Houghs and Stuff

First game

2012-01-14T17:20:00.000-08:00

It was a great fun time at the first basketball game of the season, despite the fact that our Dunkin' Divas (their choice of name, of course) were beat by quite a bit. Cali was only upset for a little while, and we are hoping that it will inspire her to play a little better next week. I had forgotten since last season how easy it is to get caught up over a bunch of little girls running around. We were yelling our heads off!

Cali is lucky #14...must be a Peterson. She is 4 sticks and a skinny little body compared to the other girls on her team. One of these days she'll fill out, but don't hold your breath.

Babysitting

2012-01-01T17:35:00.000-08:00

We had a great time babysitting our little niece this week. It was a weird flashback to when Grey was born as the age gap between the 3 kids is the same. The only difference was that it was harder to get the infant car seat into the middle of the truck with another car seat beside it. It was so fun to snuggle a soft little warm head again! After the 24 hours that we had her were over, however, I think we have all decided that we are not ready to change our family dynamics by adding a 3rd child. It just took so much away from thing one and thing two, it made us sad. Better to stick with what we have and concentrate the resources, so to speak, and steal Reagan every chance we can get.

Goodness

2011-12-21T05:56:00.001-08:00

I haven't blogged in so long! We had a series of things going on that were not conducive to blogging, but I am still here, never fear. Our old camera finally turned in its resignation, and we were researching and buying and learning how to use our fancy new camera. James decided to spend the money he earned teaching classes at the Ft.Worth Modern to buy a super sweet model with big lenses and all this complicated stuff I still don't understand so that he can take better pictures of his artwork. So it took me a while to figure out the new photo system, plus our computer had some kind of melt down and James had to wipe the hard drive and update the op system and when all was said and done and finally worked again, I had to spend a lot of time sorting digital data and (as my dad likes to say) getting organized. On top of that I got a promotion at work and we have house guests for the holidays, so I have been busy! I think we have Christmas in the bag, just a few last minute items to finish. We did not go overboard this year, which is a nice change. As usual, out Christmas tree is starting to sag and get crispy, despite frequent watering. Anyone have tips on how to keep a live tree fresh all the way to Christmas? I think maybe the heater speeds the drying process. Anyway, lots to do still. I only have to work tomorrow and then I am off for the holidays, yipee! I need to put up a Christmas card post. With everything going on I haven't sent out any Christmas cards or changed my blog background. Today we are going to the movies, making ornaments, shopping, waiting for my brother and his family to show up, playing games, and making super yummy fish tacos for dinner. Who has time for it all?

Thanksgiving feast

2011-11-18T14:52:00.000-08:00

Today was Grey's last day of school before Thanksgiving break, so his class had a party. They got to shuck their own corn, make a turkey, and dress up in costumes they had made the previous day. They also made fun necklaces, but what that has to do with Thanksgiving, I don't know. We are loving Grey's school and especially his teacher, and I was feeling very thankful as I watched them interacting together today. Grey's teacher is always right there, cuing them in on how to listen and learn. It's great. And she seems to love her three little students as much as they love her, which is saying something as all 3 of them are still cute, loveable, innocent little chickadees.

Here they are getting started on their turkeys.

And the finished product, soon to be centerpiece, I am sure.

In his Indian costume, ready to eat.

Yum! Our little vegetarian wouldn't touch the turkey with a ten foot pole.

Today

2011-11-14T07:05:00.000-08:00

I think Grey's 4 immunizations caught up with him today. He fell asleep at breakfast and again on the potty, then ran to the kitchen and barfed in the trash can. He is fever free, just lethargic and whiny. Now he is absorbed in giving monkey and woobie equal snuggle time on the futon. No school for him today, and I had to cancel my hair appointment and my Christmas shopping plan. Boo. At least it is a REALLY nice day outside, and I can tackle thinning my garden.
I let Cali and Grey plant the (second choice after the hail destroyed my first one) fall garden, thinking that it probably wouldn't come to much since it was so late. They planted beets and turnips and greens and garlic, but they used the toss-the-seeds method, so now I have a ton of turnips and greens sprouting so close together it looks like clover. They did a bit better on the beets (too small to see sprouting in the pic), but I will still have to thin like mad. I am also planning on planting my tulips this week, as they are almost done with their 6 week stint in the refrigerator, though I don't see how putting them in the 72 degree soil is going to be a good thing. I've never planted tulips before, so I guess we'll see how it goes. In the meantime, we are still eating eggplants, we have a nice batch of sage and rosemary to use in our Thanksgiving dinner, and we are eating lovely in season pomegranates from the farmer's market. Yum!

Family game night

2011-11-13T07:22:00.000-08:00

For fun Friday this week we got in our jammies and played some serious games. James picked Sorry, Grey picked "no" (Uno), and Cali picked chutes and ladders. We had forbidden Pop Tarts and tea for munchies, and much laughing occurred. It is hilarious to watch the emotions, the highs and lows that a board game can bring about in these kids, they get so wrapped up in it. Luckily, there was no bad sporting, just a couple of heartfelt oh no's, etc. Good times.

Clean up time

2011-11-08T10:55:00.000-08:00

While Cali was away at school today, James, Grey, and I tackled the enormous task of cleaning Cali's room. Don't get me wrong, she is responsible for cleaning her room, but her 8 year old methods leave a lot to be desired, and every now and then we have to do a major reorganization. It is a daunting task but it always ends up making me laugh and smile. There are so many things crammed away in places no sane person would think to cram things...candy wrappers stuffed into a shoe, several broken crayons in the pouch of a stuffed kangaroo, lump of chewed bubble gum on the end of a pencil (trying to use as an eraser, or just saving for another day?), purse inside bigger purse inside even bigger purse. Sigh. So, we go through and make a trash pile, a hand-me-down pile, and a goodwill pile. It is so hard to know what to do with it all! On the one hand, the 18 hand drawn puppets taped to bamboo skewers are cute, and provided both kids with lots of giggly fun, but can we really keep them forever? Cali would argue yes, which is why this must be done while she is away. When she comes home from school and sees how clean her room is she is always happy, and she functions better as well. If she has well organized space, she uses the things in her room more often and plays in there more instead of constantly dragging stuff all over the rest of the house. The volume of stuff that we get rid of is amazing. Where does it all come from?!!?? Some of the better items found in this go-round were:
1) A handwritten/drawn menu to Blueberry Hill, our favorite pancake house in Las Vegas
2) A letter to the Ft.Worth zoo explaining how she was setting up a campaign to help them raise money
3) A home made "spy box" full of all sorts of interesting things (pic below)
4) A report on London that talked about things like mint sauce on roasted lamb and the 'tube'
5) A bottle cap full of small hair bands (being used as a tiny doggy dish of food)
6) A tiny pillow made from a fabric scrap, a stapler, and a bit of toilet paper (pic below)

Cleaning her room is like a scary yet fun adventure. Good times. Don't even get me started on the contents of her desk drawer.........

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T18:17:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone had a safe and fun Halloween night! Grey didn't last too long before he started asking us to carry him. Cali was disgusted and could have gone all night! Here are a few highlight pics. First, Grey's class at the pumpkin patch...

Spiderman and Laguna Blue

Laguna Blue carries around her pet piranha in a fishbowl purse, so James painted it onto Cali's trick or treat pumpkin to complete the costume.

With our cute little neighbor friend.

Inspecting the loot and chowing down. I like how Grey loses pieces of his costume as the night wears on...

Our three pumpkins. Grey requested Orange Bob Pumpkin Pants, so that is what the top pumpkin is supposed to look like, then we have a bat and a scardey-pumpkin.

Happy 4th Birthday!

2011-10-25T14:32:00.000-07:00

Sniff....Grey has turned 4, and I will never have a 3 year old again. I love 3, it's my favorite. But, time moves on and kids grow up, and Grey had 3 different celebrations to mark his saying goodbye to 3. Here is the last picture of my 3 year old.

And the first picture of my 4 year old, having a morning birthday doughnut.

We had a great party at my brother's house, very laid back and easy.

James made a Robin cake that Grey loved.

Grey picked a purple and pink bouncy house for the backyard and the kids bounced on and off for a couple days.

Then he had a celebration at school with a girl from his class that is the exact same age.

Grey keeps saying, "Now that I'm a 4 years old I can (fill in the blank with things he can't actually do by himself yet.)" It's pretty funny. Grey's favorite presents this year were everything superhero themed, and a garbage truck that you can dump trash into which has already become a "super garbage truck" run by the Hulk and Spiderman. He also has a target gift card burning a hole in his pocket, and I am sure he will buy some type of human torch x-man super guy. :) Maybe 4 isn't so bad.....

Feeling mighty Texan

2011-10-16T15:55:00.001-07:00

Saturday found us doing an art booth in a little town called Celina. That's Se-LINE-uh for all you non-Texans out there, emphasis on the liiiiiine. We had a good time, to say the least. They were celebrating their centennial, and also sort of celebrating the fact that they finally got a McDonald's to open in town. Not exactly something I would be celebrating, but to each their own. They had a parade, which consisted of good old boy after good old boy showing off their Farmall tractors through the ages, some horses and riders, and a few old cars and firetrucks. The kids loved it! They also had some funny little shops around the square where we scored items such as 10 cent comic books and 50 cent soda pops. James was stuck drawing portraits all day, leaving me and the munchkins free to wander and enjoy the country bands, tour the fire trucks, and chit chat with the locals. It was an anthropological dream come true. There was also an appearance by Ronald McDonald (my kids wouldn't go near him), as much free birthday cake as you could stomach, and a book sale at the library (which was about as big as my living room) selling books for 10 cents each. As you can imagine, Cali came home with MANY books. We found ourselves unprepared when Grey suddenly stopped in the middle of the street and yelled, "I can't hear any of you!" Both of his batteries were dead, and I had not brought any spares. I looked around and asked the nearest friendly small town police officer where the Walgreen's was, and he smiled at me. Then I asked where the Wal-Mart was and he just laughed. It looked like I was driving back toward Dallas if I wanted my son to be able to hear, but small town friendliness saved the day. The officer walked over to a man nearby and asked him if his store had hearing aid batteries to which the man replied, "Yes, what size do you need?" I told him and he told me how to drive to the store. I thanked him and started to round up kids, car seats, and the truck, (we had to drive both vehicles to haul all the booth stuff and all of us) but by the time I had everything ready to go, the man walked up to me, handed me the pack of batteries, and wouldn't take my money. He said he had his employee run them over for us. Later, he came back by and asked Grey if he could hear now, and Grey looked up at him and said, "YES!" It was super sweet. If only they had a Chuy's, I might be tempted to move there.....here is a shot of the parade.

The kids outside the library

Of course I have to throw in a shot of the okra and the eggplants. I made a mean mess of stewed okra and tomatoes a few nights ago. I caught both my kids saying y'all and yes ma'am this weekend....I tell you, I'm feeling mighty Texan....I think all that is left to do is teach them the pledge of allegiance for the Texas flag, and we'll be all set. In fact, I am pretty sure Grey will learn that one first, because it is much shorter than the national one!

Visiting weekend

2011-10-10T21:13:00.000-07:00

Haven't blogged for a while as I have been working two full time jobs, not something I would recommend to anyone who wants to lead a happy life.....Luckily, to end those two dreadful weeks, we had a quick visit from some out of towners, and it sure was fun. We finally got to check out Legoland Discovery Center, ate some excellent Tex-Mex, and watched the kids have a great time! The mini-Musketeers had a blast together, and Grey was one sad dude when everyone went home.

My okra plants finally started producing, so now we are quitting all the eggplant eating we've been doing, and are thinking up good uses for okra. This is my first attempt at okra pickles, and I have already learned that I didn't pack them in hard enough, as you can see in the picture of the floating okra. Live and learn!

Funny girl

2011-10-02T19:01:00.000-07:00

Some things I want to get down here so I won't forget them...Cali informed us today that she is going to read War and Peace. She got to page 42 by the time I got home from work, and told me about what she had read so far, something about a fancy gathering and a princess. I can't really judge if she is understanding it at all, having never read it myself, but regardless, it's pretty cool that she picked it up and made it 42 pages in. She cracks me up. I was trying to get her into bed, and while she was supposed to be doing her bedtime routine, I caught her reading on the potty with her underwear still up--she is an expert at stalling. Then, she asked me, "Do stones have bones?" And Grey, who ran up to me and did a funny dance, explaining that 'this is the dance I have to do when I have chocolate on my face.' Love it.

Finished

2011-09-27T06:06:00.000-07:00

Eggplant, dress

2011-09-23T11:57:00.000-07:00

Ha ha, the title of this post made me want to sew an eggplant dress. If only I could find some fabric with eggplants on it. :) Hard to see in the pic, I guess, but from this perspective you can see 11 eggplants. Yum!Little purple baby dress for incoming baby girl, on it's way to sunny California as soon as I finish the matching shoes.

Sewing

2011-09-20T18:51:00.001-07:00

I'm all on fire about this cute new project, but as you can see, I don't have much time to myself for sewing. My plan is to perfect these little shoes so that I can whip out a pair out in an hour. I also have a pattern for a cute little summery dress that I can make to match the shoes, but I haven't done it yet because I don't want to bother with making bloomers to go with. Never mind the fact that baby shoes are entirely useless, and that people probably don't want some random pair of shoes, I just enjoy making them. P.S. Grey is not naked in this pic, he has on his robot unders and was refusing to put on his jammies.

One done, one to go. This is my first attempt, and I already have 3 improvements in mind.

Finished. I butchered the flower, next one will be lots better. Or it won't be a flower. Maybe it will be a cherry. Or a ribbon. Or a sparkly jewel. Hmmmm.

Did I mention they are reversible? I just used fabric I had laying around for these since they are the prototype, but can you imagine what fun reversible combos I could come up with? I can't wait!

Bread

2011-09-16T06:44:00.000-07:00

Last week I bought a $6 loaf of cranberry walnut bread at Central Market because there was a slight chill in the air, so of course my thoughts turned to baked goods. It was super yummy and my family polished it right off, but I was aghast that it was so small and cost so much. Thus, a new mission to make my own artisan cranberry walnut bread. I combined several recipes and techniques to make this boule yesterday. It started out looking correct after the second rise, but then when I put it in the oven, instead of maintaining a nice shape it kind of baked out and up, resembling a tall, lumpy football in the end. And, the crust never got as nice and crackly brown as I wanted it to. Tastes good, though, and the texture is nice and chewy, just what I was going for. I think the next version will have more cranberries and just a pinch of sugar. Here, looking decent while rising...

and here, a little too tall and not as crusty on the crust as I would like. But, I made it last night and it is almost gone this morning, so it must not be all that bad. I still have enough starter for 3, no 2 more loaves. I forgot I let Grey play with the 3rd piece and now it is history. :)

Funny boy

2011-09-15T17:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Grey tried to go to school like this...

then like this...

and finally went sans any costume (thanks to me), declaring that "That's not fun, Mom."

Twinner lunches

2011-09-13T20:14:00.000-07:00

Grey has always delighted in the idea of a lunchbox, and now that he has started preschool, it is to his utmost pleasure that I have to pack him one 3 days a week. Not because he is at school long enough to have lunch, but because his school is so far away, by the time we get home lunchtime would be over. So, he gets to spend the long drive home happily discovering his lunchbox. And I actually love making them because I can cram in a bunch of healthy real food and they have no choice but to eat it! Score! I love a creative lunch (yes, I have been known to turn carrot slices into stars and moons) but I must admit we sometimes get a pbj fold-over and a juice box if I make lunch in the morning. Everyone is too cranky and rushed in the morning, so I make lunches the night before, and all is well. Same lunch, different box. Love the whole wheat muffins for lunchboxes...sturdy, healthy, filling, kids love them. Also a big hit is the yogurt with banana slices and flaxseed. And I find that the kids eat all their veggies if I give them a variety. Send a whole dish of carrots and half of them come home, but send 3 carrots, two bell peppers, and 4 celery moons, and one tiny bit of cauliflower, and they all get eaten. Ditto with the fruit. Don't even think about trying to send a banana. It will come back smushed and brown. Sigh.

Discussion over breakfast

2011-09-08T14:35:00.000-07:00

Grey: Is Hagrid from Harry Potter a boy?
Me: Yes, he is a half-giant boy.
G: Is he half blue?
M: No, he is half giant.
G: Is his house giant?
M: No, it is big enough for him to get in, but it is a hut, a small house.
G: Oh. When I have 19, no 18 birthdays, can I watch Harry Potter?
M: Yes.
G: Why does the fridge-uh-later have a mouth?
M: Uhhhh......

I love parenting little people. This conversation went on in this vein for a while.....

1st day of preschool

2011-09-07T11:40:00.000-07:00

It went so well! Grey marched right in, pointing the way, and showed James his classroom. He was the first kid there, so he had a few minutes to adjust to his surroundings before any new faces came in, and he had his monkey with him for comfort, so it was all good. Taking monkey was a great idea because when we got home, monkey told woobie all about his first day of school. Monkey is allowed to go back on Friday for the teddy bear picnic, then he will stay at home from there on out. We received a deck of flashcards for vocabulary (pictures his teacher took of the school and actual things in their environment) and the first month's curriculum. As James and I looked it over, it had me wishing that all of life were as easy as preschool curriculum. This month they color is red, the number is 1, the letters are m, p, and r, the shape is a circle, and the theme is family and school. Nice. Grey already knows all of this, of course, but we aren't really focused on content, more on listening and following directions, and interactions within a classroom. Grey told us about snack time today. He said he had to help the other kids get snack, and that he had to ask for what he wanted. Then, after he had eaten it, he could get more and more and more, just by talking nice! Perfect! We were amused to see that for February, the color is pink and the shape is a heart. I guess you have to learn to associate October with orange at some point in life. Here he is all ready to go.Showing us the way in.

Checking out the toys before school started.

Night terrors

2011-09-06T11:40:00.000-07:00

Am I the only lucky one who has a child who experiences night terrors from time to time? I have never heard any of the parents I know talk about this creepy phenomenon, with the exception of my mother-in-law in regards to my husband when he was a little boy. I guess I have his DNA to thank for the fun times in the middle of the night when Cali is pacing the house, sweaty, pale, tachycardic, crying and screaming on and off. If you have never had the joy of this experience, let me just tell you it is the height of creepy. Your normally loving, sweet little girl is gazing at you seemingly awake, eyes wide open, but unable to recognize you as her mommy, is given no comfort from her terror from you. In fact, she is scared of you and does not want you to touch her or talk to her. She only wants to pace and scream and look at you as if you are about to chop her head off. Creep-E. Last night, she came barreling out of her room fully dressed in the outfit I had set out for her for school. I asked her if she was okay and she yelled no, then took off running. I tried to get her back into bed, out of her school clothes, and back into her jammies, but she freaked out every time I tried to touch her. I tried to talk to her calmly, soothingly, telling her that mamma was right here and everything was safe and fine, but she can't listen when she is having one of these episodes. She just mutters nonsensical things and cries and sweats. I think her pulse was somewhere near 190, too fast to count. Anyway, as always happens after 10 or 15 minutes of this business, she slowed her breathing down and appeared to be asleep again. This has happened maybe 7 times in her life and it weirds me out every time. I hate it! I like to think that I am super mommy and can make my kids feel better no matter what, but I am useless to her during a night terror. She had her first one at age 3, when she woke us up screaming, then when we ran into her room she was huddled in the corner, eyes big as saucers, looking at James and I like we were scary strangers. I remember asking her if she knew my name and she didn't. Then I asked her if she knew her own name and she didn't know that, either. Weird. And she never remembers anything at all the next morning. Everything is fine and dandy. Dr.Internet says she is probably sleep deprived or stressed out. As her life is fairly fluffy and easy, I'm leaning toward sleep deprived since she frequently will not turn her light off, stop reading, and go to sleep. We've taken away her light bulb in the past....I think she maybe isn't back into the school morning routine yet. At any rate, she was fine this morning. I always ask her the next morning if she had a bad dream last night, and she has always said no in the past, but this morning she said she thought she had a dream about Grey getting squished by a car, so maybe that is what set her off. Poor baby. Looks like an earlier bedtime for her!

77 Degrees!

2011-09-05T09:26:00.000-07:00

Woo-hoo! We woke up this morning and were chilly! It's a miracle. I took the kids outside at 8:30 and Cali ran back inside yelling, "It's freezing out there!" Ahhh, I guess she's a true Texan now. I'm sure this nice spell won't last too long, but today we were gardening, riding bikes, and climbing trees like crazy. Currently, the kids are outside pretending to be homeless people and James is pretending to be a homeless shelter handing out sandwiches. The windows are open, the breeze is wonderful, and I have that yearly sense of waking up again out of a long, hot stupor. I know this isn't fall for real YET, but I have a certain spring in my step today, a little extra energy that comes from not having to do my grocery shopping in a 110 degree car/parking lot. Yes! Soon it will be time to pull out all the lovely orange, red, yellow, and brown things, listen to James Taylor and Sophie B. Hawkins (I somehow got conditioned into associating this music with fall, and can now only listen to it then, much like Christmas music during the holidays), scout out a pumpkin patch, and make apple pie, applesauce, apple rings, and apple cider!

Garden bounty

2011-09-02T17:08:00.000-07:00

Eggplants! The only thing (non herb) still producing. My okra is as tall as Grey, but has yet to flower. Waiting and seeing.

Reading

2011-09-02T11:44:00.000-07:00

I have been putting together some Montessori type jobs for Grey to work on. Of course, they are not as good as the real deal, but they are free and still educational, so we are working with what we have. Grey is doing so well with his reading, but we have not worked as much with numbers, so I guess that is the next topic to focus on. He can do basic counting but that is about it. I don't have any great ideas for preschool math ideas/games, I guess I need to do some research.

Great site

2011-09-01T17:03:00.001-07:00

I found a great page on the AG Bell website for getting ready for the new school year with your HOH kid.

https://nc.agbell.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=1323

They have all sorts of tips and a Q&A with a school audiologist. Good stuff.

A bit of bragging

2011-08-31T17:30:00.000-07:00

So, as many of you know, Cal just started 3rd grade. She has been doing some testing this week and brought home this assessment today....

"Based on the national norms, Cali reads at a level equal to that for a typical seventh grader after the sixth month of the school year. Cali reads at a level greater than 99% of other students nationally in the same grade." So proud! No wonder we can't keep that kid in books.

School!

2011-08-31T16:27:00.000-07:00

Big news!!! We found an auditory verbal preschool for Grey!! At the last moment, I was advised by my mom to call our local chapter of AG Bell just to see if there was a preschool that might be better for a HOH kiddo in the area, and sure enough! I was pining away with jealousy over the Sunshine Cottage school in San Antonio, wishing there was something comparable here, and now not only do we know where it is, we are enrolled and the first day of school is next Wednesday. The teachers of our school even took some courses from the Sunshine school this summer, to pattern their curriculum after the Sunshine successful model. We are all a-flutter with excitement. The school is small, the student teacher ratio is 3 to 1, the teachers are all trained and experienced in working with HOH kids, and they stress listening and communication. They are in the process of getting their name out there, building a webpage, and enrolling more kids. They will be expanding this year to include a full time audiologist on staff. They are the only preschool focusing on preparing HOH kids for mainstreaming in Kindergarten in the entire metroplex. They have 5 big classrooms and a kitchen, and they only have enough kids to use 2 of them, so Grey will have his home classroom, then travel to the others for different activities throughout the morning. He will be going 3 mornings a week for 3 hours at a time. Woo-hooo! His teacher already asked me for an audiogram and an extra pack of batteries...life is so good. We went right off to buy school supplies and Grey was very excited. As you can see in the pics, I couldn't seem to keep up with him in Target. He kept looking back and yelling, "C'mon MOM!"

He scored a Cars backpack and immediately came home and crammed it full of all kinds of things, so I will be doing some repacking Tuesday night. We have high hopes for this school and are SO glad Grey will start getting some experience listening and following directions in a classroom environment so that he will excel when he starts public school instead of being overwhelmed and left behind.

Ear funk

2011-08-29T21:48:00.000-07:00

So, as I was tucking Grey in tonight, I was kissing his chubby little cheeks and my nose happened to land in his (unaided) ear, and I happened to smell his ear and it was not good. His little ears smell like a mixture of mildew and plastic!! What the heck? I guess it makes sense since his ears get so little air circulating in a day, but it seems like it shouldn't smell bad. I got out a flashlight and looked in his ears. I don't know what I was expecting to see as we clean his ears out with precise regularity (so as not to have wax-earmold issues), fuzzy green mold lurking inside perhaps? Of course, I found nothing but cute little clean ears, so what to do? Maybe we are not waiting for the inside of his ear to dry out enough after the tubby before we put the aids back on? Any of you moms out there with aided kiddos ever had this problem?

Countertops

2011-08-25T15:39:00.000-07:00

Before

After

While we were vacationing

2011-08-23T18:10:00.000-07:00

The okra was the only thing to survive the heat and drought without us being home to water. Half of the little peach tree gave up the ghost as well, and now it is very sad looking. The yard is brown and pokey. Boo. On the upside, we are getting new countertops tomorrow, so at least the inside of the house is going to be looking better!

Cali's first day

2011-08-22T19:22:00.000-07:00

School days, school days, dear old golden rule days! Cali and Grey were both a bit cranky on the outset this morning. Cali was feeling apprehensive and I think Grey was a little bummed that Cali would once again be leaving him for a large chunk of the day. Here is a pic of some of the painting James did in the school over the summer. It really livened up the hallway a bunch. The PTA offered to pay him, but he declined. His plan is to do a little every summer for as long as we are involved with this school, which should be for the next 8 years or so, thus ensuring that we are always around and involved and in the good, if you get my drift. So far all is going well, Cali got the teacher we were hoping for, and she seemed in good spirits at the end of the day. Unfortunately, she and her 3 best friends got put in 4 different classrooms, so she will be starting over in that department.

Meeting her teacher and finding her desk. She has 23 kids in her class this year, up from 18 last year, but still not terrible. One day down, many lunches left to be made. Grey is pretty excited about his first day of preschool as well. I can't wait to see if it lasts or if he freaks out on day 2. He still has a couple weeks to wait, so I'll report on him later.

Fun Trip #4: Utah

2011-08-21T18:16:00.001-07:00

Well, we finished up our month of vacation, just in time for school to start. Cali is getting ready for the big first day of 3rd grade tomorrow, and I am wishing vacay never had to end. We had a great time visiting family up in Utah. The weather was so nice it had me wondering why in the world we ever moved to Texas. The kids were near ecstatic to run free and wild, playing from sun up to sundown with their cousins. James showed off his art chops by whipping up some sweet looking henna tats for all of us....

We celebrated Grandpa's birthday...

We made an amazing Indian dinner...

And the kids slept in a nest of anarchy, thoroughly pooped out at the end of each day.

This is my favorite pic from the trip. The kids all had lots of fun jumping on the tramp with the sprinklers squirting.

Fun Trip #3: Camping

2011-08-13T18:27:00.000-07:00

We drove off into the mountains in Weed, New Mexico to meet up with my family for a week long camping extravaganza! It was very nice to escape the 100 degree plus baking heat of Texas to a shady 78 degrees and that sweet piney mountain air. We even got a few light rainfalls that were a welcome sight after the drought we have been experiencing. We didn't mind the rain since we had 3 trailers to choose from to sit in and play cards and games, eat, laugh, etc. On the way home we took the kids though the giant cave at Carlsbad, then stayed to watch the bats fly out that night. Cali was intrigued and adopted a bat that she named Sugar. Grey didn't like the bats and thought the cave was "too spooky", but was delighted to pick a miner's hat with a headlight on it as a souvenir. He wore this hat in the truck and used it to read in the dark later that evening. All in all, so much fun was had! So much homemade root beer was drunk!! Everything we own smells like a campfire now!!! So much laundry to do before we head off on the next adventure. :) Always a highlight for the kids, staying at a hotel, swimming in the pool, and getting ice from the ice machine.

Searching for buried treasure with the metal detector and pickaxe.

Much fun was had in the hammock.

We all decided to braid our hair one day and were amused to find out we looked like members of some religious order. I wasn't aware there was one that required braided hair but allowed short-shorts!
Occasionally a band of horses would visit our camp, something we thought was nice until we awoke one morning to a horse running off with an entire package of hot dog buns that he had managed to get out of our food bin. Dang!

Playing some ultimate frisbee in the grass clearing. They also had a disc golf course that went winding all through the mountaintop, providing a good hike and excellent views.

Grey and Anna had so much fun together on this trip!

Down in the cave, 75 floors underground. The kids had fun with the flashlights Grandpa had given them on the camp out.

Fun trip #2: Oklahoma

2011-08-05T18:39:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, the camera was left behind on this fun trip, so we have no proof that we were there at all. We spent about a week visiting with old friends and family and the time went by very quickly. Cali was delighted to score a disposable camera with (gasp!) film in it for a buck from her great-grandma's retirement home garage sale, but then she left it at our friend's house. We only discovered this fact a moment ago, since we are scrambling to pack for fun trip number 3 and she cannot find it. It was so hot in Oklahoma that we are glad to shortly be escaping to the mountains and temperatures of 75 degrees. In other news, the homemade root beer did not explode in the hot kitchen while we were away, and is in fact pretty good. Also, everything in the garden died while we were gone, with the exception of the okra which is flourishing. We may not be so lucky next time!

Fun trip #1: Austin

2011-07-28T17:49:00.000-07:00

We kicked off our summer vacations with a trip down to Austin to visit my brother and his family. Here are the two pals, all greased down with sunscreen and ready to go to the swimming hole.

This was a really neat spring fed swimming hole with fun rocks to climb around on. The water was just a tad cold, but felt so good since it was 104 outside.

Me and Grey up front with Cali, Anna, Riley, and Mike in the background.

Cali doing a little light rock climbing.

And back home again, all the grandkids playing with the bakugans that Grandpa sent.

We also ate some good grub, played some fun games, and loafed around a lot. Good times!

More summer fun

2011-07-12T19:26:00.000-07:00

The swimming lessons are going swimmingly so far. Grey's report after the second day was that Mr.Aaron (his teacher) was named Mr.Andy the second day, so there may be some hearing issues going on, but other than that, things seem to be going well. He also told us he doesn't like doing bobbers (going underwater) because it's too scary. I think when we told the teachers that Grey is HOH they decided to give him personal lessons because all the other groups have 2 or 3 kids per teacher, but it's just Grey and Mr.Andy out there, doing bobbers and lots of high fives. We are doing evening lessons to avoid sunscreen etc., and it has been very nice to sit in the evenings and watch our kiddos together.

Uncle Jon is here with us this week, so that is lots of fun, too. Loving Grey's grin here.

Cali spent much of today making Jell-o. I bought her a package of every color and let her have free reign. She came up with 3 layers in wine glasses, then 3 different colors made jiggler style, cookie cuttered and arranged on top.

Kids lazing around, reading on the tu-fon (futon) next to the tent James made them. It was really a sound booth around the computer desk for some music recording he was doing, but when that was finished it became an awesome tent.

Lazy summer days

2011-07-07T18:32:00.000-07:00

The kids and I have done a whole bunch of nothing the last few days.....kids and Barbies watching a movie....

...watching an eggplant grow...

...playing lots of games...

And finishing my latest sewing project, a piece of fabric Cali picked out at the beginning of summer that I am just now getting around to sewing. It is lightweight and cool for summer, with an elastic waistband and lots of pockets, so she likes it. I think it is a little too matching and suggested she wear it as separates. Unfortunately, I think another large part of the appeal is that they do match, so she doesn't have to think about it, she can just grab and go. Oh, well. Lesson learned. Next time I'll use two different fabrics!

Happy 4th!

2011-07-04T16:30:00.000-07:00

Patriotic Jello yum! We had a lovely time out at our favorite park/water playground yesterday, celebrating our country's independence. There is a little fishing pond with a bridge, a disc golf course, a playground with a sprayground to cool off in, and lots of nice green grass to spread a blanket in for watching the fireworks. We packed a picnic dinner and spent the afternoon and evening in and out of the water, running around in the grass, and being lazy on the blanket. Cali and Grey ran around like hooligans and had a fine old time. It was 104 outside, but I must say that we weren't bothered by the heat because it wasn't too bad in the shade where we were set up and because we were wet and cool most of the time. Here is the pond, the fireworks were shot off directly over it, a nice effect.

Grey taking a break from the water to lounge and have his ears in for a bit.

The kiddos playing some sort of run around and fall down game.

Wrestling and laughing.

We spent the time between sundown and the starting of the fireworks taking silly pictures of ourselves. Looking good!

Grey did not like the fireworks and made me keep my hands over his ears for the whole thing (aids were out before they even started). He cried for the first 8 minutes or so, and only calmed down when I told him it was a space battle. He kept saying, "I don't like it, make it stop, I wanna go home!" When it was over, he managed a grumpy, "I like the purple one." I don't know if the booms were bothering his ears or if he was just way tired out from hours of sun and play and pigging out, or both. Next year I am going to bring him some earmuffs and monkey and woobie, and maybe he won't cry and I will be able to watch the show!

Today's Educational Docket

2011-07-01T09:35:00.000-07:00

1) Piano lesson for Cali

2) Introduction to the Beach Boys, including lesson on Grandpa when he was young

3) Dancing in various styles from the 60's--the Pony, the Mashed Potato, the Twist, and some made up surfing dance!

4) Hula-Hooping

5) How to get a good deal at the flea market

8 years old

2011-06-26T22:20:00.000-07:00

Jello!

2011-06-24T18:02:00.000-07:00

Thank you, Angie, for the cookbook from 1973 that you sent me for my birthday. I plan on making many of the recipes for laugh sakes alone, seeing as how I do not like jello. Cali had 3 servings, Grey had zero. Love summer vacation and the fact that I have nothing better to do than make this.

This is not working

2011-06-23T11:44:00.000-07:00

So said Grey as he handed me his hearing aid. I love that he is old enough to let us know when he has a dead battery, it makes life much easier. I have a sinking feeling that we are in store for new aids soon because small things keep breaking with our current ones. Neither of the battery door locks work anymore, and the place where the ear hook can rotate from the rest of the aid is getting loose so that some of the time the aids are all wonky on his ear. Add the ill fitting molds and we are in a bit of an aid low point. Luckily, the new molds come in next week, so that at least is easily fixed. In another bit of hearing aid news, I got a letter in the mail from Grey's hearing center informing us that we need a doctor's order for speech therapy and other HOH related services. I called them and asked why they need such a letter now (we have been going there for a year now) and they said he should have had one all along, it must have been missed. Makes you wonder what else we may have missed?

Long day

2011-06-21T13:58:00.001-07:00

Well, it has been a long day but we all managed to make it. Grey was not pleased to be taken out of bed so early this morning and has crashed this afternoon, a rare treat for me. After all the cranky fuss he gave me about putting his jammies back on for rest time, I found him in only unders when he finally fell asleep.

Cali was also not pleased to have to get up so early but she is reacting the opposite way and is bouncing about her room. I'm hoping she will crash after dinner and call it an early night.
James has been groggy and dizzy and icky feeling, so I placed him in the recovery recliner, doped him up, and said bubbye. The surgeon said his prognosis is pain free after recovery, so time will tell. The tears are repaired, the offending bone is removed, and a platelet plug was inserted to aid with healing, so now we just wait. I like this picture because it looks like the immobilizer is full of energy. Like a robot. Anywho, thanks for all the calls to check up on us. We're doing fine so far! :)

Surgery tomorrow

2011-06-20T19:45:00.000-07:00

Well, tomorrow bright and early I get to wrestle everyone out of bed and take James in to get his rotator cuff repaired. The surgery center has a policy that someone must be there the whole time, so I had to scrap my drop off and pick up plan. The new plan is to pack a backpack for each kid and sit in a waiting room for four hours! Yippee!! One of the drawbacks of being in a still relatively new town is that you don't have a lot of people on hand to drop your two kids on at 6:30 in the morning. I am setting the bar of my expectations low, and will consider the day a success if I can manage to get all four of us back home alive. Cali will be so pleased to see that I have brought her math workbook along. I am jittery at the thought of my sweet man going under. I have seen too many tubes shoved down too many throats and know exactly what will be happening to him in the morning. Yuck. Wish us luck.

Friday fun

2011-06-17T11:58:00.000-07:00

Making pudding all by themselves, playing spies with squirt guns, and giving Grey a makeover with newly acquired make-up from the Johnson's, all while wearing a new outfit from Aunt Katy. Good. Times.

Happy Birthday Cali!

2011-06-14T15:07:00.001-07:00

I think the Harry Potter birthday party was a hit. Aunt Jennie sent a Hermione costume and Cali LOVED it, insisting on wearing it for as long as she possibly could in the warm weather.

Using magic (at 7:30 in the morning) to raise Hogwarts.

The birthday cake, bewitched to float by Prof. Flitwick.

I made a candy potion table with as many Harry Potter themed candies as I could think of. Here are the chocolate frogs I made using the old lollypop molds my mom used to use to make frog lollypops for her kids the week we dissected frogs. They were chocolate with rice crispies hidden in the middle for an unexpected crunch!

We also had lolly wands, acid drops, fizzing whizzbees, and all sorts of things like pixie stick dust, mini jawbreakers, tart-n-tinies, nerds, and pop rocks for the kids to pour into their potion containers to make a layered treat.

Acid drops, very potent.

Mucho fun was had in Hogwarts by ALL! I think James was getting hexed in this pic.

At one point they had all the party balloons and many stuffed animals in with them. We got Cali this giant teddy...we put it on her bed last night so that when she woke up on her birthday morning she saw it. It's actually bigger than she is. Grey named it Apple and Cali named it Fudge. Wonder which one will stick?

At the end of the day my kids were sweaty, tired, and happy. P.S. Grey did great with his bad foot, doing lots of rolling around and sitting on his bum getting bounced. He seemed to have a great time and the swelling on his head has gone way down, so it looks like he's just fine. This picture cracks me up, they look so crazed. We ran them through a quick bath then they both happily collapsed into dreamland. And as for me....I'm going to the spa in the near future to use my birthday gifts!

Poor Grey

2011-06-13T14:46:00.000-07:00

While playing in the driveway (sidewalk chalk and splash pool) this afternoon, Grey had the unfortunate luck to have Daddy's giant painting fall flat on top of him. It was leaning against the house and a wind caught it and blew it right over onto the unsuspecting sidewalk chalker below. It was a very big painting with a panel instead of just a canvas and Grey's head was slammed down into the driveway. When the painting fell Cali's cries were louder than Grey's (she thought he was squashed flat) and James kind of lost his wits for a few minutes. I had 3 people to calm down and reassure. Needless to say, it was awful. And now the poor boy has an enormous goose egg on his forehead, a swollen, bruised ankle with a limp, and a scrapped up knee. One ice pack, lots of Tylenol, and a Star Wars lego shirt later (this shirt was instrumental in making him feel better for some reason *thank you Shannon*), he is chilling on the futon and is cranky as can be. I have decided to take a wait and see approach as he is neurologically intact, can still walk on the foot, and does not scream when I rotate his ankle around. He seemed to like it when I wrapped up his ankle and told him he was allowed to watch Batman for the remainder of the day. I cannot convince him to put on any pants, however. :)

Ouch!

Neuro check. Had a little fun with him at this point just to distract him...he's really good at finger to nose.

To add another bummer to the whole thing...Cali's birthday party is tomorrow and we are having a bounce house in the backyard that he won't be able to bounce in with his bum foot. Sigh. I am just thankful it wasn't worse.

Hello summer vacation!

2011-06-03T13:05:00.001-07:00

I can't believe how fast a school year can fly by. Today was the last day of school, and we are all having so much fun! I finished this dress last night in time for Cali to wear it to school. We all went up to the school at noon for the class party where they made cookies and had a conga line and blew on kazoos and had a slushy machine. Fun. Then James took Grey off to get a summer haircut (the shortest he has EVER had) while Cal and I took advantage of the quiet to veg out and flop down with our good books.

Grey has never had a haircut of any shortness before, so this one is taking a little getting used to. We decided that for the humid summer we have ahead of us, this would be more comfortable for him. The hearing aids are much more visible now, so I hope they don't start flopping off his head every time he falls down, or rolls around on the couch, or wrestles with his sister, etc., which was the problem he had as a toddler. We simply grew his hair out so that it helped keep the behind the ear piece in place. I guess we'll see. Grey seems to like it, he came home saying, "It's a transformer hair cut!"

I guess we are officially in summer vacation mode now! I have switched to my 2 days on 5 days off schedule at work, so mostly we are going to be sleeping in, staying up late, having swimming lessons and basketball camp, helping James recover from his surgery, going on vacation, having friends come to visit, and generally goofing off and enjoying each other. And, much to Cali's chagrin, doing Saxon math all summer! She is mollified by the fact that the local video store is offering one free rental for every A on her report card, however. She got all A's, so it looks like we are in for a string of movie nights as well!

Garden bounty

2011-06-02T07:49:00.000-07:00

Nothing like fresh veggies from the garden!

So far we have heirloom, cherry, and early girl tomatoes producing and one plant that is almost as tall as me but hasn't produced a single tomato. Hmmmm.

What's going on

2011-05-23T15:38:00.000-07:00

I found this really cool citronella plant at my local nursery and since I put it on the patio, I haven't had a single mosquito bite! I am sure it is not all due to the plant, put I think it is helping. It smells really strong! If you touch it the citronella smell stays on your hands for a long time. A word of caution, however, it is poisonous so don't let your kids or pets eat it!

And here is the little man, sucking back some tasty amoxicillin. Still has tons of fluid in his ears, still yelling 'WHAT?' Will only take the medicine if he gets to squirt it in his mouth himself.

And here is Cali's latest project. Her school is having a 2nd grade sale, in which each child is supposed to make something to sell for the funny money they have been earning over the last few weeks. Cali decided on pet rocks. We went on a walk around the neighborhood gathering likely candidates, hit James up for some spray paint, then she spent a messy few hours at the table with googly eyes etc., and....

VOILA! She's sure to sell out her table.

Tonight, fajitas and homemade salsa, everyone happy and healthy and together. Life. Is. Good.

Heartbreaking

2011-05-19T14:47:00.000-07:00

Today, Grey said two things that made my heart go ouch. First, while sitting at breakfast he looked up at James and asked, "Dad, who has hearing aids like me?" Man. It never really occurred to me that it would be a good idea for him to be around other kids with hearing aids. He has never thought to ask before and he has never even seemed to notice that he was the only one wearing them before today. Not much to be done, however, since we don't know any other kids with hearing aids or implants. We don't even see them when we go to speech. The best I could do was sit him down at the computer and show him a fellow mom's blog who has a son about the same age as Grey. He really enjoyed looking at the pictures of a peer with aids on. After he looked at the pics for a few minutes he asked me, "Can we play with him?" Too bad they live halfway across the country. If only I could get him into a HOH playgroup or something, but I haven't been able to find one with kids his age. I know they must be out there, but where? Maybe I need to look into AG Bell, they were a big help to us in Las Vegas.

In other news, Grey hasn't been hearing so well for the last few weeks. The number of times he yells 'what' and 'talk louder' has gone up considerably. He has bilateral ear infections and mega fluid built up. Plus, his molds don't fit that well and when I took him into the audiologist today she informed me that despite the antibiotics, his ears are still red and full of fluid, so we have to wait for all of that to clear up before she will make new impressions. Grey didn't seem to care and was inthralled by Dr. Beth telling him that she will make him blue and red molds so he can be Spiderman or black and yellow ones so he can be Batman. Kid cracks me up. He originally went in asking her for purple. Then tonight when he was getting into the tub, he took his ears out and looking very surprised said, "I thought they were going to be purple!" Soooo does not get the process!

Mommy daughter date

2011-05-13T18:30:00.000-07:00

Tonight I took Cal out as a reward for filling up her 100 wall (below). Every time she gets a 100 on a paper she gets to put it on the wall, and when no more papers will fit, she gets to pick a fun night out with no baby brother. Then we take them all down and start over. Tonight she decided on a fun dinner out, then watching Harry Potter movie one (as she calls it) for the first time ever, which we are about to do as soon as Grey gets in bed. She has read the book several times and is muy excited to see the movie. Plus, she is extremely hyper from the fun dinner at the magic time machine (where all the waiters dress up and act in character).

On our way to fun!

Our waiter was Sinbad the sailor. We also saw Mr.Incredible, Hermione Granger, Princess Leia, Robin Hood, Jack Sparrow, Cinderella, Eve, Waldo (of Where's Waldo?), Joe Dirt, Ace Ventura, Velma (from Scooby Doo), Flynn Rider, Rapunzel, Rambo, and Pocahontas.
There was also a lady doing balloon animals and Cal asked her to make an owl or a wizard hat but unfortunately she didn't know how, so Cali ended up with a cheetah and a black cat instead. She also came away speaking with a very funny English accent--apparently Sinbad the sailor comes from the UK.

Spaghetti sauce

2011-05-11T06:19:00.000-07:00

Easy as 1, 2, 3! YUM!

How cool am I?

2011-05-09T16:51:00.000-07:00

Falling behind

2011-05-06T18:25:00.001-07:00

I feel like I am slowly losing grip on keeping up with things. My children both need to go to the dentist, I still have one car registered in Nevada, half my professional licenses are about to expire and I haven't done a thing about it, Grey badly needs new hearing aid molds to replace his cracked ones (not to mention a hearing aid check up to find out why he keeps telling us lefty is saying "newt-newt"), my house is an utter mess, the yard is out of control, and I have friends threatening to disown me because I never communicate with them anymore. And on top of that I got home from work a bit ago to discover that Grey has a 102 temp AFTER tylenol and motrin and is telling me his ear hurts. At 8pm on Friday. Sigh. And I am sad because I have to work on Mother's Day, despite having specifically asked to have it off.

Man, I'm whiney! That must be where Cali gets it!

Prepare to be bored...

2011-05-05T15:10:00.000-07:00

With pics of my beautiful Spring garden!! We already have about 10 times as many tomatoes as last year. It must be that great compost. I have 5 varieties planted this year, two heirlooms which have produced all of one tomato between the two plants (but are twice as tall as all the other plants), one cherry, one called early girl, and one called something like big boy. Don't ask me why I'm so obsessed with my garden. I DON'T KNOW!!

I was making lunch today and (talking to myself) said I needed an onion (planning on getting one out of the bin), when a few minutes later I look out the window to see this! Silly boy, he was so proud.

Happy Birthday, James!

2011-05-01T18:54:00.000-07:00

Putting the candles in the cheesecake...

YUM

We had a delicious dinner (first year in 13 that James didn't request homemade pizza for his birthday dinner) of bacon cheeseburgers, coleslaw, tater wedges, cottage cheese dip and chips, watermelon, cold beer, and cherry cheesecake for desert. I didn't have an onion, so I went into the garden and pulled a not quite ready one to save the day. It was lovely!! I used the greens for the dip and the rest for the slaw and burgers and it was the best onion we ever ate. The kids even ate it, that's how good it was.

Problem

2011-04-30T18:50:00.000-07:00

I guess when your compost pile is growing just as well as your garden, it probably isn't getting hot enough to really be productive....wish I could have more space for a REAL compost pile. Sigh. One of the tomatoes in this pile actually had flowers on it! I kind of hated to plow it all under.

Ranger Stadium

2011-04-28T17:59:00.000-07:00

Wednesday I chaperoned Cali's field trip to Ranger Stadium, and it was way cooler than I expected! Cali enjoyed it more than I thought she would, too, and surprised me by being able to name more players than I could (that being one). Here is the entrance to the player's clubhouse. We couldn't go in because there was a game that afternoon and there were some players in there getting dressed.

Here is the whole class in the dugout, hearing about how the players like to sit above the bench and dig their cleats into the sitting part of the bench.

Cali, hamming it up, on the field.

The player's view of the game.

This is the box where the announcers and sportscasters sit and work during the games.

And their view...

This is the under the stands batting cage where some player was practicing. It was amazing to see up close how fast the bat swings and the ball flies, and the crack of the bat was insanely loud!

This is up in one of the luxury suites that start out at $3,500. Cali was all set to rent one due to the air conditioning and mini kitchen stocked with treats.

Easter Trip

2011-04-25T16:04:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun over Easter weekend! We met up with the fam in Austin to veg out and do lots of good eating and Easter festivities. Here are the girls at Chuy's in the matching sun dresses Nanny bought them.

Cindy, showing us how to ride the Elipti-go. We even got mom to take a spin on it.

Grey thinking he's hot stuff playing in the trees with the big kids.

Egg hunt!

Cal and Cam playing circus in the trees.

Grey taking a spin on the cool scooter, note the tongue stuck out in concentration.

Grey's first knock-knock jokes

2011-04-25T16:01:00.000-07:00

Today, out of the blue, Grey came up to me and said knock knock. I'm guessing Cali has been telling him some jokes recently....

Knock knock!

Who's there?

Batman.

Batman who?

Bruce Wayne.

Knock knock!

Who's there?

Banana.

Banana who?

Orange.

Of course, he thought these were hilarious and laughed heartily after each one. :)

Spring dresses

2011-04-13T19:02:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again! The weather starts getting nice, I start cleaning out the closets, and a vast majority of clothing is discovered to be too small. Cali has gains several inches, and Grey is working on his belly, so her dresses/skirts/pajamas are now obscene, and his shirts are all tight on the tum. Grey will just have to run around in shorts all summer, because he is no fun to sew for. Cali, on the other hand has two new dresses thus far, and I have two more pieces of fabric for the next two. I also have a super cute pattern that involves 5 different fabrics, but I have not yet had time alone in the fabric store to find 5 that I think coordinate well, so that dress may never happen. I got up to three the other day, but then Grey had a melt down and we had to leave to pick up Cali anyway, so I had to put them back. I made the dresses below in one sitting, made the first one too big and the second one too small (but still wearable, for a second anyway) so I plan on making it a third time just right. My problem is that I can only sew when the kids are asleep, so then I have no little body to try it on as I sew. I ended up in Cal's room with a flashlight and a tape measure, then just gave up and tried to wing it. Cali likes them because they are so lightweight and comfy for humid summer days, and I like them because they are pull on and go, no battles over matching, just dress, flip-flops, go.

The back is a simple behind the neck tie with an elastic to keep the back snug. Easy!

And the same dress in the fabric that Cali picked out...

Mystery plant

2011-04-10T06:57:00.000-07:00

The peas and beans are popping up like crazy in the garden, but we also have this mystery plant that came up overnight right next to a pea plant. I'm thinking it is a volunteer from the compost pile, but I have no clue what it could be. It looks like it will grow up to be something much bigger than my tiny garden can handle, so I am thinking of transplanting it to the outer rim just to see what the heck it turns into. I've never grown melons or squash before, but I'm guessing it's a cantaloupe. Or maybe butternut squash? What do you think?

Funny kids

2011-04-03T10:39:00.001-07:00

During a family Sunday lunch today, out of the blue Grey said:

"You know what frow-up looks like? It look like when froat (throat) spit up into trash can."

3 days of play

2011-04-01T10:10:00.001-07:00

Today is my third weekday off in a row, which means it has been me and the little man doing some serious playing from 8 to 3 for 3 days straight. Grandpa sent a big set of bakugans on Wednesday, so we have spent a good part of each day putting them back together, crashing them into each other, making up names for them, and hiding and finding them. We do this as Batman and Robin while in a tent, or as Optimus Prime and Anakin Skywalker on a space ship.
We scored a free kitchen play set that one of our neighbors was getting rid of, so Cali and I cleaned it off for Grey and furnished it with an old cell phone, a few items from Grandma Pete's fruit basket, a mini dishtowel that I made from one of my old dishtowels, and some pans and spatulas from a kids set that Nanny sent Cali long ago. We are hoping to score some other kitchen play items for cheap from the Goodwill outlet store when we go down to Austin in April. Also on our list to find cheap: lego mini figs, books for Cali (cannot keep that kid in books), and can and bottle coozies now that we are back in the land of humidity.
We also spent a lot of time playing chess, mostly because I cannot hear Grey say chess enough times in this life. With his little lisspyness it sounds like chethhhhhh. I would die happy if I died right after Grey said, "Let's play chess!" So cute. Plus, he makes lots of cute little destroying noises when he takes one of my guys. It's pretty hilarious, it's almost like full contact chess, involving full body motions and sound effects.

In other news James and I found a perfect house today, with one exception. It is on a somewhat major street, though it is only one lane each way now, I am 100% sure it will be expanded to bigger someday. Such a bummer! Otherwise it is perfect, and so cheap!! Dang. I guess we will just continue to look.

Garden day

2011-03-26T06:23:00.000-07:00

Today was so beautiful I decided to expand the tiny garden and check out the winter compost. I was running out of time on getting the Spring planting done, so I told the fam it was gardening day, and we set to work. James helped me dump the heavy bin of compost out for inspection, but the results were much less satisfying than last time. There was only a small layer of good compost at the very bottom, the middle was kind of slimy and gross, and the top was not decomposed at all. So, I used the bottom layer on the new garden area, threw in some shredded paper and leaves into the slimy part, mixed it all up with the top layer, and left it to rot for another day. Our soil here is straight clay, so I knew the small amount of compost I had wasn't going to be enough to amend it, which meant a trip to my favorite nursery for some composted cotton burrs. Don't ask me exactly what cotton burrs are because I have no clue, but I do know that they are cheap, smell nasty, and make clay soil MUCH better for growing things. Cali was mightily disgusted by the smells today, the stinky compost, the stinky fertilizer, and the stinky cotton burrs. She and Grey did a little worm/treasure digging in the dirt, then spent the rest of the day either hunting free range chickens down at the nursery, or trying to climb the little peach tree.

Here is my cute little garden. So far I have onions, chives, rosemary, tomatoes, cauliflower, artichoke, strawberry, peas, and green beans planted. My neighbors down the street said that squirrels always steal their strawberries, so I don't have high hopes, but Cali wanted them so bad I gave in. I planted them near the edge so they could grow out over the lawn when they start spreading, but I'm not sure how well that is going to work. I see my little starter garden as an experiment and nothing else, so that when I have my real garden I will have learned a little. I planted the beans by the fence so that when they grow up I can use the fence as support. I want more space so I can plant cucumbers, squash, and other things like pumpkins and corn that spread out and get big.

Here is the before picture of the bluebonnets...

and the after!

By the end of gardening day, my back was terribly sunburned, and my two kids were sticky, grubby, tired, happy little imps. They took a bubble bath together, (in which I gave them each a ziplock baggie full of colored water to play with--who knew it would entertain so well?) were nice to each other, and fell asleep almost immediately. Good day. Days like today almost make me forget about having to go to my job. Almost.

Nother trip to the land

2011-03-21T18:07:00.000-07:00

James decided to take the kids to Austin so he could catch a little of the south by southwest music festival, then he took them out to the land for a last Spring break shebang. Our friend Toe went along also, and everyone had a good time.

How cute is this girl?!?!?!!!!

Funny boy

2011-03-20T18:16:00.000-07:00

Grey has started doing a couple funny things I would like to remember here. We have been working on rhyming, and now, quite frequently, he will say things like, "Let's go to my room ba doom." Or, "Can I have some juice da duce?" Or, Cali ba dally, etc. It's pretty funny. Also, if he says something we don't approve of (such as yelling BAM in your ear) and we call him on it, he will say, "I was just talking to my shirt." Who knows where that came from, but it sure is funny.

Happy St.Patrick's Day!

2011-03-17T17:30:00.000-07:00

We celebrated with our usual treasure hunt, green-wearing, and having the leprechauns turn our milk green. It was a beautiful day, so we spent lots of time outside and generally goofing off and playing. All the trees and bushes are in bloom mode, so the kids had fun picking blossoms and making bouquets and smelling things. I think the perfect Spring breeze and all the blossoms made them full of energy after so many chilly days, because they were both peppy/goofy/spastic all day, as the pic below shows. The kids and I planted our spring garden two days ago, with tomatoes, herbs, and artichokes so far. The onions are thriving and taking up lots of my limited growing space, but I have room for two more veggies before I have to quit. I can't make up my mind...maybe radish, peas, or okra? Beans, turnips, or carrots? If only I could plow up the entire backyard! Happy Spring!!!

Trip to the land

2011-03-14T20:02:00.000-07:00

We just got back from a fun trip out to my brother's land, out in the west hill country of Texas. I am realizing that as I type this I'm not really sure if it has a name or is just near a place with a name. We just call it The Land, 80 acres of it, all full of stars, silence, fresh air, cactus, mesquite trees, and all kinds of critters that scared the pants off of me and Cali at various times. We all had a blast! The grown-ups got to sit around, burn stuff, and chit-chat, while the kids got to run and play with their cousins, get filthy, eat junk, and do all sorts of out of the ordinary things like gather firewood, shoot a bb gun, roast marshmallows, climb on/slide down/whack an old truck, and one kid in particular was thankful for the lack of Saxon math workbooks. Here are a few shots from the trip....Cali trying to figure out the sight on the gun....

Grey trying his best to squeeze the trigger

The kids inspecting the holes in the cans on the shooting range

The kids eating dinner together on the rocks, loving it.

Me chainsawing up a little firewood

Getting in one last little bit of play time before we packed up this morning. I liked this pic because the 3 smallest kids were all cooperating.....they were swinging Cal who was wrapped up in the hammock.
Good times! And when we got home, we checked each other for tics like good Texans, and didn't find a one. Hopefully that means we didn't get any, and not that we missed one!

Peach tree is blossoming!

2011-03-11T16:43:00.000-08:00

Bluebonnets!

2011-03-11T12:25:00.000-08:00

My bluebonnets have positively grown out of their allocated space, and today we have 3 starting to bloom with many, many more on the way. I'm so excited!!!

Irish fest

2011-03-09T18:17:00.000-08:00

Last weekend Cali's BFF invited her to a fun Irish festival downtown at the fairgrounds, and we all went and had a good time sight seeing, people watching, and watching the girls have fun.

Cal and I had great fun doing the mega jump bouncy thing, though I did not attempt any flips. Maybe next time. It was amazing how high we were going, though. Cali had a look of terror on her face for the first couple minutes, then relaxed into it and afterwards was on an adrenaline rush.

Last game

2011-03-05T16:51:00.000-08:00

Here we have out budding basketball star, running out to the applause of her adoring fans, and hamming it up, as usual. The Sparks ended the season on an up note, making quite a few baskets, and getting some good steals and blocks. We went Tuesday night for the awards ceremony and Cali was amazed and delighted by the juggler they employed for the entertainment. Cal says she is definitely playing again next season, and she even wants to go to basketball camp this summer. I asked her if she wouldn't rather do cheerleading and she looked and me in disgust and said, "Why would I want to do that?" Love it.

Cute boy

2011-03-02T07:47:00.000-08:00

Now, this is what I'm talking about! Looks like thing 2 is well on his way to being a true member of our family. Last night he read me two books, one about a wet red hen, and one about Ben and Peg and pup. I love this stage, he comes to the word a and says a (short vowel sound) instead of the word a. And was comes out with a short vowel, too, like w-aaaaa-z. So cute. And sometimes when he forgets a letter sound he works it out by saying, that a p, like puppy...it say puh! Then, he can continue with figuring out the next letter. So, it takes a good 5 minutes per page, but it sure is cute!

And just a pic I thought was cute, when Grey got the bread while I wasn't looking. Reminds me of a shot of his sister at this age.

K: Are you eating your breakfast?

G: Yeah, but my jelly's in trouble.

K: Why?

G: It keep on slipping.

More fun kid ideas

2011-02-28T18:55:00.000-08:00

I'm sure we have all found ourselves in this situation before. What do you do when your kids are sitting on your feet, making it impossible for you to move? Stand and read a book and find out who is more stubborn/patient, of course. This stale mate lasted quite a while until my kids realized I would happily stand there all day if it meant I could read my book in relative peace.

Here are a few more fun ideas for entertaining kids. Cali and Grey both really got into making forts and walls with plastic cups this weekend. We also set up cup pyramids and took turns bowling them over with various balls and various methods.
Building stuff, always good, especially when your older sib builds most of it for you , then you can just play pretend Jedi/Batman in the new bat cave.
And, a good old standard, tubby colors! This time with a twist due to Grey complaining that I made the water too hot. Bowl of ice, a few drops of food coloring, inquisitive, hot child, and voila! Super fun mess. He did try to catch it and eat it though, so you have to watch out for that one. And, his fingers were awfully blue after picking around in the bowl before he dumped it. Good thing his social calendar is so clear, and he can afford to look like a Smurf for awhile.

New art work site

2011-02-27T18:01:00.000-08:00

Everyone check out James's new site for selling his artwork for the rest of us, affordable cool little pieces of art for folks who don't want to spend a couple G's. Like him on facebook, join his site, and stay tuned for new additions as they are hot off the press in the studio!

www.jimpublic.com

Thanks! And enjoy!!!

The difference between 3 and 7---

J: Hey guys, look, it's the Statue of Liberty! (A guy in a costume promoting a tax service on the side of the road.)

C: That's lame!

G: That's amazing!

The Plague

2011-02-26T18:11:00.000-08:00

I just can't get over how sick my kids have been this winter. It has gotten to the point where I feel I must record it for posterity. They have both basically been sick with something or the other since Christmas. It started with a stomach bug when school let out for winter break. They both had fevers and vomiting. Then we were at my work on Christmas day for Grey to get antibiotics for an ear infection. Then Cali developed a hacking cough that lasted for about six weeks, during which time she was treated for a sinus infection and then bronchitis. Soon it was Grey's turn for a Z pack and bronchitis, while Cali came down with strep throat and nearly lost it when the nurse swabbed her throat. Grey was still on his Amoxicillin for his newly developed sinus infection/cough, so the pedi thought he would avoid coming down with strep. Cali came through the strep but then developed a new low grade fever and fatigue, so I took her in again (by this point, everyone in the pedi's office knows my entire family by name, as does our local pharmacist) where they swabbed her throat again to see if the strep was gone (it was) and swabbed her nose for.....the flu! Which came back positive, despite getting our flu shots. She now is getting over it after a round of Tamiflu. Two days after Cali got the flu, Grey got a low grade fever and fatigue, so we took him in and he got the joy of being swabbed (he was fine but Cali, still home sick, freaked out for him). He was negative for flu and positive for strep. Joy. That makes 4 rounds of antibiotics for Grey plus one viral infection, and 3 rounds of antibiotics for Cali, plus one viral infection, plus the flu/Tamiflu. I managed to escape with a Z pack for my upper resp infection, and James is skating by on nothing so far. As of this moment, we are all normal but Grey, who has only been treated for his strep for one day and is still looking flushed and grumpy. I am sure he will be getting the flu any second as he seems to be following in Cali's footsteps. Before we moved here, Grey had never been on antibiotics at all, and Cali had only had them once for an ear infection when she was a baby. The pedi thinks they are being exposed to a whole new world of bugs than they are used to from Las Vegas, and that next winter will not be so bad. Time will tell, I guess. Meanwhile, Cal has missed so much school and basketball! Hopefully Grey will finish his medicine this time and that will FINALLY be the end of it.

Fun kid things

2011-02-24T15:58:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple of easy ideas for entertaining your preschooler:

Fill a big container (with a lid) half full of water, then put a car in the bottom and a few floating balls in and twirl it around. The car races along the bottom and the balls float in a whirlpool and the 3 year old goes, "Again, again, I love it!" We did this about 20 times, then I got bored and started letting him pick things to throw in and we learned about sink and float and hypothesis. Then, I got bored with that, too, and started letting him play with the food coloring and we eventually ended up with really yucky looking water which then turned into dragon spray. You know, to keep the dragons away so they don't eat all the onions in my garden.

The second idea is a mix between art project and number learning activity. Get six (or whatever) small bowls and fill each one up with small items like Cheerios, beads, Skittles, beans, sunflower seeds, peanuts, whatever you have around, and set them out in different places in the kitchen and living room. Put a number by each bowl, then get either a dice or a spinner from a game (we used our chutes and ladders spinner) and let the kid spin or roll. They have to go to the bowl that corresponds with the spin and get that number of items out of the bowl. Then, they can either eat the item or glue it on a page to make a lovely project. This project was thought up for Grey, but Cali ended up having fun doing it, too.

Good times!

G: Can I have a wiper?

K: Why?

G: Cause I have kina like banana face face.

K: OK

Abilene trip

2011-02-22T07:06:00.000-08:00

We had a fun/bizarre trip to Abilene last weekend. James had an art show in Albany to attend, so the kids and I came along for a trip down memory lane. It was very strange for me to drive through town and feel like I had never even been there before, then suddenly recognize my orthodontist or an empty field. Here is a pic of my old elementary school. The kids had a great time running around, and I had great memories of racing up and down the corridors on roller skates.

We had fun staying at the hotel, something my kids haven't done in a while. They delighted in using the ice machine, swimming in the hot pool, jumping on the beds, and being allowed to get a treat from the vending machine. We also had a chance to visit and have lunch with an old friend and it was fun to catch up, though I am mad we forgot to take a picture!!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

2011-02-15T18:14:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day (a day late)! Our family had a good one, I think. We woke up late and had pink heart shaped pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream. It was all very lazy because Cali had to miss school due to strep throat and a fever (we now have 6 little bottles of pink Amoxicillin in our fridge!), so we were in no rush to get anyone anywhere. I ran her Valentines by her class and picked up her homework and her Valentine bag, so she was a happy girl. The weather was beautiful and the kids helped me make cuppy-cakes (as Grey calls them), then ate them outside. James got me a bottle of my favorite wine and I had a very relaxing moment sipping it and watching my cuties play Star Wars together. James also pointed out that it was Valentine's Day 15 years ago that he wrote me a love letter, forever changing our relationship from pen pals to "going steady" :) Cali entertained herself by trying to get in the world record book for most bows worn at once (22, all she had) and had a thrilling/appalling moment when she thought a boy in her class gave her a big box of chocolates instead of a regular Valentine. She called her BFF right away and was relieved to discover that he gave one to everyone, not just her. Whew!

Oh, my snow!

2011-02-04T18:56:00.000-08:00

What a strange week we have had. School was cancelled 4 days for ice and snow. I feel like everyone in the world is at home while I slip through a 1.5 hour commute to get to my job. We've had power outages, water pipes burst, and spin outs on the road, but you could fool Cali and Grey, who have been having the time of their lives playing in hereto unseen and unexperienced snow! Icicles, what a novelty! Here they are on Tuesday standing on a hard sheet of ice with sharp icicles. Maybe not the safest choice, but fun nonetheless. They had a good time pretending they were ice skaters, were amazed that it looked like snow but was actually a solid mass, and got maximum thrill out of sliding down the small incline in our front yard on their bums. Meanwhile I was an hour and a half late to work this day despite having left the house at 5:45. Boo for me, yea for everyone else!

This is the inviting scene I was lucky enough to see this morning as I went to leave for work. It sure would be nice to have a garage to park in at times like this. I can't knock my sweet James for that, though, because he was a peach and got up early with me every day this week to warm up the car and chip/scrape/de-winter it for me. So I don't begrudge him his studio too much...now that I am home and don't have to go anywhere for the next few days, that is. :)

Grey looking around in awe at all the snow.

Snow angels! Love the expression on Grey's face!

And, last but not least, can you spot the steps going up to our house in this picture?
It is a brisk 18 degrees as I type this, the water is shut off in anticipation of the plumber's visit tomorrow, and Grey is asleep in his bed hacking up yet another lung. (Poor kid has been through two rounds of antibiotics in the last month already.) But, the power is on! We have heat, and for that I am grateful. And to all you out there who deal with this kind of weather every year, God Bless America, I don't know how you do it. For someone who has been living in the desert for the last decade, this is an amazing event. It also really helped when my brother in L.A. called to tell me he was out in his backyard in shorts grilling shish kebabs. I think I'll go crawl under my electric blankie now.

Cool badge thingy

2011-01-21T08:02:00.001-08:00

Check out my cool new badge holder! I requested green and sparkly and this is what I got! Fun times. For all you badge wearers out there, consider spicing up your work life with a little bling instead of your company issue boring one. Make your own or shop the web. I love that this one had ER on it and a rainbow. And what could be better than green rhinestones? Plus, it gives me something else to talk to my patients about because they all notice and comment.

Winter garden

2011-01-18T15:14:00.000-08:00

I had my first day of work yesterday and since it was incredibly hard and I felt like a giant loser by the end of the day, I don't wish to talk about it until I have the whole thing mastered and am feeling confident. This is going to be a big challenge for me, as the standard of care is way more demanding than at other hospitals I have been at. Much more for me to do and be responsible. I am glad since it translates to better care for the patients, but, oh, mamma, am I going to have a hard time picking it all up and getting up to speed! Dang! I was so preoccupied and worried about it today that I managed to park my truck directly onto my green car, deftly pulling the back light off the green car and adding a nice ding to the back of the truck. Whoops! Luckily, the lights all still work, and James was able to stick the whole thing back in and secure it with......bondo and duct tape!! Actually, it looks really nice (considering), I guess that is what happens when your husband is an artist. So, away from things I don't want to think about and on to things I do, namely my winter garden, which is coming along well. So far the chard is doing well, hasn't frozen or died, the leftover thyme is looking a little sad, but it is definitely still alive and I am confident it will come back full force when the weather is warm again. The sweet onions and garlic seem to be coming along well, though I guess it is hard to tell. Being such a novice gardener I think they are doing well as long as they are still alive! The broccoli continues to produce for us, though I think the latest heads are looking different, like they want to flower and seed instead of staying compact for eating. I need to read up on broccoli plants, I guess. Cali's little red flowers that she planted in the summer are also hanging in there. I have no idea what kind of a plant it is, so we are just leaving it in and waiting to see what happens!

1st B-Ball game

2011-01-15T10:50:00.000-08:00

This morning we had Cali's first basketball game. Her team consists of K-2nd graders, and it was quite a hoot to watch. They didn't keep score and put the emphasis on everyone getting a chance to play and learning how a basketball game works. It was VERY entertaining to say the least. There was plenty of running (sometimes in the wrong direction) and plenty of shooting (sometimes at the wrong basket). Cali did well, running back and forth, staying under the basket most of the time and trying to get the rebounds. Here is a vid of her best moment. I think her team only made two baskets the whole game, so this was quite an achievement!

Happy New Year~Happy New Job!

2011-01-08T07:56:00.001-08:00

Happy belated New Year!! We had a nice trip to OK to see 2011 in with family. It was a nice change from working both busy days in the ER in Vegas. This was the first year Cali really tried to stay up, and she managed to make it to 11pm, then crashed on the sofa. At a minute till, I woke her up and propped her up long enough to snap a photo, then back down she went!

I have been a very busy bee in 2011, starting my new job in a level one trauma center and trying to get my bearings on the new insurance, retirement fund rollovers, etc., not to mention all of us but James have been sick for what feels like forever. Grey had his very first ear infection and decided he was not going to take his antibiotics (what fun that was), and now Cal is on a course as well for a sinus infection. Poor girl has been coughing for almost 2 months! I discovered that my new ER has a minor emergency clinic upstairs that I can visit for free, so I went up there today to get on my own antibiotics! My head feels like it is going to explode with coughing....My first official day of working the floor is on Monday, so wish me luck!

Overheard dialogue

2010-12-26T18:21:00.001-08:00

Today James and I were trying to help our children clean up their rooms, left in disaster by Christmas toy influx and two days of playing and laying around with no pick-up whatsoever. I was helping Grey, and James was in Cal's room, located right across the hall. I was mainly cleaning and sorting while Grey was playing Legos and completely ignoring my suggestions that he help me pick up. Occasionally he would say things like, "Mom, hey mom! Do you know how to speen (spin)? You go like this, then go fast, (falls down) then you stop." Meanwhile here is some dialogue from Cali's room...

You've got to be more careful when you use glitter in here or you will not be allowed to use it anymore. Cali--Why?

Well, there is glitter all over your floor, desk, and chair. Cali--Well, I was throwing it around because it looks like fairy dust, it didn't spill!

OK, it looks like we've got 3 squinkies and a Polly pocket shirt in half a plastic suitcase. What do you want to do with these? Cali--Oh, I put those right over here!

Let's see if we can weed out some of these stuffed animals, okay? Cali--Okay, no.

Why not, you have more that we can fit in here? Cali--I love them all too much, and if we get rid of Cheese (the giraffe) then Navy Blue (the hippo) would be sad and then Mamma bear would have to spend all her time cheering him up and.....on and on and on until I started laughing at the sheer insanity of the stuffed animal society and she finally stopped.

Oh, how I love being a mother of small children. What in life is ever so amusing, charming, entertaining, and full of pure love? I love watching them at Christmas, seeing how excited they get, and how they play together, how rotten and how sweet they can be from one second to the next. This Christmas I feel like life is all too short and I am grasping at the minutes while my kids are still so small and hilarious, with baby fat cheeks and tiny kiss giving lips. Life is so good! We have much to be thankful for this holiday season, and every day. Merry Christmas to everyone out there.

BTW, all of this was typed with Grey sitting on the floor beside me in an empty storage bin, playing with his fingers and asking me over and over, "Mom, is it Halloween Day?" So clueless, gotta love it.

Good break

2010-12-23T13:24:00.000-08:00

Well, we just had a great visit from my parents and my brother's family. We just got home from dropping my parents off at the airport, and both the kids fell asleep on the way home. The rest of the day is going to be spent being sad that all the visitors have left, and recuperating from all the staying up late and having fun! We are planning on staying here for a lovely, quiet Christmas with the 4 of us, then heading up to OK to see the in-laws perhaps on Tuesday. It has been super nice to be temporarily unemployed. On my last day of work, James got the kids put of bed early, took us all out for doughnuts, then dropped me off at work. Then they all came to pick me up and took me out to dinner to celebrate. Cali had made me a diploma that said, "Congratulations Mom on graduating from Medical City!" I am excited to get back into the swing of a real ER in the coming weeks. Baylor is a level one trauma center, and they have two helipads, woo-hoo! No more bee stings to the toe for me. SNORE!! I am sure I will be complaining about how sick people are at my new place and how I am running around like a crazy person, but at least it will make the time go by and my brain will start working again. I feel like I have forgotten so much about critical care in the last 6 months because I never use that information anymore.

In non work related news, Cali had a fun Christmas cookie party with some of her friends from school, and Grey is loving playing with the BatCave that Nanny and Grandpa got him for Christmas. James and I took advantage of my folks being here and went out on a real date last night, which consisted of finishing our Christmas shopping and going out to dinner. It was super fun to walk along in the brisk weather with a coffee, holding hands and feeling Christmas cheer, all while having uninterrupted conversation!

I am so happy to have many days of lazy fun ahead of me. I see lots of Lego building, almond roca making, reading, giggling, and candy jewelry making in my future!

New therapist

2010-12-14T14:41:00.000-08:00

Today Grey had his first real speech therapy session since we left Las Vegas. Too bad we may only see her once as my last day of work is the 17th and then I will have yet another new insurance! Time will tell. Anyway, Grey really liked the therapist and managed to make progress on biting his lip to form the F sound instead of blowing like a wh for F, so I think we have found a winner! I start my new job at big Baylor on the 3rd, so all the new stuff for Grey should start falling into place come the new year. In the meantime, I am planning on goofing off, enjoying visits from friends and family, and spending lots of time with my kids!

Things I want to remember

2010-12-07T17:53:00.000-08:00

Here are some of my favorite things that Grey is saying frequently at 3yrs 2mo:

1) I oneys want to....(I only want to)

2) Can I watch a movie? Can I watch a movie? Can I watch a movie? Can I?

3) Pot ta pato (hot potato)

4) I'm Batman.

5) I got a good idea!

6) It's really really fun.

7) Let's read on the tu-fon. (Futon)

And a good sentence for today was, "It very colorful, I think it like a Christmas decoration. Yep." The word decoration was said very slowly and deliberately, de co ra tion, with much effort.

In other news, Cali had her first basketball practice tonight. She says, "Fun, good, and entertaining." They voted to have their team name changed from the Crazy Squirrels to the Sparks, and have 3 more practices before their first game. At the end (since this is Baptist basketball) they said a prayer and Cali asked to pray for candy while the other girls asked to pray for things like missionaries and Jesus. I'll just leave you all with that, then!

What we're doin' today?

2010-12-04T11:34:00.000-08:00

Grey asked me that this morning. Here's what we're doing...

1)Getting ready to decorate our gingerbread house. Just as I was about to snap the pic a little hand crept in to steal a sweet!

2) Reading and eating even more candy! And getting ready to unwrap the Christmas tree and decorate.
3)Putting up the Christmas lights outside.

4)Having (and dealing with) a massive fit about having to clean our rooms.

Learning to read

2010-12-02T19:50:00.001-08:00

Broccoli update

2010-12-02T19:47:00.001-08:00

Yummmm! Talk about an after picture. We had this for dinner last night, it was mighty good, and big enough to feed all four of us.

Blah

2010-11-18T18:46:00.000-08:00

We have lived here for 4 months and yet none of us are settled in yet. We have failed yet again to find a good piano teacher for Cali, and the poor girl is starting to forget everything. The latest teacher we tried charges the most of anyone, talked to Cali like she was 3 years old, and wore so much perfume Cali and I both had headaches by the time the lesson was over. No good. Grey is also not settled. On a recent interview when we asked him who his friends were, Grey replied, "Batman and the pink cat." It made me sad to realize he has reverted to imaginary friends since he doesn't have any real ones anymore. We had his speech assessment at the local wonder-center for kids with hearing impairments and they recommended a program for him, but there aren't any spaces available until sometime in December, so he is still getting no speech or services at all, has no playgroup, nada. His life is divided between home, picking up and dropping off Cali at school, and the grocery store. Woo-hoo. James is still feeling the loss of a good network, and has limited time to go out and make a new one. I have been trying my best but am still struggling to make work work. It just doesn't seem to be working. Sounds like I need a nice Thanksgiving to relax and count my many blessings! Good thing it is right around the corner.

Fall garden

2010-11-10T18:09:00.001-08:00

Well, the zucchini plant survived the squash bugs after a few days of squishing and spraying with homemade organic bug repellant, and it survived the white powdery mildew, but it fell prey to ants devouring the base of the main stem of the plant, practically severing it in half. It died and was plucked, leaving a big hole in the middle of my garden. However, everything else is growing great guns. Here we have the broccoli, look close at the middle and you will see that this big plant has produced.....

One tiny broccoli floret!

There are 7 tomatoes so far...

3 serrano peppers...

and a whole mess of turnip greens! We also have 32 bluebonnets over in the flower bed, with more sprouting still every day. We'll see how many survive the winter!

Love that rainy smell and the beautiful fall weather! Grey and Cali have been outdoors riding their scooters and bikes and the jeep everyday until it gets dark and then a little longer.

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T18:47:00.001-07:00

Cheetah and Batman, more candy than two little kids could ever eat!

Latest Grey

2010-10-27T16:53:00.000-07:00

Me: Are you ready to go get in the tubby?

Grey: No. No tubby. We gotta go my room.

Me: What do you want to do in your room?

G: Uhhh.....play!

Me: What do you want to play?

G: Hungry hungry, no wait, high-ho, no wait. Uhhh.....sumping fun......and crazy cool!

Geez, I think he's been listening to his sister a little too closely.

Happy Birthday Grey!!

2010-10-23T14:33:00.000-07:00

We decided to celebrate Grey's birthday a few days early so that Granny could come down and participate. Grey decided he wanted to go to...where else? Chuck E. Cheese! Fun was had by all and James and I got a kick out of having a birthday party with only two kids, one being the birthday boy's sister. Grey asked for a Cookie Monster cake, so I baked it and James frosted it, as usual, and we thought it turned out pretty cute. Grey was happy to open his gifts and Cali was happy to help him. We put some balloons in his room while he was sleeping last night, and when he woke up he was confused until I told him it was his birthday, then he was go go go for the rest of the day!

Grey in his new Jeep on Daddy's new painting in progress.

The fair is a veritable smorgasbord!

2010-10-06T05:46:00.000-07:00

We had such at good time at the state fair this year. The kids were good and had lots of fun going on rides, eating junk, seeing giant snakes, and playing midway games. We went on a Tuesday so it wasn't crowded, we got in for $6 with out Dr.Pepper cans, and the weather was bee-yoo-tiful! Grey was nutso over all the car/airplane rides, Cali really enjoyed the cotton candy, I always like the butter sculpture and the prize wining jams and pickles, and James treid the fried beer (yuck).

Boris the gigantic pig--the kids thought he was hilarious.

Life sized butter sculpture.

Dancing their hearts out to a celtic rock band complete with bagpipes and a fiddle.

The fair wouldn't be complete with out a close encounter with a longhorn.

Grey working on the pretend farm.

At the petting area....there was even a baby giraffe and a momma pig with little cute piglets to pet.

And don't forget all the fried food:

deep fried frito pie, fried latte, fried pickles, fried snickers and oreos, and fried pork chop on a stick, just to name a few others. And here is a shot of the winning canned items: pickled okra, watermelon pickles, chow-chow,, peaches, apple jelly, and on and on and on!
jalepenosCan't wait for next year! Cali was a little nervous to ride the giant ferris wheel, but thinks she might go for it next year, so we shall see!

Gol Dern--a rant

2010-10-01T11:09:00.000-07:00

We have had a disappointing day, and it's only one in the afternoon. Grey will be turning three this month, which means his services from Early Intervention will be ending. Today he had his big evaluation with the school district to see what kind of services he will be getting from now until he starts kindergarten. The answer is that he will be getting nothing at all. All we wanted for him was speech therapy once a week, but they said he is at the 48th percentile and kids have to be 7% or below to qualify, which seems pretty low to me. Think of if your kid was in the 10% and they said, too bad for you, goodbye, good luck with that! I guess we should be thankful they think he is doing so well, but I feel it is poor judgment to say that he is fine now (after two years of MUCHO therapy) so he will be fine for the next two years with nothing at all. I explained that our insurance will not cover speech therapy, that we weren't expecting them to provide services to make him above average but to maintain what he has so he doesn't begin to lag, and they said they weren't in the business of maintenance or prevention. They told us we should sign him up for a community pre-school program so he would have good speech models and we told them that a room full of 3 and 4 year olds was not the best listening environment for having a speech model. I do realize it would be good for him in other ways, but what we were talking about was speech development, not listening and filtering behaviors. I believe that when you are targeting speech, you should have a quiet, acoustically prepared environment. I guess the 6 ladies at the assessment today think that a kid with moderate hearing loss is just fine to fly on his own. So, now we have to go to a meeting (ARD meeting, what they call IEPs down here--Assess, Review, Dismiss) and have them tell us he is dismissed from the program. And I will have to tell them I disagree and it will be a big, huge battle. Another one. In which I will inevitably cry and be mad because I can't get my words out intelligently. And when I lose the battle, I will have to figure out what in the world I am going to do. I do not believe that Grey has caught up this quickly because of our therapists alone, I know that James and I work hard to make speech a 24/7 occurrence, but let me just say that right now I am feeling scared. I need an expert, or at least a professional, to help me do speech for Grey. He made so much progress for our AV therapist in Las Vegas because she knew exactly what to do. I REALLY don't want Grey to start lagging behind. If right now he is almost reaching that 50% average mark, by this time next year I want him to improve, not sink to 30%. Honestly, what parent wouldn't want that? I don't know what I am going to do. I can try my best to be his speech therapist/pathologist, but will it be enough? I am tired of everything having to be a battle. If we fit the right income bracket he could start pre-K next year, but we don't. And if we fit the right income bracket we would just pay out of pocket for speech, but we don't.