Tuesday, November 29, 2011

More on being Thankful

I forgot to tell you about this tradition we do every year.
The matriarch (Grandma) passes out three little pieces of un-popped popcorn to each person.  Then a jar is passed around, each peep drops their popcorn in as they say what they're thankful for.

My kids answers this year:
Gary--Family, Emmy & Lilly, a house and basketball
Emmy--My family, my school, and my friends
Lilly--My family, my food and Disneyland.

Personally, I think Lilly's rocks the socks! Not only does she love the happiest place on earth, she is so going to the beat of her own drum.  My three year old is the most independent thinker in the fam.  Good or no so good? you decide ;)

Theeeeen, on Sunday for the Birthday girl...

Lilly had told Emmy she'd get her a present, a specific one in fact...luckily, I found out and picked up a littlest pet shop set (that stuff is not cheap!).  
Gary helped Lilly wrap it (they have some mad wrapping skillz)...Lilly ran out yelling, "Emmy I got you a..."
luckily Gary can run fast too and caught her before she could tell...granted, Lilly proceeded to whisper the upcoming present continually.  It was quite entertaining!


So thankful for the little things.
Today is Gary's first basketball game--hooray! Go Falcons!

Monday, November 28, 2011

Weekend of Celebrating!

Here at this swim house we had a bizzzzzeee weekend!  I hope your Thanksgiving was really great.
On Wednesday, my lovely ladies had their feast, complete with turkey tunes sung by the 3-6 set.  You could just die at the cuteness.

On Thursday we did the unthinkable!  We didn't cook! We didn't eat Turkey!  Nope my folks ordered a prime rib dinner from Safeway.  It was ex.cell.ent!  I did make these. And like she says--they are awesomesauce! (I'm eating the last one right now!)
Then yesterday is the big day of celebrating around these parts...we cooked a turkey finally, but way mucho more important is Emmy, my Birdie, turned one whole hand!  Yep, somehow she is now five! 5! Yikes!  

She wanted to decorate her own cake and of course LB helped (I cannot guarantee the prior whereabouts of those sprinkles).

We had a small family party at home--like we were going to go anywhere when we had royalty around hehehe


 I seriously am amazed she is five!


 I tried to tell her she has to be 4 for two years and she laughed that one off.  So then I cam at another angle..."You know Emmy, when you're 5 you have to get a job" Again with the laughter!  Her reply "Mommy, I have a job, I go to school!" Man oh man, is she a smarty farty.  Adore that kid!
 Adore all these little peeps that call me mom. 
 They really are the greatest!

Oh and since I know you're wondering--I survived triumphed on Black Friday and got the kiddos a giant trampoline-with an enclosure!  Let's hope my neuroses don't get the best of me and I let the kids enjoy knocking themselves around and hopefully wear themselves out... 
Hope your weekend was as blessed as mine was!

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Makin' Stuff: Turkey Cupcakes!

I went to Zumba today. Oh how I love Zumba! The teacher at the Y is awesomesauce! She rawks!  I felt so energized (and wooo-ooorked out) after class. 
I had promised to take the ladies to the store for cookies. Add those two factors together and waddaya get?
Turkey cupcakes--Duh!
Not that it had anything to do with the ladies having a feast at their school tomorrow and my unnecessary, neurotic pressure on myself to make something groovy to take...


can you guess which egg bean destroyed with her bare hands cracked?

the girls love to 'help' in the kitchen, but

they hate to wait (side note: do you remember that ad campaign from the 80s?  My grandpa was hilarious and would always draw on those ads and send them to me)

we hhaaaaadd to sample after the bath

I had found this idea on the ever awesome pinterest, there they were made with candy eyes, but I just used gel food coloring that I already had, easy peasy!


I couldn't find candy corn in the store anymore (also from the pinspiration) so I used reese's pieces.  They were cute, but didn't stick in the oreos very well...


 Also, I think it works better on larger cupcakes, some of the smaller ones fell apart--boo




I think they came out darn cute!  Although, someone did ask me if they were chickens?!  Yikes!
 I guess they are both birds? 

Happy almost Turkey Day!!! May you be blessed and surrounded by those special to you!

Monday, November 21, 2011

Manic Monday

Today isn't really awful. just sorta blarghy

I am making this for dinner--right now it doesn't look to be going very well...

I am hoping to fit in a workout at the Y, even though there are three loads of laundry full on yelling at me to be folded.

Do you ever feel like your life is getting in the way of your dreams?  I'm so tired and busy, that I can't really get anything I want to get done done.

Perhaps that 7 habits book should be on my Xmas list?  Speaking of Xmas, I must have 700 or maybe just 7 windows open with Black Friday ads open.  Trying to compare prices with Amazon is making me tired.  Do you shop on Black Friday?  I used to be all about it, but last year I was in a 'working-toward-single' funk and this year is a post 'big D' funk maybe?  who knows...






We had our church thanksgiving yesterday--lots of peeps, not enough stuffing or pie!  I like to think of the turkey as merely a vehicle for the side dishes. My fav?  sweet potato anything.

Now can I blame these blahs on the tryptophan in the turkey?
 I just love her joy focused or not--it's SO her :)

Sunday, November 20, 2011

finding meaning and ahhhh the pressure...

on location
I had to work out of town again all last week...it was a good job, but one of those all encompassing types, where I barely have time to think.  I feel lucky to squeeze in 10 minutes to skype with my babies at the end of the day.
and the pressure to keep up just slides away, plus trust me, you absatively do not want to hear about my work week!

Gman has been having a rough week/life at school for a variety of reasons.  Really it's all about basketball.  He is full of negativity and frustration. (side note: the kid is used to things being easy for him--straight A's forev babeeeee-- but he started basketball late in youth).  He isn't as good as he wants to be. The stinker is also your typical teenager and blaming a lot of things on others. Now for those of you that don't have the pleasure of knowing my wunderfewl boi, he's awesomesauce--just was down on his luck..Relying on yourself for your fulfillment is a lifelong lesson in my opinion...

This was a moment in life, where as a parent you have to dig down, down to a place you don't want to go readily.

You see, drama skeptics, when I was in high school, a senior in fact..I had a really hard time with a teacher I greatly loved and respected.   This falling out led to a lot of tension and me essentially failing at this activity.  Granted, I dropped the ball on this activity that was near and dear to my heart.  And I, was the reason I didn't win a silly award at the end of the year. The feelings I had of rejection and disappointment were so deep and a huge blow to my self esteem. 

Sitting and listening to someone you love, 'complain' but really try to tell you how they're hurting where they're at is so hard.  Harder than a colicky baby or the terrible twos.  A teenager is an entity unto themselves. And when your kid is at any age, but especially a teenager, you have to balance your involvement--you know it is the time where there are things they have to figure out for themselves. (this is something I have a particularly hard time with, as a single and neurotic parent--I am a mama bear, helicoptering herself and her views all over the poor children)


 I had this AHA moment, where I realized, I had to tell my son about the pain in my past.  In a way it sounds silly to write it out like this.  I'm so glad I told him though. I sat here on my couch and retold him the story of how I failed at something in high school, how much it hurt at the time and even for a long time after, but how I was a stronger person for it and how I realized the only person that could control those events then was the same person controlling the perspective now--ME.  In a way, it was like those events led me to this, to the chance to share and find meaning in my past.  Funny how finding meaning and forgiveness is something that takes years sometimes.  

how many years 'til this is my main transpo?!

Monday, November 14, 2011

the dating 'scene'

Have you seen the scene lately?  
it is certainly chock full o' nuts and colorful characters...

I decided to start dating after some friends encouraged me to get back out there...
 How do you meet peeps today?  Well it seems like online is the way to go.
There is this site--plenty of fish--perhaps you've heard of it?
 On the upside it is to-tall-eee free! It is quite aptly named, as it is a total catch and release dating plan...throwing many a fishy character back!
It's actually great for a woman on there, so many tugs at the net you cast--many lines being thrown at you--ay yi yi! And not just to be punny!

Since there are wayyyy more men on there than women, you do get your choice of all the cahrazzzeeee in your inbox.  Don't get me wrong, there are some nice peeps on there...but the majority seem to be cruising for something else...I have no idea what...winkity wink...

So a free, crazy, dating site was my welcome back into being single...yes, yes it was...

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Kid crafts: button art fun

Beware, beware, be a very wary bear--the evil pirate pink eye has invaded our house.  Uuugh!
 Both ladies stayed home from school and I'm a blinking moron mama-- paranoid that we'll all be trading it for the next week...
what to do what to do?  Why do a craft of course! It was super simple, though we had a minor glue mishap--that darn Bean can get the lid off of anything...
I pre-painted the canvases yesterday (sans kids)

don't forget to paint the sides
 I let the ladies pick anything they wanted for me to 'draw' with glue, granted I guided them towards 'bold shapes'
Emmy chose a crown

LB chose a heart

I had planned to use all one color buttons or two different colors, but alas the 'organization' of my buttons is a little lax, so we just used what there was
 The ladies went to town putting the buttons on the glue, such an easy peasy way to make art



We ran out of buttons to fill it all the way in, but I like it how it is

Lilly Bean insisted on drawing on hers...ah well 
up on the wall

here's a wide-ish shot, if you could see what's below...I'd probably curl up in a ball of embarrassment...makin' stuff is just so mucho better than picking up toys dontcha know!
I'm thinking of doing another, or maybe several more... what do you think?

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Picture Day!


Remember how great picture was day at school? Some guy with greased hair and a cheesey tie telling you to tip your chin, tilt your head,  and now grin?  Ugh...

Really though, I love school pictures...of my brood at least...

Today is that smiling day for the ladies (G$ had his earlier this year).  
The school requested the kids wear 'fall colors' -um ok...I don't really like the dressing requests. As we've talked about, I often put serious thought into what my kidlets are wearing and don't care for parameters.  Alas, my need for them to look cute is well balanced with my desire for them to fit in, so we chose a brown sparkly dress for Bean and a red dress for Birdie. 

 
I had to run so my mama took some pre-pics for me...her distaste for taking pics fits right in with the ladies' distaste for having their pics taken (really I am related to all of them...)
see how they stare down love the camera

bribery begins...

candy has been promised...
The next two just make me chuckle... 
apparently here, Em is saying how great it is that her nose is red from her cold so it 'matches her dress' lol


<3

They really are such sweet sisters!

I'll have to share the pics when they finally come in...Happy Hump Day to you!