Archive for March 2010

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Hi there. I'm in a rut and have nothing creative to say.


That being said, I'll let you know what my thoughtful husband did yesterday.

He made me a dentist appointment.

Yes, that's it. That's all it takes for me. Forget flowers. Carving out time for appointments like these are tough and therefore don't happen too often. Me going to a doctor means Justin has to take off work and even making the appointment is tricky since both schedules have to be cleared. He was at the dentist for his routine cleaning and he went ahead and scheduled one for me. It's the little things!

Before having kids I used to visit my dentist every 6 months. Since kids, well I think I've been twice. And that's gross. I've been blessed with good teeth and have never had a cavity. Hope it continues that way!

Off to 'vestigate outside with Vance. We've been keeping an eye on some birds that have been building nests in two of our trees and he just reminded me that we forgot to check them out yesterday and therefore need our attention now.

Think the kids will eat salmon patties? Check back tomorrow and see!

Monday, March 29, 2010

First Soccer games

Vance had his first soccer games on Saturday.


We found out that there had been a game time change around 7:00 PM on Friday night. Instead of 8:00 and 9:00 games, we had 1:00 and 2:00 games.

(We have never been so unhappy with a YMCA. It was a pain getting initial info about the team before sign-up, unanswered phone calls, the Y not notifying the coach about the league starting, so we missed one opportunity to practice, not letting Justin know that he was the assistant coach, schedule mix ups, not letting us know that the majority of our games are 30 minutes away, and the leagues are clearly not age appropriate. It's a mess.)

That said, onto the game!

I didn't want to miss out on the first game, so we sacrificed Vaughn's nap, which is always (always!) a bad idea. I forgot my real camera and had to rely on my camera phone.

He's out there somewhere, #20 if you can make out the numbers. Justin is in the red shirt and black pants. The opposing team didn't have enough players, so we gave them some of ours.


They lost their first game by a lot. No, I don't know the score and really only saw seconds of the game. I failed to mention that it was freezing and the wind was insane. I spent all my time trying to block Vaughn from the wind and keep her covered up.

Vance did well and liked running around and playing defense the best. After the first game was over and he finished his snack he asked if when we were going to leave. "Ha!" I told him. You've got another game! (Again, kudos to the Y for scheduling double headers for the 4 & 5 year olds new to soccer.)

Here he is getting ready to play goalie for part of the second game. He didn't like it at all. He's all about defense.


Here's Vaughn. She's half frozen at this point. Wasn't even wearing socks and wouldn't keep blankets on. And the wind was literally blowing them off. My teeth were actually chattering.

We won the second game and Vance did a great job. He's definitely a runner. We packed up right after, walked our chilly buns thru the mud and loaded into the car for the 30 minute ride home. We got home, changed clothes, and walked right back out the door to a birthday party for Vance's friend.

Here he is on the zip line, after even more running around. This was our first visit to a My Gym and it was really cute. Vance had a great time and was officially worn out afterwards.


(Apologies. Our internet has been off and on and is the reason this post seems rushed and blah.)

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Washing & Freezing Jeans

Apparently, we're not supposed to wash our nice jeans. Water ruins the feel and freezing them is the answer. I was confused at first too.



Thoughts?

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Stepping up for the Environment



The weekly theme for Vance's school has been Stepping up for the Environment. And we've definitely been steppin' up.

All week the kids at school have been making stuff out of stuff...and bringing it home. They've been having a ball with it, but I'm at full capacity for beautiful junk around here.

No recyclable item has been safe - Vance has been using them all for art projects. After dinner tonight I snuck a can, a yogurt container, and a milk carton to the recycling bin. I wasn't able to get the egg carton quick enough and he snatched it up. Half of it was made into a boat and the other half into a bracelet for me.

This is all leading to Earth Hour which is happening on Saturday night at 8:30. Follow the link to learn more, but all you have to do is switch your lights off and go electricity free for one hour. (Saturday will be one busy day around here and I'm hoping that both kids are in bed by this time. We may have to move our hour up so that they can participate.)

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!


My awesome deductive skills have lead me to believe that the huge birds we've seen flying around are not Jersey Devils, but Turkey Vultures.

Here's a screenshot that compares a picture that I took and one from Wikipedia. What do you think? Vance and I have become maniacs looking at these birds - we saw 4 the other day at the same time. It's apparent that we need better equiptment, as we've been relying on his broken, toy binoculars to check them out.

They're big and creepy and I don't remember seeing them last year around here. And ugly! Yeesh, those bright red faces! We always see a ton of hawks around here and have even had a couple land on our fence. They seem so cute and cuddly compared to these monsters.
pictures from wikipedia


Manchester United

Vance's first practice for his outdoor soccer league was last night. After asking me all day if it was time to put his shin guards I finally gave in even if it was still about 20 minutes too soon. He did some action shots for me:


Horrible, blurry picture, but this is what his "goalie" move is like. I think it looks more of a latin dance move. Ole!

Vaughn took mercy on me and stayed buckled in the stroller for the duration of the practice. She ate all the snacks I brought and exhausted two toys as distractions. Towards the end of practice I think it occurred to her that probably since the other kids were running around so could she. I think every practice and game here on out is going to be a struggle keeping her contained.

Look! Big Bro!

His buddy is standing next to him in the white shirt. He was a few minutes late to practice and Vance didn't take this too well. Tears starting flowing and he declared that he didn't want to play but we had a quick chat and he went back on his own out onto the field. I was proud of him for doing that and so excited for Vance when I saw his friend arrive.


One of the highlights of the night was when a little boy raised his hand and asked the coach, "Why do we want to try to kick the ball into the goal?" I'm sure all of the kids are confused on what exactly this soccer stuff is all about and it's a bit scary that we have a double header on Saturday. Manchester United was the name given to the team by the Y and it's clear that they have high expectations from these little guys.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010



First dandelion of the season! Vance found it last night in the front yard. Justin is not happy about this!

Soccer!

Vance's has his first outdoor soccer practice tonight. He's been wearing his shin guards for a couple of days now, so he's ready. And so excited that he can hardly contain himself. I'll take some pictures tonight and post them. Looks like perfect weather for it tonight!

Monday, March 22, 2010

Yesterday I couldn't get a bad smell out of my nose. (I have an annoyingly strong sense of smell. I can't handle most perfumes and I'm super picky when it comes to all things scent related.)


I finally figured it out that it was the new brand of coffee that I recently re-tried. I thought I could do the whole "mind over matter" thing, but no. I walked into the kitchen this morning still smelling it and dumped the jar of coffee into the trash.

I was lying in bed at 3:30 AM today thinking about the upcoming weeks. To put it in analogy form, the stuff that's going on is like a tornado and I'm in the center, the calm eye of the storm, watching everything swirl around me. I have to find a way to stay in the center and try not to get sucked into the swirl and lose control.

This week and the upcoming ones are going to be a bit challenging. I can't start off on the wrong foot with stinky coffee.


Thursday, March 18, 2010

I'm old. Stop taping things to my door

I'm getting old.

Lately I've been spending more time thinking about the weather, vermin, and birds than someone of my age should be.

The tulips out back are really starting to grow and it makes me mad that we lost so many last year to the damn rabbits. Vance thinks if we leave carrots and salad as a peace offering they'll stay away from our plants. No signs of rabbits yet, but I've sure been thinking about them.

We've spotted a giant bird that has been circling around our house. At first we thought it could be the Jersey Devil, but turns out ours doesn't have a tail. We have a lot of hawks around here, but this one is much darker and less speckled. Vance and I saw it again yesterday afternoon and we watched it circle for a long time.

We get a lot of door-to-door advertising around here. Always something hanging on our door handle, left on our porch, taped to the front door, or my personal favorite, a ziploc of sand inside another ziploc with a brochure for lawn care that is left on our driveway. It's annoying but what I can't stand is the taping of things to my front door. Can you imagine walking up to someone's front door and Scotch taping something onto it? I can't!

On my way home the other day I saw people out with flyers and tape so I quickly taped a note of my own onto my front door, asking them not to tape anything to the front of my house. Fight the man! They skipped our house that day, but I felt a little old and crotchety leaving a No Solicitation! note.



Dear Shawna left this ad awhile back. This has definitely been our spiciest ad. There were more pictures on back (she even brings a chair for chair dancing!) and turns out ol' Shawna is certified in personal training, pilates, kickboxing, and is also a nutrition counselor. I'm just going to leave it at that.

Have a good Thursday!

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

St. Patrick's Day

Internet seems to be working now. Here goes!

For those who read my sister's blog, here's the Leprechaun trap that she was talking about. This was St. Patrick's Day of 2007. The kids decorated the box then we propped it up with a stick and put some bait out before bed. When the kids awoke the trap was down and goodies were left behind, but to no avail the leprechaun escaped.


St. Patrick's Day's have gotten a little less boring since then. Our leprechaun leaves green orange juice in the fridge for Vance. And he's perfectly content with that.

Look! Green juice!

Here's the kids in full regalia. Vaughn kept the braids on for about 3 seconds.


We rounded the night out with Mexican food. Hey, the guacamole was green!


Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Blah

I spent some of my precious time on Friday making a new picture for Vaughn's room. Everything was going great until the last step and it became clear that this wouldn't be working out the way I imagined. I had to scrap everything and am now trying to figure out Plan B.


On Friday night I picked out new glasses and picked them up on Saturday. Since then I've been back 4 times for them to be readjusted. They still are uncomfortable and it sucks because I really like how they look, but obviously they just aren't working out. So I'm going to need to take them back and look for another style. Sounds easy, but Vaughn doesn't do errands, especially ones that require her to quietly sit still for more than 15 seconds.

Today I called about an insurance bill that I received yesterday. It was for a doctor's appointment back in 2008. There's all sorts of wrong going on there and the lady said she'd send it back in for Review. I can't imagine how sucky this lady's job is. I was extra nice when even you could tell she was frustrated with what was going on.

I'm sure no one is still reading, as this could be one of the dullest entries. It's Tuesday, which means Lost is on and Parenthood. Are you guys watching that? I want it to do well because I loved the original movie with Steve Martin. I missed Kell on Earth last night and the Housewives from last week. Where are my priorities???

Yesterday was a weird day. Full of things that normally don't happen on a Monday. I'm a little out of whack today because of it and even though Vaughn is still napping, I'm already looking forward to bedtime. It's Sheet Day around here, off to make that happen.




Sunday, March 14, 2010

St. Patrick's Day Parade & Pi Day


We took the kids to their first parade yesterday. (At least, I think it was Vance's first parade.) Vance said it was the best day of his life and Vaughn laughed and said, "woah!" the whole way through.

"Candy! They're throwing candy! All we're doing is sitting here and they're giving us candy!" This concept blew their minds.

Don't forgot to switch your clocks and Happy Pi Day. (I once wrote a paper about Pi and included some Pi jokes in which my really nice, but totally geeky, professor told me that he copied them so he could share them with a fellow Pi fan. Here's one: What do you get when you divide the circumference of a jack-o-lantern by its diameter? Pumpkin pi!)





Friday, March 12, 2010

Don't wike it!

Among all of our other obstacles throughout the day, the kids have chosen something new to torment me with. Drumrollll......


Both of them now have opinions on the clothes they wear!

Getting dressed yesterday morning took a little more time than it normally does. I can see why Vance would care more, because he's older, but to me there's no excuse for Vaughn. "Don't wike it!" she says. "Dwess, don't wike it!"

And there we go. My little girl doesn't wike dwesses and when we play tea party she drinks straight from the spout of the tea kettle.

She loves her babies, but is open to taking a dinosaur on a stroller ride when a baby isn't nearby. She's never been a girly girl, but has always been somewhere in the middle, which I like. I'm not ready for princess stuff yet and, clearly, neither is she.


Thursday, March 11, 2010

New Level of Uncool



It occurred to me yesterday that I'm a huge dork. Why? Because I could hardly contain my excitement when I found these dinosaurs for Vance at the grocery store.

Although we have a bucket of dinos, we do not have a parasaurolophus or a spinosaurus. And my coolness factor just dropped a few points because I know their correct names. Vance was super-excited about them and he thinks I'm pretty cool, so I'm telling myself that's all that matters.

Just wait until I give him the stygimoloch that I've been holding onto...

Happy Thursday! Make it a good one!


Wednesday, March 10, 2010

You know what they say about Assuming...

The other day Vance and I were having The Stranger talk. We went over all The Stranger rules, that we don't talk to strangers, we don't go anywhere with strangers, everything. Vance seemed to be on board, was nodding accordingly, and saying things like, "I'll never go anywhere with a stranger, even if he has candy!" Good boy.


And then he looked at me with big eyes and said, "Mommy, what's a stranger?"

Yeesh. Guess I forgot to mention what a stranger was. So many times we assume that kids know all the basic stuff.

Kind of like the lesson plan I made (way before I ever had kids) for Kindergartners that required them to tie knots (we were learning about Calder and making mobiles). I had no idea that most kids that young couldn't do that. My sidekick and I did all the tying and it was a mess of strings and sticks around the classroom that day. Never again.

My phone is telling me that it's supposed to be 72 degrees today. Yes, I have an app for that. I hope it's true, I can't wait. I might even get stuff to make guacamole. It's Taco Wednesday for us! Enjoy your day!

Monday, March 08, 2010

Quinoa: Rhymes with Meemaw

Quinoa. Love it, but have never made it myself...until now.

Here's some background info: It's considered a super food, packs the most protein of any of its grain friends, and the Mayans referred to it as gold. It's pronounced keen-wah. The list is pretty much endless on what you can add to it, this is what I did for my first attempt:


Saute 10-15 minutes or until Vance says, "Mommy, it's gettin brown!"


This is what mine looked like after. I did this early in the day to get it out of the way. Dinnertime is crazy enough as it is. The more prepping I can do beforehand, the better.

Justin and I liked it. The kids, notsomuch. I think it was the brown mushrooms that scared them. (Whoever says letting kids help in the kitchen will make them better eaters is nuts. Vance always has enjoyed helping me cook and he won't eat anything. I'm sure it's just a phase.)

I tried my best to get a good "after" shot. Quinoa isn't the prettiest food, so don't let this picture deter you from making it. I had what was left of it for lunch today and believe it tasted better than last night. Go ahead and Google it, there's a million recipes out there.


Weekend Update!

We had a good weekend and took advantage of the warm weather. Lots of playtime outside, visited a new park, did some yard work, and even brought some of the patio furniture out. On Sunday Justin took the kids on a bike ride, which was Vaughn's first trip in the carrier. Our neighborhood is pretty hilly, so Justin got a workout pulling the 75 pounds behind him. It was a short trip, but the kids enjoyed themselves.



We also signed Vance up for a new soccer league. His old league was indoor and this league is outdoor, so new soccer shoes will be involved. I think Justin is excited about this. Games start at the end of the month.

Did anyone else feel really uncomfortable for Molly Ringwald while she was speaking at the Oscars last night? She seemed a little out of it.

Let's get on with our day. Happy Monday! Oh, that reminds me! It's Eye Doctor Appointment time tomorrow morning! It's been a good 3 years since I've been and I'm excited. I'm pretty sure my eyes are getting worse, but new prescriptions also mean new glasses!

Sunday, March 07, 2010

Breakfast with a pirate



Breakfast with a pirate.

Saturday, March 06, 2010

Dressed for a Party



On the way to Samuel's birthday party.

Friday, March 05, 2010

The Limo was Really Big...

Vance and I played outside yesterday and it was such a welcomed change of pace for us. Although he didn't like my idea of laying on the driveway, soaking up the sun he played along for a few minutes. He learned a new game at school yesterday, pretty much a new form of Tag, so we played a lot of that. And find the rock. And he dug for dinosaur bones. And tried finding worms for his worm house, but didn't find any. Where are all the worms? That's what Vance would like to know.


You know guys, if I'm ever in a limo with my teenaged kids and am not present enough to know that they are sneaking alcohol RIGHT THERE IN FRONT OF ME and then try to use "the limo was really big, I couldn't tell" as a valid excuse, and then knowingly let my two underaged drunk kids into a party instead of sending them right back home, holy crap...I lost my train of thought. That's right, bad parenting. Yikes! I about died when I saw that last night!

We are soooo looking forward to this weekend. Daddy's back, kids are healthy, weather is supposed to be nice, Samuel's birthday party is tomorrow. Lots of fun stuff!

Happy Second Birthday Mr. Samuel! Hope you have a great day!





Thursday, March 04, 2010

One year ago today



One year ago we were getting ready to cover the awful fruit tile. While the fruit bothers me, so does the fact that the switches on either side aren't level with one another.

You know what else? The granite slab for the island isn't set squarely on the cabinets. On one end the overhang is 1 inch and on the other end it's closer to 2 inches. Living with this mind is intense! At times I wish I could turn it off!

Funny that these types of things drive me batty, but a few weeks ago Vance put a big Lego creation on our bathroom vanity, in between our sinks, and it's still there right now. In fact, I should do a post about all the toys that are sprinkled around the house where they shouldn't be.

Vaughnie Update: She's fine. No more puking incidents and she never ran a fever. Justin returns home tonight and Vance is pumped to see Daddy and eat pizza. Happy Thursday!

Wednesday, March 03, 2010

I'm the Man of the House!

Last night, Vance and I were reading about the Deinonychus and his toe claw when I heard Vaughn screaming. I ran upstairs to check and saw that she had gotten sick everywhere.


This sent Vance into "I'm the Man of the House" mode. I asked him for help and then he kept saying it, "I'm the Man of the House!" He sat with Vaughn while I buzzed around trying to quickly clean up. Although, he totally abused his title and took advantage of me being tied up with Vaughn, because I caught him putting on his Spiderman costume over his pj's (now, waay after bedtime) and running laps around playroom while I was quietly trying to get Vaughn back to sleep.

She didn't have a fever last night and we didn't eat any new foods yesterday, so I'm a little confused on what's going on. Maybe she was feeling self conscious because we learned she was the oldest and the heaviest at her music class yesterday. (The runner up is 6 days younger and he only weighs 27 pounds. Vaughn is still tipping the scale at 33.) Hopefully it was just a fluke and she's feeling better today.

Tuesday, March 02, 2010

THING 1

"Just in case..."

Limited time today and my brain is still sleeping, so I'll share a story that I overheard at Vaughn's music class a few weeks ago.


Two moms are talking about clothes. One mom admits to buying clothing for her little guy at a consignment shop...but, "I always put an undershirt or onesie underneath just in case". (Just in case of what, I'd like to know.)

If it bothers you that a stranger has worn a shirt that is now on your baby, why shop at a consignment store in the first place? Is the money you saved worth the mental anguish that this lady appears to be living with? Was she saying that just so the other mom wouldn't think less of her? Was she just a total nutcase? Maybe! But she was nice and since has moved on to a different time slot of music class, so we'll never know the whole story.

Happy Random Story Monday. And Happy Birthday to Dr. Seuss. Vance's school is celebrating and it's "Dress like your favorite Dr. Seuss character day". I have completed a half-ass costume for Vance. If I can get my act together I'll share a picture.


Monday, March 01, 2010

And the birthdays keep coming!


Last night we celebrated Stephanie's birthday and Uncle Wally's birthday, which is today.


Happy Birthday Uncle Wally! Hope you have a great day today! We love you!

(The Christmas lights did come down yesterday. And by the looks of it, my camera phone may be going out. If it does go out, it would be the first issue I've had with my phone and I've had it since 2007. I'm a Mac fan through and through!)

 

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