you have fun with Darby?"
Charlie, "Yeah."
Me, "Tell me about it."
Charlie, "She was nice. She snuggled me."
Me, "Oh, that's nice. Did she play with you too?"
Charlie, "Yeah. Mostly she cleaned."
Me, "Cleaned? Why?"
Charlie, "I got eggs on the floor. They cracked."
Me, "Eggs? Why did you have eggs?"
Charlie, "I wanted to hold them. But they cracked when I dropped them on da floor."
Me, "Were you hungry?"
Charlie, "No. I just wanted to play with them. I had fun with Kindryn."
Me, "What'd you do?"
Charlie, "I just played wiff her."
Me, "Why are there coins everywhere?"
Charlie, "Because I did that."
Me, "Why is there toothpaste all over the bathroom?"
Charlie, "Because I wanted to go sledding."

Gracie, "Oh. Darby invited her friends over. Marcus and Zach. To help us go to bed."
Me, "Did they help?"
Gracie, "Eh. No. They just came over."
Me, "Hmmm."
Gracie, "We tried to go to bed but Kindryn was wild and crazy!"
Me, "What else did you guys do?"
Gracie, "We had a dance party! It was so much fun! Darby put on music and we all danced. It was Katy Perry. The song was called 'Roar' and I really like it!"
Gracie, "We barely watched any tv. Just Zach watched Gravity Falls."

Libby, "We got to make brownies. With frosting!"
Me, "Wow!"
Charlie, "And then we put the brownies in the freezer. They were too hot."

Me, "Did Kindryn go upstairs with you when you got your jammies on?"
Gracie, "No."
Libby, "No."
Ahhh, relief from worrying.

Now, I'm off to clean up a bathroom that is completely covered in toothpaste, which has dried into a very sticky concrete like substance. And then I need to mop the floor because there are a couple of sticky spots where raw eggs landed. And, there are coins everywhere! There's also a mop under the dining room table and a mess of brownie batter covered dishes in the sink. Who knows what else I'll find today.

Riley's Farm Field Trip

The kids' school offered a field trip to Riley's Farm in Oak Glen. The deal was: either go to the field trip or spend the day homeschooling. That was an easy decision! Off we went!

My GPS kept trying to make me take back roads all the way there, but I took the 15 and the 60 freeways. The whole way that stinking GPS was trying to have me turn around and go back. I don't know about that thing. The backroads were probably a few miles shorter, but not nearly as quick and easy. I am not going to spend an extra hour driving to save five miles. California backroads are full of stop signs and traffic lights, they aren't just a flow right on through type of drive.

Despite a rough start (Libby didn't want to get her clothes on) we got there on time. Every person was given a sticker that assigned a tour group. We were in Bedford, the others were Kent, Lexington, and Chesterfield.  Each group had a flag. We went to different stations and had lessons on colonial life. The kids learned candle dipping, weaving, heard about what it was like to be a minute man, watched a blacksmith make musket-balls and toy figurines, learned etiquette, and played games with colonial times toys.

The staff stay in colonial character the whole time. They are great! They really play their parts well and the kids love it.

During the first lesson, I snuck away from the group and went to the Bakery to place an order to be picked up on our way out. I ordered a family size chicken pot pie and a small apple pie. Dinner done!

After a morning of colonial life lessons, the girls and I went into the restaurant for lunch. It was cold in there but we were seated near the fireplace. I would rather have been inches from the fireplace, but a few feet away wasn't bad.  The food is amazing! Those colonial types sure ate good! Well, the adults did. I ordered kids meals for the kids, and true to kids' meal fashion, they weren't worth it. I should have gotten them an adult meal to split. I had higher hopes for the kids meals. Oh well, now we know. The girls filled up on hot chocolate with a candy cane in it. They loved it!  And, Libby ate little pats of butter. So gross!

After the kids were fed and refreshed, they wanted to play. Game of choice: Pooh Sticks!  Best game ever. They stand on the bridge and drop a stick in the water, then run to the other side of the bridge to see it come out from under the bridge. Simple chidhood joy!

While they played Pooh Sticks, I went and picked up our pies and took them to the car. The guy who gave me the pies said, "Sorry but we ran out of small apple pies and so we gave you the large one. It's five pounds. Hope that's ok."  Um, yeah! That's just fine with me!

They played Pooh sticks on every bridge on the farm and then they saw a plank going across another section of the little creek. They just had to walk the plank!  It looked pretty bouncy and wobbly, like that would stop them. I was pretty sure I would take some sopping wet kids home.

Another mom told me she found a really great playground just up the road on the right, so she was going to take her kids there but she wanted to buy pie first.  She asked if I'd like to meet her there so the kids could play without falling into the creek. Great idea!  Off we went!

I drove in the direction she told me but I couldn't find a playground anywhere. We found a small one behind a motel, but it was pretty lame. It did have a really cool Yogi Bear statue, but otherwise, it wasn't much of a playground. The kids were happy to get out and play though. After ten minutes, they were done. We drove up the road some more. No playground. We drove some more. Nothing. We turned around, maybe we missed it. Nope. No playground.

There was a place that looked like it had a big grassy area and picnic tables, we decided to just pull in there and play in the grass. Fun! The girls loved playing with the snow and running around free and easy. They found an adorable snowman too!

We discovered that we were at a park or public place, not a private resort. So, we wandered past the gift shop and peeked in the windows, then found the restrooms. There was a map of the place that showed more areas. No playground. We decided to drive to the next parking lot though and see what was over in that direction. We were exploring so why not.

The next parking lot was in the middle of some real beauty! We were in awe! The kids piled out of the car so fast and just ran and ran and ran! They ran through the leaves and through the snow. They ran around the trees. They leaped from rock to rock. They smelled the trees and picked up leaves. They looked at the frost and the ice.  They just loved this place!  I think they learned more about nature in that romp through the nature preserve than they ever have. And they truly enjoyed it!

After running through the crunchy leaves that were more than ankle deep, we came to the end of that big open area in the photo above.  We saw this sign:

Libby shouted "No Way! I want to go home Right Now!!!" She twirled around and made a break for it. She ran all the way back to the parking lot. That girl was not messing around!

We were done anyway. The girls played and played in the snow and leaves. They were ready to go home and the time was right. It was after three o'clock and I didn't want to stay any later and get stuck in the thicker five o'clock traffic (which starts much earlier than 5pm).

It was such a great day! Love these school field trips and the adventures that they bring to us!

Visiting Santa

For weeks, the kids have been waiting for the day that Santa goes to the dentist for his checkup. We are going to the dentist's office and see him!  He eats a lot of cookies and candy, so it stands to reason that he'll be there all morning at least. The dentist said he would be there from 9am - noon. Awesome.

On that morning, Gracie was crabby and didn't want to go. She said she didn't have anything pretty enough to wear. Actually, she was jealous that Libby had a pretty Christmas dress and she didn't. Envy reared its ugly head and took over her mood.  I said, fine, you don't have to go then.

She had plenty of nice things to wear but none were pretty Christmas dresses so there was no pleasing her. Arg.

Lexie and I took Libby and Charlie to see Santa and left Miss Crabbypants at home with her dad.

We entered the little dentist's office, and I mean the office is little, not the dentist. It was pretty crowded with a few people, several hygenists, some volunteer helpers, and a couple of craft vendors. A very sugared up and caffeinated woman wearing a clown/elf costume was making balloon animals for the kids. They loved that!  While they got a balloon animal, I was confirming their next appointments.  Slick, they were making and confirming appointments as you bottlenecked in the line right there. That elf was a double agent!

Once they had their balloons, one dog on a leash and one poodle, which we shall call "Pwooto"  from now on, we were escorted back to see Santa.

They had their exam room all decorated and all of the dentist chairs and things were hidden behind wrapping paper. The room was dimmed, so it was hard to take photos. I had to provide my name and email address while the kids talked to Santa.

Neither one was scared, but Santa was nice and calm. He wasn't a very animated guy which was probably good in our case. It made him approachable.

Charlie told him that he wants a remote control flying bumble bee that shoots lasers out of it's eyes. And squirts too. Not to be outdone, Libby said she wants a flying fairy doll that goes like this:  then she waved her arms around in all directions. He looked confused and I'm sure I did too. Love that they just make stuff up and think Santa's elves are going to make it.

I found out later that there really is a flying fairy doll and it's $35 if it isn't sold out. But, I don't think I really want three kids to get flying things for Christmas anyway. Can you imagine? I have a headache just thinking about it!

The kids really enjoyed their talk with Santa. Mostly, I couldn't hear what they said to each other what with Santa's soft mumbling and the kids being shy, but I think that's all they asked for. Great.

When they were done they were offered candy canes, cookies, donuts and hot (warm) chocolate. They were making sure these kids would return for a dental visit all right!

We swung by the school's outdoor craft market before heading home. It was raining and cold. The craft market had a handful of crafters selling their wares, and they were all outside. They were trying to keep their goods dry and their tent canopies from blowing away. We stayed for about a minute, if that. I guess we can say we went anyway.

We got home and Gracie was still in a rotten mood. Now worse than before because she missed seeing Santa. And, the kids walked into the house with balloon animals!  Jealousy got worse! I thought it might be best to just let her be jealous and feel how awful that feels. Let her just stew and learn a lesson from it. If she had come with us, she would have a balloon animal too.

Keith said that's harsh. All right, maybe he's right. This is Santa, and he doesn't come very often. I shouldn't use him as a pawn to teach the kid a lesson. He's right.

Gracie ran upstairs and got dressed. Guess what, she looked really nice! I told her that she looked great and it would be the perfect outfit to see Santa. She got her balloon from the hyper elf, she wanted a flower with a heart in the middle. It was cute!

She spoke too softly to Santa for me to hear. They need to get a louder Santa. Or maybe give him some of whatever the elf out front was having. I have no idea what Gracie told Santa. She waved her arms around a bit; she probably wants something that flies.

She enjoyed her visit so much! And she was thrilled with her balloon. Mostly because she evened the score with the younger two.

After the Santa visit, we went to Kohls and did a bit of shopping. While she does have a few nice outfits, she doesn't have a Christmas dress, or a lot of anything really. She is growing so fast!  For her school winter program the kids are to wear red, black and/or white. I told her we were going to just look and see if they had anything for the school program. She found a red dress that looks like a prom dress, and another black/white and pink dress that she could wear too. I bought both for her and a couple of shirts too. It won't be long and she won't be shopping in the children's section any more. She's shopping off the end of the rack now!

The balloons were all popped before noon. Darn things. All of the kids were crying about them for the remainder of the day. Otherwise, the Santa visits went really well. Even for the one who woke up jealous and crabby!

Welcome!

Welcome to my new blog!

I've been blogging since 2007. First there was Momathon, and after a while I changed it to Rufflebutts. Once again, I felt it was time for a change and here we are. Blog #3.

This one is private. If you aren't reading this, then you need an invite. Wait... well... yeah. I am splitting up my blog thoughts into three blogs now. This one is where I will post our family things, what we are doing, where we went, how fast the kids are growing and all of that jazz. I'm also writing one about our many adventures at Disneyland, Tales of a Disneyland Stroller Pusher. And, one about my sewing schtuff: Mary Made It.

This way, I can freely share my sewing blog posts and my Disneyland blog posts while still respecting the privacy of my family members.

I had a very hard time coming up with a name. I think I like the url, and I can change the blog title if I think of something better.

The purpose of this blog is to  have a place to dump my thoughts. Whatever is in my brain. It might be worth reading, and it might not. It's a gamble.