My Niece

*My daughter and her cousin both at age 2 years and 4 months.

Today marks the eleventh birthday of my niece. I remember the day she was born, we went to the hospital to meet her and I had my little girl with me at 2.5 weeks of age. Even in that short amount of time of a two week difference in age it made my niece look so tiny and my girl so big. They grow so fast from the moment they enter this world.

While my niece and daughter can be opposites, they do share a unique bond that I pray will always last. They went to preschool together for two years, they have a secret handshake that they do every.single.time.they.meet, and they just work well together.

Their differences (my niece is the soccer-pro who is very much into skateboards, and enjoys the more rugged side of life ... and my girl, the dancer who enjoys art, pink and the cautious side of life) make them work well together. We live just miles apart, and my girl is excited for eighth through twelfth grade when the two will finally be back at the same school. I suspect that even if they hang around different crowds, they will still stop for their secret handshake in the halls.
My niece brings us so much joy; she is a hard worker, and I am so excited to see where she takes herself in life. Because she has already grown into a wonderful person with a caring heart, the sweetest smirk, and confidence.

Happy Birthday, M!!!
xoxoxoxoxo

Miley Cyrus

Recently my daughter and I spent the evening together at a Miley Cyrus concert. It was the first concert as only Miley, and when the buzz was going around that the concert would only last one hour and ten minutes, I thought it was going to be a bomb.

Cyrus proved me wrong. That young girl worked hard the entire seventy minutes; only going off stage for her quick-changes and then she'd be back out in seconds flat to continue her dancing and singing. It was the show to see for my daughter's first concert. We both loved it.
The highlight was one of the final songs when Miley sang one of my favorites: The Climb. It is a quieter instrumental song, so when she sang you could hear all the tweens and teens singing along with her from the audience. It was very moving to hear all these young girls have such a motiviational song to sing to with their Super Star.

My girl was bouncing all night with excitement; smiles that would not stop. It was everything she had dreamed ... short of meeting Miley ... and it was a perfect night for mom too.
We met up with our friends; the girls got tickets for the concert on their respective birthdays without the moms even chatting before; pure luck! My girl in the middle, her buddy on the left dressed alike, and then her buddie's friend from another school, but whom fit in extremely well with the hyper-excitement that most eleven year old girls can be when presented with a night such as this.

9.25.93

Sixteen Years last Friday I wed my Best Friend. It was a beautiful, warm sunny day then, and my memory is that we have always had nice fall weather on our anniversaries. I love this time of year for so many reasons, but specifically for the memory of our wedding day and the celebration of our marriage.

I like this photo. It is our homecoming from our honeymoon on the Oregon Coast; a beautiful beach vacation and road trip. Wow, to be young and married and venturing on our own felt very much adult. We had started our journey and it was amazing.

We started renting our first Condo on September 1st that year, and it sat vacant until we returned home on the second of October; married. We wanted a chance to move in before our wedding and honeymoon; after all we needed a place to stay once we returned! We took the weeks to move the few pieces of furniture that we did have between the two of us and what we had purchased together. We wanted our home to feel like home when we got home. And it did.

You would think we came home to a party full of family as this photo depicts that we didn't snap it, but we did. My husband the photographer and ambiance maker way-back-then insisted that I sit in our Volkswagen Jetta while he ran in to set up the camera on the tripod. Once situated, I was motioned to walk to the door while he set the timer; then he rushed over, picked me up to carry me over the threshold while the camera snapped. Pretty great that we have this memory.

Sixteen years. It has gone extremely fast. I could not think of any one else that I would want to spend my life with; my true partner. I love him for every detail that makes him him, for every characteristic, for every nuance ... I. Love. Him.

Happy Sweet Sixteenth Anniversary Weekend, Honey!!!

My Time

The sun has been generous around here all month, it has been lovely. But now that Fall is officially in season, I decided it was time to clean out my master closet and get ready for the change in weather that we are certain to have.

While I do not actually rotate my clothing by season through my closet like some I know, I do have to go through and designate a Donation Pile versus a Garbage Pile (the ones that are too old looking and I'd be embarrassed to donate) versus a Keep Pile.

Once I loaded the portion marked garbage into the recycle bin and the donations into the back of my car, I went back and picked out the empty good hangers and replaced the ones I didn't like. I only have plastic hangers, but some tend to be more thick at the neck, or have this little loop thing that sticks out at the neck and ends up hooking onto other hangers; a pain.

Then, I added all my Keep Pile clothes back on hangers and hung by color. For the record, I have never hung any of my clothing by colors. I started doing it with my girl's closet one day in the summer when we redid her closet, and we both fell in love with it. I decided to copy; we'll see how long it lasts for me.

I also realized what a Bag Lady I had become. Savings bags for those times "just in case" I needed to bag something up to take it some where or to some one. But in reality, I didn't need ALL THOSE BAGS. It was getting out of control. And that exercise ball? I finally deflated and bagged (HA) for a realistic later use. Wow, imagine the floor space I just created!

It took me a good portion of my afternoon but I saved some spare time in order to drive to the donation station before getting the kids from school. It was a motivating day.

I am going to enjoy some My Time for a few days. I will pop back into the normal blog routine on Monday. Have a terrific weekend!

A good man in uniform

This morning I thought my agenda was going to be going to the grocery store. I had my list, the kids were moving towards the car, and I was getting those bands back onto my braces when I realized that I was down to my last four bands. So a quick scan of my calendar made me determine to go ahead and drive the forty minutes to the orthodontist to get myself some new bands. Granted, they would have mailed them to me, but if my goal is to get these off my teeth, I need to wear these bands all.the.time. and I could not afford waiting a day or two with out.

Regardless of my last minute change in plans, I was in a good mood. The sun was out full blast, it was warm, my sunroof was open, I was listening to a fun CD. I got the bands, and then I decided to go birthday shopping for my niece while I was in the area of a certain store (don't want to give it away), but it is a cool store. Grabbed a Starbucks blended lemonade to go with this great weather and off I went back towards my home for the grocery store.

As I was traveling the correct speed down the road, I noticed a police officer pull up behind me. He was fiddling with his computer while driving, while I specifically did not even touch my phone (hands-free cell phone law in our state). In all honesty I thought, "I wonder if they randomly do a search on people's license plates to see if a car has been stolen or if the driver might have a warrant." As soon as my thought finished ... his red lights went on. Are you kidding me?

I pulled to the right and he followed. Ah, what?

I rolled down my window, and turned off my radio as he walked slowly to my driver's side. "May I please have your license, registration, and insurance card?" I gathered it all up speedy quick and then asked, "May I ask why you pulled me over?" He pointed to my registration, "Expired tabs. September 2nd." I seriously thought I had until the end of the month to pay and I told him this. His grandiose manner softened and he said, "I know. A lot of people miss their date, including me. Give me a minute and I'll be back." Sigh.

He came back and told me that he was willing to work with me. He gave me a 7 hour deadline, saying that if I got my tabs renewed, and faxed or emailed him an attachment of proof, that he would not give me a ticket. But if the deadline passed and no proof is sent his way, then my ticket would come in the mail. He handed me his business card, we had a deal.

I drove straight to the Department of Motor Vehicles ... which thankfully is within 10 minutes of my house ... paid my tabs, placed my tabs on my vehicle, came home to email him the attachment ... all within sixty minutes ... giving me six hours to spare.

I met a good man in uniform today.

Now, still gotta get those groceries ...

Breathe

Word of advice from my mom, "Remember to breathe." I like that. After the craziness of my kiddos school and activities schedules swirling around my head last Saturday, I decided to sit down first thing on Sunday and write a list. Something I am good at because that is how I grew up; my mom was and is famous for her list-making. I am glad I have her same skill.

The new addition to the inside of my pantry door, next to the substitution food list (*keeping reading), is the daily schedule for both children. My children are involved in individual-type of sports; dance and Tae Kwon Do, in addition to individual lessons such as piano, flute and drums. The need to practice outside of class for all of these activities is important to their success. In addition, study time for academics is a daily routine too.

Which got me thinking: given that the kids are gone for seven hours, five days a week, and are in bed at a decent hour, what remains are six hours of awake time to travel to, from and complete their lessons, manage their homework, and practice at home (oh, and eat and shower, and find time for some fun).

Thus the schedule. The days the kids go to lessons, they do not need to practice. So that eliminated two days for my son's TKD, one day for my daughter's dance, two days for flute, one day for piano and drums. Homework is a daily routine; reading, math, writing and spelling. But Monday through Friday certain items have to be done in the morning, while other items get to be their choice on when to complete prior to 8pm.

Example; I do best giving spelling words while I am making lunch, so Spelling is an AM responsiblity. Versus, what time they plan to fit in their reading is their choice. But then we also have to figure out when my daughter will play the flute and piano, versus my son playing the drums. And we need to take into account the weekends, when the entire schedule goes crazy, but at least the kids are aware prior to the weekend what is expected of them. Time management. Are you just as tired/bored as I was thinking about this?

In the end, we got the schedule. The kids know how to read it, they follow it, nobody has to think too hard on a daily basis. Keeping all the balls in the air just got easier. LOVE it.

*Substitution Food List: My son had a history in second grade of "Ugh, not my favorite." when it came to dinner time eating. It was more battle than not to get him to eat what was placed before him, and to tell you the truth, it was getting to be just a little more than what I could handle. So, one evening early in the summer I had had enough. And that is when my brilliant husband volunteered this thought and saved my world.

Don't like the main dish? Then find an item off the substitution list posted on the inside of the pantry door and make it yourself. The list of five protein based items are a staple that I always have on hand: Peanut Butter Sandwich, Swiss Cheese slices, Yogurt, Deli Meats, Eggs/Oatmeal. My children sat down with me to help create the list and agreed to the new system.

Guess what? My son has yet to go to the substitution list ... and I have not changed my menus. A-ha! I think it was just a battle of the wills. And I consider myself the winner.

Piano Mondays

Today marks only my second week of teaching piano lessons after the summer break and I am enjoying my students greatly. Two of my students from last year were unable to return due to a move, but I have filled their spots with two new students, plus added one additional to my day.

Teaching three students who have never played any key on the piano, but who vary in age from fifth grade to second grade, and who come from three different households, with varying personalities; proves again that my teaching style must alter with each student.

Nothing is routine about teaching piano back-to-back-to-back all day long. You have your lesson planned for each student, who might be playing the same songs as the others, but what you focus on for that student varies. It makes my day zip by, thankfully, as the alternative would be awful.

I end my night at 8pm with a very sweet, adorable little girl in second grade. Tonight was her very first lesson, and mom has shared with me previously that she has been dying to take lessons. She is finally "old enough." And with that comes eagerness and excitement!

She hopped right up to the bench (that's right, hopped ... her feet don't even touch the floor) and listened so well during her lesson.

My prize for my full day? Quote to her mother from this sweet student as she hopped down from the bench, "Momma, I don't want to go home to bed, I want to go home to practice now." Ahhh, star student!

Momma's response with a smile and a wink, "I thought this might happen."

Live Like You Were Dying

Our Pastor is doing a series on this topic: Live Like You Were Dying. It is an enlightening series that has me pondering about the seed idea for the week. Because 0ur Pastor and three others from our congregation left yesterday for Nepal to hold a conference for pastors, we had the fortune of listening to our High School Youth Pastor.

This is a guy answering his calling, as I would say two characteristics are at the forefront that make this man work well with his profession ~ energetic, and hip on the use of language spoken to uplift teens and connect quickly with them ... does that make sense? Okay, here's another way to look at it, sometimes us "older folks" need a moment to grasp what he just said. I enjoy his messages for that reason. You get home, you are going about your day, and his message pops into you and it is finally made clear. Effective. I pray that he sticks around through my youngster's high school graduations, as I know my two will enjoy his leadership style greatly.

So the message ... Live Like You Were Dying ... if you were given the information that you would have thirty days to live; how would your last 30 days be made? In prayer? With good food and friendships? Tying up loose ends with relationships that went sour? Solitude? Extreme activities that you never thought you'd partake in for the fear of dying while enjoying? Volunteerism? Donations? What ...

And then the message is ... what are you waiting for? How do you achieve this throughout your life, because really we all are on our final days, it is just that some are fortunate enough to know it.

Today's message from the hip Youth Pastor of our church; which I find as ironic as his command of the Word and way of teaching is just this: Speak Sweeter ... 1 Peter 4:11-12. And now a must-see video to put the spin on the message and make it stick.

Sensory Overload

My head is swirling like the Tie Dye print above. I have so much I want to do and have to do, but I feel like I am swimming and not moving forward. I hope I don't end up drowning.

While the kids do not have homework packets to complete like prior years, they are responsible for their daily minutes of reading, math, journal writing, and spelling practice. Which means, because it is new and they are still young and learning, Mom needs to step in and get the ball rolling. This self-accountability for the student's learning will be great as they continue to grow, but getting started is a challenge for the three of us.

I do not want to be the hawk that says, "Read. Did ya read? How many minutes did you read? Can you share what you read with me?" Or the "Math. What do you want to study today? Math facts? Math based computer game? Come on, we gotta do your minutes." Blah, blah, blah. As one friend said to me, "If I, their mother, tell them to do their reading or math, they think it is a chore and fight me. But when they did packets assigned by the teacher, they just jumped up and did it."

So, aside from figuring out our routine for the assigned home minutes, I have an endless list of equally important other want-to's and have-to's ... and ... my head is listening to my daughter practice the piano, while my son is yelling Tae Kwon Do Kihap's while practicing his kicks, while my husband is listening to a college football game on a higher mode than normal (to get over the said other noises in my house), while my dog is barking at a critter in the woods, while my front doorbell just rang from a neighborhood friend who wants to play, while looking at my To Do List and wondering Where shall I start?

I think I don't have much of a choice; that Potatoe Salad is in need of fixing as our neighborhood End Of Summer BBQ will be taking place in one hour. I hope my head swirling will chill out so that I can enjoy the friends on the block ... and I'll just start over tomorrow.

New Desk and soon-to-be-new-room

Back in June my husband and I were with my daughter for her dance studio's dress rehearsal on stage. It was a scheduled l-o-n-g day for the three of us, but my parents offered to take my son on a date. They took him shopping for a new desk for his room. He was using a hand-me-down desk from my husband; and while it was in fairly decent condition, it was tiny! My son had grown and would be starting third grade, a larger desk was warranted.

They chose one that day and it took about eight weeks for it to be made and shipped. Then came the fun part; my dad the woodworker went to town at making it look perfect for his Grandson. He bought a stain that matched perfectly with my son's bookcase and the headboard of his bed. It looks gorgeous.

We helped my dad move it into my son's room after school today. He was all smiles. Both of them! An appreciated gift.My son is officially ready for 3rd Grade!Now comes the rest of the work for us ... cleaning out, painting, and redecorating his room. Not necessarily to go with the new desk, but just good timing. He has outgrown his prior likes of, well, his room never really had any theme or look to it. The colors were complimentary and looked good together; light tan on the walls, burned red, navy, and light blue on the dresser and bedding. It looks fine. But he has been voicing concerns that he needs something different. Something darker. Something more grown up. Just something. Hmm.My husband and I are treading lightly in persuasion, while hoping to accommodate his wishes for his room. We do not want to create a depressed little boy by age 10 by creating a cave-like feeling to his room, and so far if we go with his favorites of either Deep Jungle Green or Potting Soil Brown it may just look Batty Black once painted on four walls. A work in progress, but with a goal to make a happy son and be completed by early October.

Science Tasks

On the first day of school my daughter's classroom was already putting their brains to science with a neat experiment. My girl recreated it at home over the weekend and here are the simple directions.

Take a fresh egg; either white or brown
Put it in a Mason Jar with a lid that will close tightly
Add Water and Vinegar
Seal the jar with the lid for 24-72 hours.

How much water and vinegar? I think it doesn't really matter because my girl started with one cup of each, but then her little brother randomly added more vinegar on top of that before they closed the lid. So much for accuracy, but the experiment was still a success.

You will begin to notice that over the course of the day(s) the egg shell will begin to peel away and create a bubbly film on top of the water. Eventually all the shell will be off the egg, leaving the round egg in place. Once completed, carefully open the jar. Carefully take out the egg and you will find it rubbery. It feels like a bouncy ball. You can bounce the egg from a short distance, but we only did this in our sink. It can break, and when it does, the egg inside looks like any fresh egg when cracked open.

Pretty neat!!

On an unrelated side note, but somewhat science like, my children baked homemade chocolate chip cookies one Saturday of late. All by themselves. My husband was out, I was doing chores upstairs, they were baking. Yum! They came up with a plate of cookies and milk for me to do a little taste testing.

My daughter's cookies were noticeably soft and gooey.

My son's cookies were noticeably hard and crunchy.

They used the same batter, the same oven temp, and the cookie sheets were in the oven for the same duration. Why the difference?

My daughter "slammed" her cookie tray on the kitchen counter straight out of the oven. My son gently placed his cookie tray on the kitchen counter.

Many, many blog posts ago on a friend's blog (perhaps it was YOU, I honestly do not remember which one) I remember reading about the slamming of the cookie tray as the key to soft and gooey cookies.

The kids tested it.

They agree.

The Fair

Every September our music teacher in elementary school would strum his guitar while we looked up to the over head projection of the lyrics to our communities Fair Theme Song. I still remember it; You can do it at a trot, you can do it at a gallop ... and if I type any more, I will sing it for the rest of the day, no thank you.

I think the magic of a fair through the eyes of a youngster are many. Here are just a few that I remember.

The smells ~ the greasy onion hamburgers, mixed with the sweetness of scones and elephant ears, mixed with manure, and sweat from teens because they've been running from one ride to the next all crazed-like; as if it would all disappear in five minutes.

The noises are magical too, the screeching of the gears of rides that twirl, and drop, and shake. The racket of the old-fashion wooden roller coaster. Balloons popping, ring toss clanking, screams of teens, and cries of little ones. Cows moo'ing, horses snorting, pigs squealing, chickens calling the day.

The sights are fantastic. The animals pulled me in every. single. year. I loved seeing how the cowgirls and cowboys reacted with their animals. I would daydream what it would be like to spend the night at the fair with your animal. Cooped up on the hay, blanket thrown over, not really getting good slumber, the excited dreams of the Blue Ribbon prize.

The touch of the fair is mixed with grime and dirt and germs ... but you are at the Fair! All the cleanliness manners go out the window and kids thoroughly enjoy the difference.

We took the kids to the Fair this weekend. My daughter and I are alike in that we are not big carnival-ride-type of people. My son used to be on our side, until he experienced the rides at Sea World. He jumped ship and swam over to be on my husband's team ... the guys that like thrill rides.

My daughter requested the Gondola Ride ... she and I rode in the same car and loved it. Just enough thrill and a chance to see the fair as we passed over the complex. And then she was done. Happy, but done. So, she and I did this:

While my husband and son did this:
We enjoyed our family day this past weekend at the Fair in the hot September sun! Still loving the Fair!!!

She's joined the band

My daughter has joined the band! The fifth grade band at her school; which meets an hour prior to the start of school, twice a week, for the school year. She has been talking about this for some time and recently sat down with my dad (who grew up playing multiple instruments in many bands) to get the inside scoop on the band instrument options that her school allowed.

She chose the flute. I know nothing about the flute, and it was an instrument that my dad had never played either. My best friend growing up played the flute, and I remember watching her play, but it really gave me no help in researching flute rentals.

However, I think we made a good choice. She can make an adequate noise already, her fingers fit, and she is beaming. The rest will be up to the conductor and my daughter's good listening and practicing skills.
Although we picked up the Flute on her birthday, it was not a birthday gift. However it added some fun flavor to her afternoon before her family party kicked off. While she played around, my son grabbed a party balloon and started drumming; he's been taking weekly drum lessons from my dad last school year and will continue this school year.
I have a good feeling that this Christmas we'll be jamming out on Christmas songs with a piano, flute, and drums ... while my husband captures it all on camera!

Miley Time

My daughter is not completely head over heals for celebrities. She likes fashion, music, acting and the whole idea of celebrity-life that most young girls go through, but I would not say she is over the top in the slightest when it comes to famous people. With that being said, I will have to also add ... unless it is Miley Cyrus.

I am not sure how or when we started watching Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel. I will admit that I am pretty controlling when it comes to television viewing, but this escapes me. At any rate, she started watching it, loved it, and now that she is older, she has moved away from Hannah Montana, but has stuck with Miley.

During the last few years, we've dealt with the "How come I can't ... " when it comes to concerts. My daughter has never been to a rock star music concert. And so far she has seemed to accept it okay, never throwing a fit or begging too hard. But we knew the day was coming.

Soon my daughter and I will be going to the Miley Cyrus concert. We purchased tickets a few months ago, and surprised her by putting them in a Miley Cyrus Miles to Go hard cover book that I had purchased, and gave them to her for her birthday on Saturday. Her reaction? Priceless. Yea!And the extra-fun-part is that one of her best friends also got Miley Cyrus tickets to the same concert for her birthday one month ago. Us-Moms did not conspire on this, just lucked out. The concert will be the first for both girls ... who, still by the way, think they are the only girls left who have never seen Miley in concert! Glad they can experience the fun on the same night, as I am sure a pre-concert dinner will be taking place together.

Red Carpet Event

My daughter loves to plan parties and attend parties. I wonder what is in her future for a career. She's great in the Arts and she can carry a conversation. Never know, she could be your child's future Event Planner. She planned a fantastic party for her friends in honor of her 11th Birthday. It helped that she has her daddy to help carrying out her plans, as some were pretty involved, and he made her dreams happen. They are a great team, but the details were her ideas.

My daughter wanted each friend to feel "overwhelmed with celebrity goodness" when they arrived to our house so she enlisted the help of my parents to be the party paparazzi. My dad's older Canon makes the perfect click sound that camera's did thirty years ago, complete with the tall flashbulb that shot out a lightening bolt effect. No film inside, but it gave a perfect illusion. My mom with her digital camera helped "fight over" the photograph of each guest with my husband and dad as each guest walked up the Red Carpet path to the front door.

The girls giggled on our porch after they 'made it' through the mob scene to cheer on the next guest to arrive. *the red carpet was made out of four red plastic tableclothes from the party store; clear box tape worked perfectly to secure it to the cement, and thank goodness we had beautiful sunshine.

No Celebrity party would be complete with out a security guard, VIP entrance, and head shot. My role was Celebrity Arrival Control; which entailed getting each guest out of her car, and confirming the guests ride home with her chauffeur (aka: gossiping about the party with the moms as we watched the girls fight their way through the red carpet. hahaha).
While my husband was working on printing the girl's headshots in his den, the girls played Disney Sing It on our xBox 360, munched on snacks, and giggled when not signing. Then they gathered for their cat walk; a modeling photoshoot like every celebrity does while at a Red Carpet Event. I knew my daughter would be secure in strutting her stuff, but I wasn't sure how the rest of the girls would react. We figured that if anything, my husband would just get some sweet photographs of her friends to share with the parents. I was wrong about the shyness and insecurities. Those girls, all seven of them, knew exactly what to do in front of a camera! No insecurities there for these 10 & 11 year old girls! What fun. They gobbled up the attention.

Our caterer arrived half way into the party; pizza man. I purchased four large pizza's, two all cheese, and two traditional pepperoni. They gobbled up the cheese only, leaving us two large pizzas that we have ate countless times over the weekend (ugh). But they enjoyed their dinner together. We had purchased these cute bags and filled them with costume glizzy jewlery, we made a cd for each guest of my daughter's favorite music, an autograph pen, and a VIP Card were all included. The VIP Card provided an invitation and instructions on how to sign-in to my husband's secured website to view and download all of the party pictures, so the girls have their modeling shoot, their head shot, red carpet entrance and miscellaneous photos to share with their parents. By this time the head shots were done printing and we sent the girls upstairs. While they were busy talking in my daughter's room, my dad and son lightly hid 49 head shots around the downstairs portion of our house. Earlier in the party they had practiced their autograph signatures.

What next? They had to come downstairs and find the head shot photos of each girl and then get their autograph. What a hit!!! They not only were racing to find each girl in an "Easter Egg Hunt" kinda fashion, but then they also had to get them signed.

My daughter started the craze by jumping up and down and s-c-r-e-a-m-i-n-g her friends name (name changed for the blog) "Sabrina Maxwell, oh my goodness, It's Sabrina Maxwell!! I can't believe it!! AHHHH! Can I pleeeease have your autograph?" Over and over, all the girls caught on and they were all doing it to each other and it was so funny and so cute!!By now the clock was ticking and the parents were soon to arrive, so it was present time and more giggles, and chatter, and Celebrity drama. What a fantastic party! Well done, daughter, and thank you, husband, for once again making our girl's plans come true!! What a fun way to enter your 11th year!!

5th Grade Girls

My daughter's birthday is tomorrow. She will be Eleven. I am so thankful and so proud of her. As parents, we all know that words can not describe the love that we have for our children. Words always fail, because the heart is so full of passion over our children.

Today we celebrated her birthday with six of her closest friends and we had a fantastic evening. I'll get to the chase ... I have a headache from smiling, laughing, and listening to all the nonstop chatter and excitement of seven 10/11 age girls ... with a sibling brother who was swooned over by them; creating even more happy chaos.

Pictures will be posted on Sunday. We have a Red Carpet Celebrity Event themed-mess scattered around our front yard, back yard, and downstairs area. We have to make it all disappear before our family party tomorrow; and it is already dark and my shoes are kicked off, hair up, ready for business.

I will be spending morning through night with my amazing daughter tomorrow, so meet me back here sometime on Sunday for pictures and specifics.

Happy Birthday, My Sweet Eleven Year Old Girl!!
xoxoxox

A new game

Have you heard of this one? Have I already blogged about this one? Oh well, this is what I've got for today, so read on. The goal of this game is to find license numbers that go in sequence order to see how long it takes you to get to the final number of 999. In our state we have three numbers followed by three letters. So you start your search with 000. If you happen to see a 002 or 005 along the way, it does not count. You have to spy the number when you exactly need it.

My friend who perhaps invited this game, or at least shared it with me, is up to 540-something, and she started about six or seven years ago. On her facebook page or blog she would sporadically update the readers on her number by simply writing something such as 531!!! Woo Hoo!!

I had to give it a try. And quickly learned that talking to passengers, concentrating on the road, while searching for 000 was not as easy as I had originally thought. Until I found my first number; the kids were with me in the car about a month ago as we headed to our grocery store. 000 was right in front of us. We cheered, let the game begin!

This morning, as I was driving home from donating at the Goodwill, 001 passed me on my right. Talk about a silly thrill to get your morning started. I can't wait to share it with my kiddos after school; I already shared via FB to my friend.

Silly game. But quickly addictive.

Awww, the Riverwalk

Our August trip to Texas ended with a final night in San Antonio. We had heard only wonderful comments about the Riverwalk and we were anxious to see what the fuss was all about. And it proved to be fuss worthy. Shops line the river, riverboats take people to and from the shops, or you can walk the path and go over neat bridges to and from any restaurant or store. It is casual, yet hip, yet fancy, yet comfortable, yet kid friendly. It will be more brilliant when their renovation is complete; which will make the entire Riverwalk experience one hundred percent wheelchair and stroller accessible.

After our five hour drive from the Gulf of Mexico to San Antonio, a quick stroll through the Alamo before it closed, we finally headed over to our hotel; The Hyatt Regency Riverwalk. We were asked if we'd like to be upgraded to a River View Room; we agreed and it was a nice spot to end our week. Looking out at the river below, surrounded by gorgeous green trees and tall buildings. Peaceful.Photo a little out of order; bu we made the most of our last hours in San Antonio by ordering breakfast at the Rooftop Pool and taking a dip before we packed and showered to head home.
Camera phone photo of the boat ride around the Riverwalk.

We freshened up and got into our first-time-in-many-days-dinner-clothes-that-I-over-packed-and-only-used-on-the-last-evening attire. And then we headed straight for the Riverboat Tour. That was worth the 45 minutes to be captivated on the boat with an exceptional tourguide sharing all the secrets and known facts about the River and the City. It was a sunset cruise, so to speak, when we entered it was dusk, by the time we left, it was dark. It was gorgeous.We ate at this great Mexican Restaurant; Casa Rio. Where I embarrassed myself by asking the waitress for the enchilada sauce, of the Cheese Enchilada that I ordered, to be on the side. Yes, I did. Full disclosure, I tell ya. Our beautiful waitress of Mexican decent looked at me in shock, and offense. She told me, It would be like asking for a pizza with no sauce (which by the way, I have heard of, but I was not going to take it any further). Okay, but promise me it is not hot or spicy. She promised. She was right. And yes, I ate the entire plate it was so delicious!
For our lunch the next day we ate at Boudro's, another amazing restaurant. Since we were headed to the airport when we had finished and didn't want to be overstuffed while flying the rest of the day and night to get home, we ordered some light appetizers to share as a family. Yum! It was blazing hot and we had been walking all morning in and out of shops, so we were parched. We all ordered a Limeade and well, full disclosure once again, I had multiple and didn't care that each fill up was a charge. It was so refreshing.

Riverwalk. A must when visiting San Antonio. With kids who are only tunneled into shops that sold cool souvenirs, a full 24 hours is sufficient. For adults who want to take in all the great food and explore the shops, then extend your stay. It will not be a waste of time either way.

Sigh

It is frustrating when a situation occurs that changes the routine at a school that has worked brilliantly for the last five years (perhaps more, but we've only been attending for five). Up until mid-March the school allowed students to be picked up at the front of the school. Cars would line up along the sidewalk, kids would be dismissed to the appropriate car. Or, if the parent parked in a parking stall, then they would arrive in person to stand next to the Aid and the student would walk up, get checked off, and the parent/student would leave. It ran smooth, and it was quick.

Then one day, they changed it unannounced. They required all students to stand behind a line on the cement, all parents had to exit their vehicles and go up in person to request said student. Once approved by the Aid, the student could cross the line to the parent and they could leave. It was a zoo. Now while not all 1000 students (sadly, that is not a typo) get picked up daily, there are at least a hundred waiting (and realistically more). But I kept my mouth shut, thinking that they would work out the kinks. However, it never happened, and we left for summer with the same "behind the line pickup procedure".

Now with the start of this school year they are requiring both buildings to exit through Building A. Which means that my two kiddos who are in Building B must walk outside, across the kindergarten playground, into Building A, and walk down its hallway to the line of students congregating for pickup. Then, Aids will call individual students to come up front to be matched with their parent. Whereas, before all this change and procedure happened, they could walk out Building B and land right at the Aids feet by the sidewalk, ready to jump in my waiting car, and leave.

Chaos? Yes. Does it feel like an Auction with parents requesting student's, students waving in acknowledgment, Aids not knowing which one was Jack, Jacob, or John who just waved? Yes. Does it take three times as long? Yes. Can you tell I am frustrated? Yes.

So, I wrote an email last week to voice my concern to the Dean of Students. But it wasn't just a nag session, I do not believe in doing that (I do enough of that behind closed doors with only my good friends and family). In my email I voiced two possible solutions that they could try to help eliminate the chaos, frustration, and added wait time. I thought my suggestions were well planned, and workable.

I got no response.

Sigh.

Tomorrow I will try another approach and hand my pickup card to the Aid at exactly 3:40pm when the school is dismissed and see if she sticks with just my card until my children arrive, or if she gets an entire stack of pickup cards and has to play the Memory Game to sort out the chaos. Hmm. But I'm willing to see how this all works out until the end of the week.

All this time there have been no communication from the school, nothing to suggest that a parent custody battle flub up was made by the school giving the child to the wrong parent, nothing has been said why the change has been made from bad and then to worse in the procedure. However, if this was the case in sending a student home with the wrong custodian, let's have a system in place regarding those students, as they are in the minority at our school.

If you have a fantastic pickup procedure at your school, I'd love to hear it. I just might need to write another email and may need to have new ideas.

Sigh.

Changing the dresser

My husband received this dresser when we were expecting our baby girl. It was given to him from his mom, and I believe the story is that it was originally her dresser as a child, then her daughters, and then now our daughters. Very sweet.

We have taken good care of it and it is one of my favorite furniture pieces in my daughter's room; and I am sure her's too. Eleven years ago we painted the dresser white and had the brilliant idea of covering the dresser drawers in fabric to match the baby's crib and nursery. Throughout the room changes over the years, we have kept up on the changing of the fabric.

Today was the day for a change. We have the hang of it now. We can whip this into shape in less than an hour. Not so the first time around. My husband had to measure, cut, and add the boards that go over the dresser drawers. Because, when you cover something with fabric, it gets thicker, and a drawer may not actually shut. So, artsy and handy that he was, he did not give up on our brilliant plan and instead added the boards so that they sit on the outside of the drawer, allowing the actual drawer to close. We added a little puffy batting to the inside of the fabric so it bumps out a bit from the boards, giving it a smooth, soft, girly finish.
Did I mention brilliant yet?

The new fabric matches her bed because we bought an extra sheet set from her bedding and used it to cover the dresser. In the past, we would visit the fabric store and pick a complimentary accent color or design. This time, my daughter wanted it to match exactly. We all think it looks very cute for a soon-to-be-eleven-year-old-girl!!

That kinda weekend

Nothing. Nothing to report. It is cloudy and raining this weekend and I like to think that my body is no longer used to that. I am sure the cold that I have been fighting, which I eventually lost, has something to do with my sluggish behavior and attitude, but the rain just adds a whole other twist to it. I want the sun to return as promised by Tuesday.

Shortly after I arrived downstairs this morning to kiss my kids who were already in the throws of their weekend morning routine (aka: television) my daughter screams from the comfy family room chair; A Coyote is by our fence! Sure enough, this tall and lanky creature with big eyes and black and gray fur was starring us down from the other side of our farm-style fence. As my son runs out of the room freaked out about our dog, and my daughter is hiding her face crying into the chair pillow, the Coyote casually walks further into the woods and disappears. Our dog was, thankfully, inside creating an added chaos as she was running circles barking, as if saying, "Let me get'em, let me get'em."

Creepy. I do not like that wild of an animal that close to my property. I prefer the raccoons, or bunnies, or opossums, or field mice over anything taller than my dog. In years past we have heard coyote pups barking in the wee hours of the morning, or I should saying screeching, in the woods behind us. That too is a creepy feeling as it sounds like a dog has been caught up in a limb and is struggling to be freed. Never, however, have we seen them right there on our property line. I hope this morning will be the one and only time.

Currently, my daughter is cleaning her room willingly (insert ~ she knows she is hosting a party at the end of the week and it must be cleaned), my son has chosen to bake our family some Banana Bread, my husband is working outside in the rain on our yard, and I ... I think I will curl up with my book and perhaps fall asleep while reading. Why not, it's that kinda weekend.

Giving Praise

Yesterday was a busy day, and a day full of worry. We have family friends who were going through an emotional roller coaster yesterday, to put it mildly. Their niece was born eleven years ago with a very rare form of dwarfism. As a result, she has had surgeries in the past to help her grow and thrive. Yesterday, however, was a day when the surgeons had to perform a high risk operation on her spine, at the base of her neck, to save her life. Her airways were becoming restricted and the survival rate for her was in single digit months.

While the ongoing specifics are not necessary to understand this story, the final words from the head surgeon to the waiting family at the hospital was We'll do our best to bring her back to you. You get the point regarding the scare, stress, and worry that my friend was dealing with yesterday.

I was asked to pick up her children (who are best buddies with my two) from school yesterday. Absolutely. I had baked chocolate chip cookies yesterday and made them huge; I even let them have two, when on any other given day it would have been just one. My children knew the situation of their friends' cousin during the week, and they too wanted a smooth and calm atmosphere for their friends to wait after school. We fixed a taco dinner meal that all the children seemed to enjoy; being able to create their own topping choices and sit together to catch up on three days of school life.

The phone call came shortly after 4:00pm as the kids were munching on those cookies. Seeing my caller ID, I asked the daughter friend if she wanted to pick up the phone or should I. She was confident and anxious that she wanted to talk with her Mom. Chills poured over all of us in the house when we heard our end of the conversation in a high pitched tone with the daughter standing up from the table, biggest smile ever, cheering for her cousin.

The scheduled ten hour surgery was condensed to about six hours, all steps of the procedure moved forward brilliantly, and as the head surgeon spoke to the family after, his reaction was, It was a Miracle. One of the side fears the family and the patient had been most worried during recovery was having to wear a Halo for three months. Another Miracle, no Halo was installed. They found her neck and operation being so strong, that she can recover with out it.

I saw my friend when she come later that night to pick up her children; exhausted, emotionally drained, with fresh tears in her eyes ... but she was beaming. She had seen the Work Of God first hand and it continued to send chills through us.

No question prayers were answered. No question that God Is Good.

Sister in Law in New York

My Sister -in-law and her husband traveled to New York this Labor Day weekend to attend their nephew's wedding. They flew in yesterday, and it did not take them long to be in the know. She landed tickets to the studio audience at Good Morning America and it would be that she got chosen from the crowd to be part of a Test Taste Segment.

Now, for those that know my sister-in-law, this really does not come as a surprise. She is a natural when it comes to being social, has a gift for being energized in a pleasant way, and is quick on her feet in regards to chatting.

So while I was going through my morning routine of checking Facebook and Email, and saw her announcement to DVR GMA for the 8:15am segment, I knew that only she could land this spot within 24 hours of landing in NY City.

I thought she did a great job; she is the beautiful blond in the hot pink shirt, featured last in the episode (but the camera picks her up in the background prior). Her husband was sitting in the audience enjoying the view from his seat. My husband snapped this video while we watched it live in our time zone ... notice the screams of delight from my kids when the video is complete.

The Alamo

During our stay in San Antonio we visited The Alamo, documenting our names in the Guest Book along with 2.5 Million other guests who arrive during a year. What a gorgeous monument and park like setting. Right in the heart of the city, you feel like you have escaped and can relax among the greenery.

While there is a strict no picture taking policy inside the three buildings; the Shrine (Church), the Long Barrack Museum, and the Gift Shop Museum, you were free to photograph outside. Davey Crockett's vest and guns were on display in The Shrine, if only one photo was allowed; I remember singing the Davey Crockett song when I was little and it was neat to finally see the "real man's gear".
Our hotel, the Hyatt Regency on the Riverwalk, was in prime location. The Riverwalk was on one side, and the Alamo on the other. The history we learned from our River Boat Tourguide was that no building is allowed to cast a shadow on The Alamo. Therefore, our hotel had to scrap their plans to build higher than eleven floors, and instead they had to build wider. In addition, they built a beautiful series of fountains and rivers going through their main floor lobby so for those walking the Riverwalk they could continue through the hotel to The Alamo. What a great idea!A quiet place to reflect about Texas History and the History of the United States. It was pretty neat.