In praise of charter schools

When it came time to register Morgan for Kindergarten, I knew without a doubt that I wanted to apply for her to attend the local charter school. The driving factor was that I had heard some unsatisfactory things about our home school and knew that we would be more at home somewhere like the charter school.

Even before Morgan got placed at the charter school (she was first on the wait list after the lottery), I heard from so many different parents about all the bad publicity the charter school had gotten. And some of it was true -there were some not-s0-with-it administrators involved early on and there were also some overly engaged parents making the atmosphere too contentious. I weighed what I knew of both schools and decided that if Morgan got in to the charter school, that's where we would be. I figured that at least the parents were involved, which was far from what I had heard about our home school.

I can't tell you the happiness I felt when I went to the school and saw Morgan's name on the list of children who would be attending. It felt as if I had really hit the real lottery! All year long, we've been nothing but pleased with the school. Not just the involvement of the parents and community, and not just the education she is receiving (top notch!), but also the true care that each of the teachers has for their classes. I adore Morgan's teacher and Morgan has come so far is such a short time.

Tonight we had a town hall meeting to discuss the state of affairs. And I can honestly say that even in this economic climate where thousands upon thousands of teachers are losing their jobs, we sit back and breathe easy. Why? Well, as a charter school, we are used to having to make up for lost money. Also as a charter school, our class sizes are fixed, meaning that no matter what, we will have a 20:1 ratio. We are used to fundraising, as we already get roughly $1,000 less per student than other public schools. So, we have budgeted conservatively and have prepared to weather this economic storm. While other schools are losing teachers, we are hiring. The told us tonight about one of the teachers they are trying to hire - another art teacher. They interviewed someone from a nearby city who was working at a magnet school FOR ART. They are doing away with their art programs!! Unbelievable. Meanwhile, at the charter school, we are adding art teachers and keeping our music, science, Spanish, and PE teachers. We are adding a math specialist to help kids who need extra help in math (we already have a fabulous reading specialist). We have awesome programs for kids who want to do more outside of school. There will be intramural sports next fall and we already have a pseudo "Geek Squad" that helps repair the laptops for the middle schoolers (we have a laptop program when the kids hit 6th grade). They even presented a website that they coded from scratch this year. WOW! There's drama and choir and band. There's a gardening club and running club and lots of other interests out there for kids who want it. The teachers themselves commit to helping with these clubs and it shows the type of dedication that they have to the students.

The bottom line is, as it was put to us tonight, while other schools, administrators, and teachers are worried about their jobs and how they will make due, without, next year, our school and administrators and teachers are still only worried about the students. How wonderful and how fortunate for us!

Water play!

Bennett received an IOU from Grandma and Grandpa for his birthday for this really cool water table I had seen about a year or so ago, and that I looked for online for about 2 months before his birthday. Apparently, it's all about time and place because we couldn't find it ANYWHERE in time for his birthday. There were promises that it would be coming within the next two weeks or within six weeks, depending on who you spoke to. But, I knew how cool this table was and wanted to hold out for it, so they gave him an IOU.

Imagine my surprise as I'm perusing Costco the other day and find the exact table I've been searching for! Hooray! So, I busted it out of the box today (since it was not COLD today -- not WARM, but not COLD) and got out several different sizes of screwdrivers and got busy with the task of putting this thing together.

It wasn't too hard and before I knew it, the kids were tossing water everywhere. :)

Amish Friendship Bread

About ten days ago, my neighbor stopped by, right as I was folding tons of laundry. My house was a mess and I was busy, but I was stopped by the sight of my neighbor holding a bag of gooey dough. He gave me the bag and a paper that explained what it was. Amish Friendship Bread. He told me that the bread was delicious and that this was a starter to bake more. He said that he knew that I liked to bake and that the kids liked to help and he thought this would be fun for us. I told him thank you, brought the bag inside and set it on the counter after reading the paper he gave me with it. It gave me instructions for each day I had the bag.



Please note the following:

DO NOT use any time of metal spoon or bowl for mixing.

DO NOT refrigerate. It is normal for the batter to rise and ferment.


Day 1: Do nothing. This is the day you receive the batter. The bag is dated.

Day 2: Mash the bag.

Day 3: Mash the bag.

Day 4: Mash the bag.

Day 5: Mash the bag.

Day 6: Add to bag, 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup milk. Mash the bag.

Day 7: Mash the bag.

Day 8: Mash the bag.

Day 9: Mash the bag.

Day 10: Do the following:

1. Pour the entire contents of bag into a non-metal bowl. Add 1 ½ c. flour, 1 ½ c. sugar, and 1 ½ c. milk.
2. Measure out 4 separate batters of 1 cup each into 4 zip-lock bags (1 gallon size). Keep a starter for yourself and give 3 friends along with a copy of this recipe. (Note: if you keep a starter, you will be baking every 10 days.) The bread is very good and makes a great gift. Only the Amish know how to create a starter, so if you give them all away, you’ll have to wait until someone gives you a starter back. Should this recipe not be passed on to a friend the first day, be certain to tell the friend which day the batter is at when it is presented to them. Baking instructions:
3. Preheat oven to 325F.To the remaining batter, add:
   * 3 eggs
   * 1 cup vegetable oil (or ½ c. oil & ½ c. applesauce)
   * ½ cup milk
   * 1 cup sugar
   * 1 tsp cinnamon
   * ½ tsp vanilla
   * 1 ½ tsp baking powder
   * ½ tsp baking soda
   * ½ tsp salt
   * 2 cups flour
   * 1 large box instant vanilla or chocolate pudding
4. Grease 2 large loaf pans. Mix an additional 1/3 cup sugar and 1 ½ tsp cinnamon in an additional bowl. Dust the greased pans with half of the mixture.
5. Pour batter evenly into the 2 loaf pans. Sprinkle the remaining sugar mixture on top.
6. Bake 1 hour. Cool until bread loosens from sides of pan.
7. ENJOY!

It seemed easy enough. Mash the bag most days. Add some stuff in the middle there and then add more at the end, pour into separate bags and then bake what's left. And it was just that easy. And SOOOO delicious! I got four starters (one that I kept to make more from) and two loaves of this bread from this one gooey bag my neighbor brought by.

Yoga kids

I'm not sure what it is about doing yoga in front of your kids, but mine always want to join in, climb under or on and really just think it's the best! I'll never forget the first time Morgan asked for her own mat to do it along side me. So cute!

This afternoon, while Morgan was at ballet, I figured I would get some exercise in since it was too cold out to walk this morning and Bennett had a runny nose so I couldn't take him to the gym. I pulled out my old favorite yoga video, my mat and came downstairs so I could watch him playing while I did my yoga. He was immediately entranced by the video! He sat on the couch and watched me do it for probably ten minutes before he got up, walked over and started bending over like I was. I asked him if he wanted to try it and he said he did. So, I helped him learn a few poses. He was so proud of himself that when we went to pick Morgan up from ballet, he excitedly told her the he did "down dog with Momma!!" Morgan was sad that we did it without her. Not sure what's up with my kids and yoga. Morgan LOVES doing it on the Wii Fit. Maybe I should look into a yoga video for the under 8 age group.

I do love that I am setting a good example for them, though. They see me taking care of myself and exercising and hopefully it will instill that in them as well.

Unwinding the whirlwind

The past, ohhh, say MONTH has been just non-stop. Between Easter parties, Bennett's birthday, my folks coming out to visit, Easter, spring break, Melissa's shower, and Camporee, there has not been a ton of time to get my life and my house back in order. In an effort to regain order and tidiness in my house, I spent the better part of today getting stuff done.

I started the day off like I like to, at the gym. After that, I came home and played with Bennett for a little bit and then got started unpacking all the gear that I spent all last week packing up. I cleaned bathrooms, did laundry, cleaned the kids rooms (which had been sorely neglected over the past month), and then I thought it was time for a nap. After all, I spent the entire weekend sleeping in a tent in below 30 degree temperatures.

After my nap, I did all the dusting and vacuuming and before I knew it, it was time to make dinner. I decided to make up a new recipe, because apparently I didn't have enough going on. LOL Besides my goat cheese chicken pasta dish, this is really the first recipe I've made up on my own. Honestly, I'm always looking for a new way to make salmon because we eat it about once a week, so I wanted to come up with something new and different. So, I put together the salmon I had thawed with some bread crumbs, basil, Parmesan cheese, and tomatoes to make this dish, which I guess I'll call Tomato Basil Salmon. I paired it with brown rice and green beans and it was a hit with everyone in the house! Love that!


It was super easy to make.

Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray and place a salmon fillet on it. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Combine 1/4 c. Italian seasoned breadcrumbs with 1/4 c. shredded Parmesan cheese and sprinkle half to three fourths of it over the salmon. Take fresh basil leaves and place them over the salmon so that they mostly cover. Thinly slice a tomato and place the tomatoes over the basil. Sprinkle remaining breadcrumb/parm mixture over the tomatoes and then drizzle about 2 TBSP fat free balsamic vinaigrette over salmon. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes and then broil for 2-3 minutes.

Exhausted

Exhausted.

I think that word pretty much sums up today. After another cold and fitful night of sleep for both myself and Morgan, we woke up even earlier than yesterday for a morning "sunrise" ceremony called "Scouts Own". At least we were allowed to wear our jammies! The girls were asked to not speak from the minute we left the tents until the ceremony was over. When you factored in that many of the older troops had overslept and we had to wait for them to start, the ceremony went much longer than anticipated. Especially for sleepy girls. Who can't talk. :)

After the scouts own ceremony, we headed down to the dining hall for our last meal of Camporee. Pancakes, fruit, bacon, and yogurt awaited us as well as the hot chocolate and coffee from yesterday. Morgan was too exhausted to talk much while eating and before long, it was time for us to pack the cars up, take the tents down, and head home.

We got home around 11ish, just in time for Morgan and I to get showers before lunch. We ate lunch and then napped for a little while until it was time for me to get ready to go work Bingo for the school. Yes, I think I deserve a medal for this! ;-) A mother's work is never done.

"It's even better than I thought it would be!"

That would be a quote from Morgan after a day full of fun and sun at Camporee today. After a fitful night of sleep (thanks to the cold -- sub 30 degree temperatures all night!! -- and one little girl who called out a couple of times), the day started early with us getting the girls up and ready (complete with their Camporee shirt and pink bandannas, and their day packs ready) for Flag Up at 7am. At Flag Up, each of the troops had a cheer or chant for their role call and our troop (32511) chanted, "Two-Five-One-One, we think camping's lots of fun!", which was a chant that some of the staff girls had helped us come up with during one of the meetings they came to to tell the girls about Camporee. After the flag ceremony, it was time for our first meal at Camporee, breakfast. They had bananas, fritatta, sausages, and even hot chocolate, which Morgan was very excited about. But what was even MORE! EXCITING! is that she got to wash her own dishes. You probably remember the deal - mesh bag with your mess kit. Wash, dunk, hang? Yeah, so apparently this is a very exciting task for a five and a half year old. Who knew? Maybe I need to pull together mess kits for everyone in the family and get Morgan to do the dishes for me.

We hiked back to the soccer fields where the girls would get lined up and would be handed over to the "Pink Beard" staff girls who would lead them around the various stations that day. They did knife safety, outdoor cooking, semaphore, skit, first aid/safety, talking like a pirate, sword fighting, treasure hunting, and a service project where they were restoring a wildlife area by pulling weeds, removing dead trees and planting new ones. They had organized the stations to have activities for all the various aged girls, to tailor it to something they could and would do. This was by far, Morgan's favorite thing. She really enjoyed hanging around with the older girls and learning knew things. They had it split into morning session and afternoon session. During the morning session, the moms took shifts helping out at the service station, digging up trees and helping older girls plant trees. We stood by as our girls came to the station and watched them pull weeds. Around lunch, it was time for the Pink Beard patrol to be returned to troops and then it was time to eat lunch. There was a sandwich bar set up for lunch and after lunch the girls got a chance for some free play time with the other Girl Scouts in the landlubbers games. Morgan spent the whole time doing the catapult, and trying to hit me with the ping pong balls. :) When the landlubbers games were over, it was time for the girls to finish their rotations, and Morgan was already exhausted! She kept asking if she was going to be taking a nap. :)

The girls were off doing their stations and the moms all had free time so we went to the cafeteria and a lot of the moms made lanyards and we all chatted a bunch, mostly about school stuff. I even managed to catch a cat nap, completely by accident. Before long, it was time to go get the girls at the soccer field and head back to camp for "troop time". We were to head to dinner (cheeseburgers, corn, and salad) shortly after and then the girls would be going campfire with their patrols. They had learned a skit at one of their stations and each patrol performed their skit for the large audience. As special guests, we had some people from the school for the blind who were camping near us and came to listen to the campfire that night. Our girls did a skit called The Invisible Bench and shortly after that, we were signaled by the staff that they were "done" and ready to go back to camp to sleep. We mixed up the sleeping arrangements a little and so Kristin and Kaitlyn, Morgan and I slept in one tent with the other moms and Daisies slept in the other tent. Although it was cold (though not as cold for as long as last night), the girls were quickly asleep again!

Girls go camping

Today was our first night camping with the tiniest of Girl Scouts, our Daisies. I've had everything ready to go for a couple of days, and put the final touches on last night. Poor Bennett, wants to go camping so bad. He keeps seeing all the equipment and crying, "me go!!!". I worked in Morgan's class this morning and my friend Lara kept Bennett for me. The anxiety and excitement was starting to grow by the time school was over and I was rushing to pick up Bennett and get home. I wanted to get the kids fed and Morgan napping ASAP since we were to meet at Kristin's house at 3:30. One of the other Daisy moms was picking me up at 3, so I knew I had little time to waste.

We were ready, waiting at the curb at 3 with all our gear, even if Morgan was a little grumpy from being woken from her nap too soon. We all met at Kristin's house and waited a little bit for the one last mom and Daisy to show up and then we were off to Camporee! We were warned that the road to the camp grounds is very windy and they made no exaggerations on this matter. I was relieved that I had remembered to give Morgan her dramamine and had her wearing her anti-motion sickness wristbands. The girls got really excited as we drove into the camp grounds and the scout characteristics hung over our heads, from the trees. Now that the girls could read, it was fun for them to find them and read them. Loyalty. Cheerful. Obedience.

We pulled up to the first stop and were greeted by a woman dressed up like a pirate, getting our troop checked in and getting us the important information we needed. We parked and loaded up a wagon with gears, the girls with their gear and headed up this hill that we'd come to know and love over the next two days as we hiked up and down it to get to and from all the activities. The camp sites rested at the top of the hill and we were given what had to have been the world's smallest campsite. We had two 7 person tents to pitch in an area that *might* comfortably house one. No time to worry, we set the girls up with their dinners we had brought and got to work setting up the tents. One of the nicest things I found about the whole weekend were the older girls who had organized the whole event. They literally had 2 or 3 girls available to us the minute we got there to help us pitch our tent, take the girls to the bathroom, or do whatever we needed help with. It was so nice!

We managed to get the tents pitched, our gear trekked up hill, and everyone bundled up for campfire just in time. We hiked back down the hill to where they were attempting to light the camp fire. The girls hung out and waited for the fun to start, but were also incredibly tired and incredibly cold! Pretty soon, the staff girls (older Girl Scouts running the trip) came up and started teaching the girls songs. The girls were loving it (especially loving playing with their flashlights), but their age really showed when they all climbed into their mothers laps, one by one, wanting to warm up and whispering how tired they were. We decided it was time to get back to camp, so we hiked back up the hill, got the girls bundled up in hats and gloves and sleeping bags with blankets so sleep out there in the freezing cold. Once they were settled, Kristin stayed in the tent with them while the other moms went into the other tent to sleep. The girls were out within fifteen minutes! Amazing little campers! :)

Calling all moms

Tonight we had a moms night out. We are having the playgroups sponsor the night outs, so you at least know there are going to be some people there and so that those people will be hanging out with people they already know, even if no one else shows up. Which is a good thing. Since NOBODY SHOWS UP! I just don't get it. Apparently I'll never get it. I'm a social person - love going out and doing things with my family and friends. I would think that at least 10% of a group of women would be something like me. Or at least have a desire to get out of the house at night for some time with other moms, not having to worry about who your child is pushing or what they have their tongue on.

So tonight, my playgroup was sponsoring the moms night out. We planned a night out at the bowling alley and looked for a date that would work for everyone in our playgroup. We planned it and a grand total of FOUR people, including me showed up. Now, I do realize that things come up and people can't always follow through with their intentions, and I'm not mad or upset about it. I'm just more baffled. I mean, if you were to talk to the women in the moms club, they would tell you how much they need a girls night out. I'm confident that it would be at least 75% of the women that would say that yes, they need a girls night out. But when it comes down to it, they don't come.

Now, we still had a great time. In fact, we were so busy talking that we had a hard time remembering who's turn it was to bowl. Heck, Melissa, who is super pregnant, wasn't even bowling and still came just to hang out. In fact, due to her influences, we ended up at Chili's splitting some chips and queso and molten lava cake. We closed the place down chatting about everything from our kids, to our in laws and relatives to facebook.

I've been trying to figure it out for the past four or five years that I've been on the board for the moms club. We've tried various things to make it easier (later evening coffee and conversation, a movie where you don't have to have awkward conversations, free hiking, dinners and brand new restaurants, etc) and the turn out is always consistently low. We've checked with surrounding mothers clubs, those that have five times as many members and percentage wise, they are having about the same kind of turn out as we are.

I just don't get it. Don't these moms need to get out? I mean, it could be that they are able to get out regularly with their husbands, but even still - don't they want to hang out with their mom friends? I know I love bouncing stuff off of my mom friends. And that story about how Bennett got a hold of the lighter is way much more fun to tell over a margarita or two.

If you are a mom, please let me know -- do you get out regularly? Do you get out with other moms? If so, why do you do it. If not, why? What would make it easier or better to get out? Inquiring minds want to know!

Overcoming fear

All of us have fears. Some rational, some not so rational. Some founded, some not founded. Fears like spiders, or lightening storms, or maybe earthquakes. Or gas grills. Yes, you read that correctly. Laugh, if you will, but there *is* a story to go along with it.

The year was 1996. I think. Or maybe 1997. Hell, I'm too old to remember the year, but it's fairly inconsequential anyway. The setting was my apartment, shared with four other people. Yes, four. This was California. I was poor, having just moved out from Auburn. We were having one of our infamous parties, where there was far too much cider and beer consumed. I went out to light the grill so that we could get the ribs going. I lifted the grill cover and checked inside. I pressed the button that said IGNITE and then turned the knobs that said gas. I closed the cover and went back inside to finish preparing for the party. I made some wraps and had just grabbed one, to taste the efforts of my labor, as I headed out to the patio to check on the grill.

Hmm. Something was wrong, I didn't hear the flames. With one hand, I opened the lid and I leaned over the grates to see what was going on. When I didn't see any flames, I shoved the wrap in my mouth and with my other hand, pressed the IGNITE button again. It all happened very quickly. The clicking of the ignition, the poof of the gas as a bubble of gas flamed out of the grill and right at me. All I knew was that I had obviously burned my face off. I ran inside screaming, while trying to quickly chew and swallow the wrap that was in my mouth. Lance came running over to me asking what was wrong. I was screaming "I BURNED MY FACE!!", but all he heard was "MA MUU MA MAAAA" since I was still mouthing the wrap. When he stopped panicking and looked at me, checking out my face for the first time, his eyes stopped at mine. He said, "What happened to you??" Oh dear Lord!!

I ran to the bathroom, still trying to swallow this wrap that had somehow expanded to twice it's size. I hesitated for a moment, bracing for what I was sure was going to be second or third degree burns, all pink and bloody. When I looked, I didn't see much. I got closer to the mirror and realized that my eyelashes and eyebrows had been completely singed. Finally, swallowing the wrap, I was able to relay to Lance what had happened. He told me how lucky I was, because basically I had set myself up for that gas bomb by turning the gas on and leaving the lid closed. It was at that point that I realized that the grill was a man's territory and that I now had a healthy fear of it.

Fast forward to today. Today was my first day, conquering my fear of the gas grill. I've been observing it's use for over ten years now. Watching from a distance. I've asked question after question about the hows and whys of what you do with the grill. I've never before even attempted to light a grill, however, since The Great Eyelash Singe of '96 (or '97). But the other day, with Lance's new grill, I had him walk me through the process. The dos and the don'ts. Really, it's pretty simple if you understand basic CHEMISTRY and PHYSICS. So, tonight, I went out and faced my fears. I marinated some pork chops and when the time came, I took a deep breath, stood back and lit the grill. Victory is mine! Watch out world. The grill is a whole new genre for me to play with!! :)

Be prepared

I spent the better part of the day going from store to store. Not like a fun, hey let's run over to Nordie's shopping trip. Nooo, this one included stores like Dom's Outdoor Outfitter, Orchard Supply Hardware, and Walmart. Far from fun, but I'm making progress on the crazy long list of items needed for upcoming Girl Scout Camporee weekend. Things like ponchos, compasses, light sticks, emergency whistles and day packs. We were warned to pack light (as the girls have to haul their own gear), but yet this long list of things we need doesn't really lend itself to that sentiment.

Nevertheless, I have begun the process of packing. Good thing I'm crazy about having lots of Ziploc bags on hand, because EVERYTHING is going in a Ziploc bag. I mean, not only does it help compact clothes and stuff, but also? Despite having completely warm and wonderful weather for several days now, we are expecting the weather to turn cold, and worse....WET! The forecast is showing potential showers all weekend.

As I'm packing things up, Morgan is getting more and more excited about the trip. We've discussed ad nauseum the plan for when we are leaving, where we are going, who's going to be there. We've discussed activities there and how we'll eat and all these kinds of things. However, I am thinking that nothing I can do or say is going to truly prepare her or me for a weekend of first time scout camping.

I know it's the boy scout motto, but I'm stealing it for this weekend. Be prepared. That's my plan.

Morning with my Melissas

I've spoken about my two friends, both of whom are named Melissa. One Melissa (MW) I've known for about three years, having really gotten to know her through the moms club when I was pregnant with Bennett. She was on the board for the club at the same time I was and I remember meeting her for the first time at a movie night. The other Melissa (MA) I've known for almost two years, having met her at a new members social, where I shamelessly stole her from another playgroup to include her into Bennett's playgroup. I love them both, so what better way to spend a spring morning, than with the two of them?

I met the first Melissa at the sports park to get some exercise with our little guys in tow. Brandon is about six months younger than Bennett, but they've known each other practically since birth since Melissa and I have done mixed age playgroups and traveling playgroups together with our older children since the little guys were wee ones. Melissa took her oldest, Collin, to Disneyland and also took a getaway trip with her husband over spring break. That meant that she was away from Brandon most of the week and when she told me that she wanted to get some exercise but didn't want to leave him at the gym in the morning, it seemed like the perfect way to catch up with her while we were also able to spend some time with our little guys. I drove to the Sports Park in Pleasanton and we made a couple laps around before it was time for me to go. It was nice to have a change in scenery and to have time to catch up with a great friend!

From the Sports Park, I scooted on over to my other Melissa's house for some adult chatting while we watched Bennett and Clare play in the water. Melissa and I, kicking back on the patio, sipping water and watching them play. I love that I am able to do this. What a charmed life I lead, huh? Here are some cute as ever pictures of Bennett and Clare having fun in the water!

Lazy, spring FUN!

This morning, though I tried, I could not muster up the energy it took to get showered, dressed and to church on time. Blame it on the week after week of activities, or blame it on the allergy-ridden dog who whined incessantly all night. Whatever the problem, I was unsuccessful in finding that energy. Rather than fight against it, I decided to spend the day enjoying the warm weather and my family. I grabbed a cup of coffee and my laptop and downloaded pictures while supervising the kids in their painting and play and supervised my husband in his trimming of bushes in our back yard.

Ever since Morgan built her bird house with Lance and my dad, she's been begging to paint it. I mean, we'll have like 10 minutes before bed and she'll ask if she can paint. Ummm, not quite that simple, my dear! So, we decided this morning was a good time to let her paint it. Of course, that meant allowing Bennett to paint something also since what is done for one must be done for the other. I want you to notice the levels of drop clothes I have going on for Bennett. Ha! And the paint is even washable. No, I'm not anal at all. Also, please note the reuse of the Easter egg dying cups for paint. Brilliant, right? Wish I could say it was my idea, but no, it was my husband searching for yet another reason to not throw something out.

While I was out there with such coverage over the deck, I decided that, heck, it wasn't messy enough. Let's pull out the moon sand! I try not to let the mess get to me too much, after all we ARE outside and the ARE kids. I remember being super stoked as a kid because on occasion, we would be allowed to finger paint. I didn't realize why we didn't get to do it ALL THE TIME before I became a mother. Now I understand. But, in keeping with recreating my own childhood for my own children, I want them to enjoy these special treats occasionally. I guess that's what makes them special??


When you have a messy situation, including some paint and moon sand, what is the perfect ingredient to add??

WATER!




Since I was too lazy to get ready for church, you know I was too lazy to actually fix lunch. This is where my wonderful hubby comes in. He offers to grill burgers for us to enjoy al fresco. Mmmmm. So the kids come over, dripping from the sprinkler and sit down to enjoy some juicy burgers fresh off the grill. Mmmmm. We can't wait for summer!


We went inside and the kids got baths and went down for naps while Lance and I enjoyed some down time before the mothers club Spring Party. When the kids were up, it was time to head to the party, where -- in keeping with the theme of laziness -- there was a dinner of pizza and veggies and fruit awaiting us. Not to mention, Morgan's all time favorite kids' performer, James K. Bennett even got into it this year, enjoying the songs and movements. :)




A good way to end a lazy spring day, because when we were done, it was time to go home and get the kids ready for bed. Doesn't get much better than that!

My evening in pictures.

Life is good. Life is very good.

Star power baby shower

Today was my friend Melissa's baby shower. I think everyone had a good time, and it was only mildly embarrassing to her to have so much fuss and ado to be made. Things went off without a hitch, so that's nice! Her mom and her aunts were all so wonderful with their help and all the yummy food. There are far too many pictures from the shower, but here are a few just to give a general sense of it. It was Hollywood themed. Here was the first draft of the invitation...

The setup out front with the limo parking (her brother picked her up and drove her to her mom's house), red carpet and adoring fans/paparazzi, and her arrival. The best moment of her arrival was when one of the paparazzi (Cindy) shouted out, "Melissa, how does it feel to be carrying Marshall's baby??!!" Everyone got a good giggle out of that one. :)


Inside, we had the fine china out and the tables decorated with confetti and favors. I had a hard time tying the bows onto the frames we gave out as favors, so I tied them like a necktie instead!


We had two tables set up outside where everyone could have fun while drinking some champagne (or sparkling cider!) and having hors d'oeuvres. One area was with precut scrapbooking supplies, and every guest had their picture made with Melissa and they decorated a page to put their picture on. Fun! The other station was our "Project Runway" where there were tons of fabric pens, paint, buttons, fabric, etc. that could be used to decorate onesies (mine is the one with the vest!). We also had a spot for "Pin the baby on Angelina", but we never got around to giving her babies. :)

















Inside, there was food and cake, more decorations, and even a celebrity baby name matching game.








Overall I think everyone had a good time, and I sure did have fun planning it! Melissa got some super cute boys clothes and her Joovy Caboose stroller she'd settled on. I wanted to make sure her shower was memorable, and I think I accomplished that. :)

Preparing for the weekend

The weather is due to turn really nice and warm for the weekend and I decided to take the day to prepare for the weekend. Tomorrow is Melissa's baby shower and I know I'll want to come home and hang out in the back yard with the family afterwards. So, I spent all morning mowing the lawn, pulling weeds, teaching Morgan how to pick up dog poop (which is, unbelievably, a really fun thing for her to do -- she was begging me to do it, so don't go calling CPS), and washing down EVERYTHING. All the cushions got cleaned, the patio furniture, heck, even the kids got a good hose down. :) It was very cute, Bennett kept laughing and running towards me saying, "don't get me wet!!" LOL

I cleared off the deck from all the residual crap my husband has been collecting and organized and set out toys for the kids to play with outside. I hauled the old grill out to be thrown out and cleaned all around the new one. The water fountain is flowing, the sun is shining. Summer is on it's way!

After all this work, didn't end up getting the kids down for their naps until 4pm!! Whoops! We didn't eat lunch until 3 though! Guess that's what happens when you are having fun, huh?

Tonight, I took my stuff over to Melissa's mom's house for the baby shower tomorrow. Need to get a good night sleep because I'm really looking forward to tomorrow!

Our first big outing of the season!

As the weather gets nicer and summer draws nearer, I yearn for the carefree days of going wherever we want, whenever we want. I love going to new places and exploring them with the kids and I also like going back to some of our favorites. Today, we took our first trip of the season, to Gilroy Gardens. This amusement park is perfect because it's small enough to do in a day, has lots of rides for the five and under crowd, and it never gets too packed with people, even during spring break! We went with my friend Melissa and her daughter Clare and we had a great time! Even the trip home, with my two non-stop talkers was funny. :)

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the day.

A different park for a change

Day three of Spring Break and the weather is finally starting to get a titch warmer and a little less windy. We met for Bennett's playgroup at a super cute park that I had all but forgotten about since the days of Morgan's toddlerhood. Osage Station Park in Danville is a super cute park with a train that the kids had a ton of fun pretending they were headed to Disneyland on. We spent ALL morning at the park, ate lunch and then headed out as little eyes were getting tired. Love a great morning at the park!

Bennett's 2 year well check

Today, after my parents left for the airport, we saw our beloved pediatrician for Bennett's two year well check. I was sad to hear Bennett asking if he could go with "Meemaw and Peepaw" to the airport, but promised him fun times at the doctor's office!

His stats were 33.75 inches (50th percentile) and 30 pounds (shot up to 75th percentile). He's still steady on his growth curve, on track to be around Lance's height. Developmentally, Bennett is far beyond where he should be, just turning two. He is closer to 2.5 or 3, and that includes all the negative stuff as well. He's extremely talkative, continuing to blow our pediatrician away. The doctor promised another six to nine months of "the terrible twos", but failed to mention anything about the "torturous threes", which were worse for me than the twos with Morgan. Maybe he's getting it all out of his system now? The doctor reinforced that our consistent discipline is what will help us get through this and that it will take a lot of patience as Bennett continues to test us. He claims that even though Bennett is more difficult than Morgan was, he is still really good, compared to other kids, so I'm REALLY GLAD I don't have those other kids. :)

We also talked briefly about the nap situation with Morgan and he reinforced what I kind of instinctively have known, my daughter just might be one of those kids that needs more sleep. I don't need to worry about weaning her now, there's plenty of time for her to adjust later. Whew!

At the end of the appointment, Bennett got his Hep A shot, kicked the nurse, and then both kids got lollipops and we were off!

Ushering in Spring Break

Today was not only the last day of my parents' visit with us, but also happened to be the first day of Spring Break. Wanting to take full advantage, I planned a trip to the Lindsay Wildlife Museum this morning.

Before leaving for the museum, my mom and I hit the gym for a little exercise. Not really knowing what to do, we happened into a Step class. Now, Step is not normally my thing, but my mom seemed interested, so we gave it a shot. Except this was no normal step class where you are just up and down on the same step. Noooooo. This was what they call "Four Step". Basically, you do all the movements between four different steps. The instructor calls out which step to go to along with the movement. Not having taken a Step class before, there was a little bit of a learning curve to figure out what a basic right or shooter was, but I figured it out. Not only was this a good physical workout, but it was a good mental workout also. My mom and I both really enjoyed the class! After getting showers and heading home, we picked up my dad and we all headed to Walnut Creek to the wildlife museum.


The museum is pretty small, so we were able to see it all in just a couple of hours. The kids really enjoyed seeing all the birds and snakes, lizards and turtles. The highlights included watching the bobcat get fed and petting the bunny. But the big fun came after we left and went to JACK IN THE BOX for lunch. Because I've apparently never taken my kids there and that is equivalent to some sort of child deprivation. Morgan kept talking about how great it was to be eating there. LOL

After naps, the weather was nice enough to get the kids out to expend some energy before requesting that they sit nicely at a restaurant for dinner. So, my mom and I took them to a nearby park and they had fun. After, they were actually fairly good at dinner. Nice way to start off Spring break!