Tea'N'Crackers

Swimming Lessons

2010-09-08T11:29:00.000-07:00

As usual, we did swimming lessons this year.

Tea is now in the big pool and actually learning strokes, etc. She's totally getting the hang of it!

Crackers is still in the little pool and still does not like to put his head under water, but he'll get there.

Birthday Party

2010-09-08T11:24:00.000-07:00

Because the kids' birthdays are close together and right now, all of Crackers' friends are Tea's friends, we usually have a joint birthday party for them in the summer. This year, we borrowed a friend's water slide, set up the bounce house and had ice cream sundaes. It was lots of fun!

Only the Shadow knows

2010-07-28T11:54:00.000-07:00

Yes, we have added a new member to our family.

Her name is Shadow (I know, unique!) We got her when she was just at 6 weeks old and didn't even weigh 2 pounds. She is now almost 9 weeks old and goes to the vet for shots on Sunday, August 1st, so we'll see what she weighs then. Gabe is not too sure about her and they tussle now and again. The kids adore her and she is a welcome addition to our family. Finally, the girls and the boys are even again in the house!

Update on Bubba

2010-07-28T11:48:00.000-07:00

First off, here is a link to mom and dad's blog, Comings and Goings. This is their way of keeping everyone up to date in one fell swoop.

There has been a change in the chemo plan, which means no PICC line for Bubba. It does mean about 2.5 hours once a week getting IV chemo (every Wednesday - starting today) but it appears to work better on the type and stage of cancer that Bubba has.

Yesterday, he had his last radiation simulation before starting radiation therapy today. The radiation doc doesn't like to do tattoos for the markings on the outside, so they put a big old X in three spots and cover them with a clear "sticker." Mom and I had the bright idea to let my kids color on Bubba before his appointment on Tuesday.

Here is the end result.


Tea writing "don't hurt Bubba"

Crackers drawing a happy face

The end result. You can see Tea's happy face under his left side marker.

The Plan of Attack

2010-07-23T21:08:00.000-07:00

So, here is the plan of attack against the big C for Bubba.

Last Tuesday, he had the gold markers placed outside of the tumor, in order to triangulate the radiation beams. He starts the radiation therapy on Wednesday next week in the morning and then will go every weekday after that in the afternoon.

On Tuesday, he will get his PICC line put in for the 4 day course of chemotherapy.

Wednesday, after radiation, he will go to the oncologist to do the IV course of chemo, and the 4 day course will start then, too. That will all get repeated in about 4 weeks.

So, that's the plan - prayers and good thoughts are always appreciated.

Our yard in Progress

2010-07-21T20:40:00.000-07:00

If you are on Facebook, you know that Rollie has been working his tushie off in our yard. At the end of May, we had our driveway widened and replaced our brick walkways with stamped and colored concrete.

To do this, Rollie had to dig out the garden that was there and we decided to completely revamp it. We have since added day lillies next to the fence by the driveway and a beautiful metal sunflower. I will get a picture tomorrow and add it to this post. Enjoy!

Between the street and the huge tree

All of the irises went in here

You can see the wider driveway and part of the walk.

The yucca between the tree and the walk.

Remember when I said life was complicated?

2010-07-15T20:49:00.000-07:00

Well, it truly is.

My dad (Bubba to most of us) was diagnosed with esophageal cancer mid-June of this year. He had been losing weight, having trouble swallowing, not eating much, and just generally feeling poopy.

The big C explains all of that! The tumor is right where the esophagus and the stomach meet, at the cardia. It is starting to poke all the way through and into the abdominal cavity.

So, Bubba has been having test after test after test and meeting with doctor after doctor after doctor. Today, he had a PET scan to see if the cancer has spread. He met with the radiologist last week to get the plan of attack.

He will have 5 - 6 weeks of radiation therapy, Monday through Friday, with some low dose chemo thrown in there for good measure. The chemo is two different medicines. One goes in IV on the first day of radiation and then again 4 weeks later. The other one gets a PICC line on the first day of radiation and stays for four days, then comes out. Lather, rinse and repeat 4 weeks later.

I didn't write the names of the chemo down, that's mom's area of expertise. I am just here to support them both and do what ever they need me to do. And to cry. You know, I am the emotional one (truly, I am, it is not news to anyone that has known me for more than three days).

The radiologist last week told my parents that they caught it early and that Bubba has an excellent attitude. The way Bubba sees it, if mom can beat cancer twice (breast and bladder, both primaries) he can do it once. And I do believe he will.

So, I have now decided that I no longer enjoy the month of June, even if it is my birthday month. Mom's first diagnosis came in June, Bubba's came in June, my grandfather died in June and we had the service on my birthday, and my grandmother died in June. I think that I shall skip it from now on! That way, I won't get any older!

Anyway, enough of the pity party. The outlook is good, the attitude is good and we shall fight the good fight. We always welcome good thoughts and prayers and I will do my best to keep this blog updated as Bubba goes through his treatment.

Much love to all.

Crackers and His Birthday Presents

2010-07-15T18:28:00.001-07:00

Our cute little family party was a hit last night. The little guy got tons and tons of Legos, a Pillow Pet, some clothes and a bunch of other toys.

Opening presents:

We're Baaaaaaack

2010-07-14T11:09:00.000-07:00

Life has been complicated . . .

Today is Crackers' 5th Birthday.

I came across a post I did on my favorite message board about his birth. I'll save you the gory details, but here are the pictures:

Minutes after his birth

Meeting the parents

Meeting big sis

Big sis is so proud! (and so tiny!)

Everyone napping

I'll keep up, I promise to try, at least.

Goooooooooooaaaaaaaaaallllllllllll!

2009-09-14T13:50:00.000-07:00

Yes, Tea is officially a soccer player! We signed her up for the Great Basin Youth Soccer League recreational division. Her team happens to be all girls and they are the "Cheetah Chics." Their jerseys are gold and the rest of their uniform is black.

We had our first practice last week and our first game last Saturday. They do not keep score, but the Cheetah Chics outscored the Orcas, by far. They have some girls on their team that have obviously played soccer before.

Tea is #7 - appropriate for our hometown.

My sister calls it beehive ball - this is such an accurate description.
The ball gets into play and then all of the kids swarm around it until someone breaks it loose and then they head for the goal. Not always the right goal, but what the heck!

Tea's Birthday

2009-09-14T13:46:00.000-07:00

Tea turned 6 on August 18th. Just like Crackers, we had a small family get together in our backyard. These are the best birthday parties in my opinion.

Best Laid Plans . . .

2009-09-14T13:41:00.000-07:00

Well, I was going to try to update on a regular basis. Life gets in the way sometimes. So, let's get caught up.

August 1st was Tea and Crackers' joint birthday party at Coconut Bowl at Wild Island. It appeared that all of the kids had a great time.

Happy Birthday, Crackers!

2009-07-19T14:04:00.000-07:00

Crackers turned 4 on July 14th. We had a small family BBQ at the house with cake and presents. We will have the kid party in a couple of weeks, for both Tea and Crackers.

I think he liked his cake!

Making a wish.

Swim Lessons

2009-07-14T12:55:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year, again. Tea and Crackers are taking to the water like little fishies. They are in the same class this year and they are both doing very well.

Crackers' group went into the big pool last week, with life jackets on. He got to float with the instructor and by himself. He is a little hesitant, but he does fine.

Tea's group went into the big pool today. She chose to go without a life jacket. So she got to "swim" with the instructor and then went back to the training pool.

She is getting very brave and is jumping in, putting her head under water and seems to be truly learning the concepts that they are teaching.

Wedding Weekend

2009-07-14T12:53:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, July 11th, our oldest nephew, Shanti, married his beautiful wife, Ashly. We absolutely love both of them and are so happy that they have found each other and are embarking on their life together.

They were married at the Grand Sierra Resort wedding chapel in a small, intimate ceremony. My mother took pictures for them before and after the ceremony. Every single picture I have of Ashly, she is sticking out her tongue. So, here we are, before the ceremony.

After the ceremony, Tea and Crackers wanted to get a picture with the newly married couple. Here they are.

Later the same day, the couple held a reception at the Hacienda. Bubba was a "bouncer" for them - not that his services were needed - so he got to dance with Tea.

Crackers got to dance with Tata (sorry the picture is crappy, I took it.)

And, Shanti danced for his wife, to the hoots and hollers of the guests.

All in all, it was a wonderful day, celebrating the joyous union of two wonderful people. We got to share it with our families, and, we got to welcome our new family members.

Overheard Conversations

2009-07-04T14:05:00.000-07:00

This is too funny to ignore!

Tea and Crackers are talking about birthdays and being born (since that time of year is upon us). Tea asked me what day of the week she was born on, I told her Monday. They were both born on a Monday.

Crackers replies, "No, I was not born on Monday, I was born on a motorcycle." He's been hanging out with his Bubba too much!

Then, Tea tells him that she will tell him how babies are born. My eyebrows hit my hairline. She tells him, "First, your mommy gets a baby in her tummy and it gets really fat. Then you come out. That's really how it goes."

They slay me!

Caught Up

2009-06-28T14:26:00.000-07:00

I think that I am all caught up right now! I promise to make a better effort to keep caught up in the future.

Some of the things that happened that I don't have pictures of:

I was elected Vice President - Fundraising for the PTO at Mamie Towles.
The Girl Scout Troop went roller skating. My kids missed it because we passed around the yucky stomach virus for about two weeks in our house.
Stampin' Up! has come out with a new catalog that starts in July - it is so very pretty!
We painted the kids' bathroom - gave it a little spruce up.
Tea went to Vacation Bible School for a week right after school let out - she had a lot of fun.
Swim lessons start in two weeks!
She will have a team of teachers for first grade - there are two teachers in her classroom, so she gets a bigger class. We are both looking forward to it.

Thanks for reading!

Me and My Guy

2009-06-28T14:19:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of June, our Girl Scout Service Unit held a "Me and My Guy" Dance. The theme was masquerade. About half of Tea's troop went and my mother took the pictures of the event.

June

2009-06-28T14:07:00.000-07:00

June was a big month! Tea got her ears pierced and graduated from Kindergarten!

They also got to practice having lunch in the cafeteria, so they could be prepared for next year!

The Beauty Parlor

2009-06-28T14:05:00.000-07:00

Tea and Crackers got their hair "done" in May - Tea got pink, like her momma, and Crackers got a buzz cut.

Dancing, Dancing, I Wish I Could Go Dancing

2009-06-28T13:31:00.000-07:00

I have no idea where that came from, but my mom used to sing it to us all the time. ;)

Crackers started dance class with Tea - he used sit in the back with me and do all of the routines, so I signed him up. Bought him the cutest little black ballet shoes and away he went. There was a recital in June, but Crackers missed it as he was sick. Dad stayed home with him while mom was the stage mom again, so I don't have any video or pics of the recital. My mom did take some, but the lighting was horrible, so the best pics are of Tea in her makeup, which you have all seen before.

Sierra Nevada Ballet came into the school and worked with the kids for a couple of months on ballet as well. They did a small recital for the parents at the end of it.

May - Elmo's Green Thumb

2009-06-28T13:19:00.000-07:00

Tea, Crackers and Little Squirrel went to see Elmo's Green Thumb in May. The show was a huge hit and the kids had a bunch of fun. Because we are all KNPB Birthday Club members, we got to meet Elmo before the show backstage. He was resting his voice, but we did get pictures.

Egg Drop Day

2009-06-28T13:10:00.001-07:00

In the beginning of April, the kindergarten students were issued a challenge. They were to wrap their egg so that it would survive a fall from the roof of the school. The ideas were varied and ingenious. Some eggs had parachutes, some had miles of bubble wrap, some were in balloons. All of the ideas were great ones, but not all survived the drop.

Tea's daddy helped with hers and it did survive. It is a bit hard to see in the pictures, but the egg is in the middle of the Styrofoam jack. The jack just bounced around once it was dropped and the egg was not jostled. Good work Tea and Dad!

The principal on the roof, dropping eggs.

The Egg Jack Mark II

The egg survived - wahoo!

Easter

2009-06-28T13:00:00.000-07:00

Easter was fun, as usual. We went to my parents' house, along with my sister and her family and hunted eggs there. The twins are getting big (all of the kids are, actually) and they are really getting into the spirit of things.

Daddy took the kids to a friends' house to color eggs, since Momma was working.

April

2009-06-28T12:59:00.000-07:00

I have been really bad - so sorry. I am going to try to keep up - again!

Momma got pink hair for the summer. Usually on April 16th I change my hair color until it is time to go back to work.

Crackers got a shiner and a scrape on his eye. He was playing with my nephew and ran into the back of the couch. He is definitely all boy!

March

2009-04-01T09:47:00.000-07:00

Let's see - this was not a super, event-filled month; but, Tea lost her first tooth!

The tooth fairy was extra special generous for that first visit - she brought a Bolt DVD and a gold dollar coin. I think that Tea was far more excited about the DVD than the coin.

Sorry, the first picture is a bit bloody - I forgot about that part!

Also, our Daisy Girl Scout Troop sold 114 cases of cookies. That is 1368 boxes - not too shabby for Kindergarten and 1st grade girls! We let the girls vote on field trips, and they voted on bowling and roller skating - woo hoo!

The Winning Bookmark

2009-03-31T11:59:00.000-07:00

Tea participated in the bookmark contest through her kindergarten class. Here is her entry. It is very hard to see - if you would like your own copy, leave me a comment and I will get you one!

It was chosen as the district wide winner for kindergarten! Holy cow!

Here she is with the principal of the school and the president of the WEA (who happened to be a teacher at McQueen when I went there).

For her efforts, Tea earned a gift certificate to Barnes and Noble, a framed award certificate, a free kids meal at Mimi's, a free kids pizza at Round Table and 5 bucks for the school store. Plus, the whole class got cookies!

The PTO also gave Tea an award, along with the other two winners from the school. Tea received a sketch book, tempura paints, watercolors and crayons, watercolor paper and art paper.

There were three winners from Tea's school - Kindergarten, 2nd grade and 6th grade. The 6th grade winner won the entire contest, district wide, for all grades, K - 12!

February

2009-03-31T11:48:00.000-07:00

Let's see . . .

Valentine's Day

More Cookie Sales

More work for momma.

Here are pictures.

Goodie bags for the helpers.

Voting on their favorite color of Conversation Hearts

The poll.

100th Day of School

2009-03-31T11:04:00.000-07:00

This one deserved it's own post.

Tea's class had lots of fun celebrating the 100th Day of School (a little bit early, but partying on Friday is much better than partying on Monday!)

They made necklaces of 100 fruit loops, they made hats that had 100 stamps on them, and earlier in the week, they turned in posters with 100 items on them.

The best part - getting to pop 100 balloons in 100 seconds. The best part for the adults? Having the kids pick up 100 broken balloons in 100 seconds ;)

Here's the video . . .

January

2009-03-31T10:48:00.000-07:00

Oh, man, have I been bad! My only excuse is that I work part time for H & R Block, and we are busy. Let us reflect on January . . .

We took the kids to see Thomas the Train at Lawlor - that was a ton of fun.

We also took our Daisy Troop to a Cookie Rally - yes cookies sales started in January. The girls learned about safety and recycling and they got to taste test the cookies!

We also had an investiture ceremony, where they all officially became Girl Scout Daisies. There are 11 girls in our troop, 2 first graders and 1 girl from the morning kindergarten class. The rest of the girls are in Tea's afternoon kindergarten class. They are a joy to work with and I enjoy seeing them come out of their shells!

And for good measure - my two cute kiddos!

Personality Quiz

2009-01-18T13:50:00.000-08:00

I promise to update more in the next few days!

This is from Stidmama

I took the 43 Things Personality Quiz and found out I'm a

Romantic Lifelong Learning De-Clutterer

Fall Leaves

2008-12-07T15:33:00.001-08:00

The kids were playing outside the other day in the leaves. It was chilly, so they got bundled up. I love this time of year!

Decorating the tree

2008-12-07T15:29:00.000-08:00

We have a little pre lit, artificial Christmas tree. We have 4 times as many ornaments than will fit on it. I keep the breakables packed up for now. Someday, we are going to have to get a bigger tree, or maybe two.

Dance Recital

2008-12-07T15:02:00.000-08:00

Tea had her second ever dance recital last night. I am going to attempt to post video. She was in the group dance for her class and then in a duet. Daddy forgot to hit record for the duet, so it is lost and gone forever, but here is the group dance video.

Daddy is not the best videographer, but, enjoy!

Here are stills from the recital:

With three of the four girls in the front row for the group dance. These are the girls that have been in the class the longest. I sewed those little pink plaid skirts - all ten of them!

In her duet, in the middle of the recital. She and her partner have been in the class since the last recital, and they were the only two girls that learned this dance - The Hopscotch Polka.

Catalogs! Catalogs! Everywhere!

2008-11-05T10:51:00.000-08:00

Since I got 7 catalogs in the mail today, I thought maybe I should post this again. Catalog Choice has really cut down the amount of catalogs that we get, but, 'tis the season!

Catalog Choice is an easy, free service that allows you to manage unwanted catalogs, reducing the number of catalogs in your mailbox and the number of trees that get sent to the paper mill.
Join me by clicking the link below:

http://www.catalogchoice.org/signup

Thank you.

Election Day

2008-11-04T13:53:00.000-08:00

I am full of blogs today! I hope that everyone went out and voted, no matter who you support. It's definitely an historical election this year, no matter who wins.

Tea's class held an election yesterday (school is closed today because of the election) and Teddy Chocolate won over Graham Honey.

It was a taste test! It was super cute, the teacher had a sign on the door "Kindergarten Polling Place" with red, white and blue streamers, there were "campaign" signs inside for each of the Teddy Grahams, streamers inside, it was awesome!

After they voted, they talked about the national elections, etc. It's never too soon!

Pumpkin Patch

2008-11-04T13:38:00.001-08:00

On Hallowe'en, my best friend and I (along with her husband) took the kids to the pumpkin patch to play in the bounce house and see the animals.

The cousins

2008-11-04T13:35:00.001-08:00

What a motley crew! Iron Man, two dragons, Thomas, a unicorn and a teenager! That was the scariest of them all!

My sister and I took all of the kids Trick or Treating around her neighborhood before it got dark. The kids had fun and the moms got worn out.

Happy Hallowe'en

2008-11-04T13:26:00.000-08:00

So, as promised, here are the two cuties! Tea was a unicorn and Crackers was Thomas the Tank Engine. DH made Cracker's costume from boxes and painted it and we added a flashlight for the nose/headlight. You can't see Tea's tail, but it was beautiful!

Here's Tea in Kindergarten, decorating her pumpkin. I think she had tons of fun at her first Hallowe'en school party. I sure did!

Here's Crackers walking to the school party. He was the hit, but the costume didn't stay on very long.

Our two children were the only ones with homemade costumes at the class party. There are 10 girls in Tea's class and 6 of them were princesses. One witch, two cats and a unicorn. It was fun. Watch this space for pictures of the cousins on Hallowee'en. Coming soon!

A Bomb Went Off!

2008-09-26T15:03:00.000-07:00

A kid bomb went off on the couch. Poor babies. Crackers had been doing much better today, but Tea has not been able to keep anything down today.

So Much for Perfect Attendance

2008-09-26T10:01:00.000-07:00

Today is our very first sick day of Kindergarten. Poor Tea and Crackers. Both of them woke up feeling yucky and then vomitrocious. So, we are all home, lazing around, taking it easy.

First Day of Kindergarten

2008-09-02T13:47:00.000-07:00

Here she is, glasses and backpack on and ready to go. Tea has afternoon kindergarten, which doesn't start until 12:30, but she was ready to go by about 10 this morning. I'm glad she is so excited. I told her that I was going to cry and she told me that I couldn't.

Dad had to sleep, since he has to work tonight, but Tata (my mom) went with us and snapped this pic for us. What a gang. Tea has 15 or 16 kids in her class, they weren't sitting very still, so I had a hard time counting.

Miss Davidson had this sign up by the door, welcoming us.

Here she is on her way to sit on the rug to hear the first day of school story. The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn. My sister had warned me about it, but I managed to hold it together. Just a little teary eyed as we walked out. Tea could not have cared less. Some kids had tears and some moms had tears. There is a little boy in Tea's class that went to preschool with her, so she automatically has one friend.

She is outgoing, so I'm sure she will be the belle of the ball by the end of the week.

RIP, Pirate Kitty

2008-08-30T12:30:00.000-07:00

Juliette was put to sleep today - oh how I hate that term.

About three weeks ago, she was vomiting multiple times a day, so the vet gave her an injection and put her on prescription food. That worked well for about 2 weeks and she was back to vomiting multiple times a day by this weekend. It was time to do something.

We had two choices. Keep her on medicine which will eventually stop working - it only worked for about 2 weeks this time, or let her go.

It was an agonizing decision, but we chose not to let her suffer any more. She will be missed.

20 Years . . .

2008-08-22T22:08:00.001-07:00

I graduated from high school 20 years ago. Where has the time gone? I still feel 18. I went to the reunion with two very good friends, Stacey and Jane. Stacey still lives in town and Jane flew in from Boston.

We were all a bit hesitant, but we had a ton of fun. It was nice to see people again and catch up. I wasn't sure that I was going to enjoy myself, but I was pleasantly surprised.

Here we are at the picnic with some other friends.

Summer Pictures

2008-08-22T22:03:00.000-07:00

As promised . . .

Tea's Fifth Birthday

2008-08-22T21:50:00.000-07:00

Little Miss Tea turned 5 on the 18th. She had a play (with) dough party. My mom and I made about 11 batches of play dough and every little one got to play with it at the party (put color and glitter in it) and then take some home. It was a lot of fun.

Here she is blowing out her candles. We did another cupcake cake - so easy!

This is the beginning of the play dough fun, we just let the kids go to town on a tarp on the deck.

Opening presents, of which there were many! She is set for school clothes, Care Bears and My Little Pony!

This is her best friend (that is a boy) sitting with her opening presents. Jacob had a pirate party that we so thoroughly enjoyed and Tea would have been so sad if he hadn't have made it to her party.

Princess Tea in her feather boas and princess ears.

Craziness! Or random musings.

2008-08-05T13:30:00.000-07:00

Today marks the beginning of the "school year" for me with H & R Block. This week, I start taking and teaching classes. I have at least one class every week from now until the end of October, sometimes more. Some weeks I teach one and take one, some weeks I take two and some weeks I teach two. It definitely keeps me on my toes and helps out in the long run!
We have to take our pirate kitty to the vet today. She has been vomiting a lot lately and I have a feeling this is the end. She most likely has an obstruction, which would require surgery and recuperation and cash, which is short, especially since we just took care of her eye. I hope that this is not the case, but I am preparing for the worst.
My laptop took a dump last week so I have just now gotten my new one up and running the way that I like it. That was fun!
DH and I went to see Mamma Mia! last weekend. What a hoot. Pierce Brosnan cannot sing and the entire theater groaned when he did. It was a funny movie and I told DH that we are buying it when it comes out on DVD. That will be a great addition to the collection.
My 20th Class Reunion is coming up on the 16th - go Lancers! I'm apprehensive but am going with a great group of friends (past and present) so I should have fun. If all else fails, there are always libations. ;)
Tea's birthday is coming up, so look for a party post for her, too.
Tea is also starting Kindergarten in September, I get teary eyed just thinking about it.
We had their pics taken today so I will update photos sometime this week (don't hold your breath).
Stampin' Up!'s new catalog comes out next week - I cannot wait to see all the new stuff and get to play. Let me know if you want to get your hands on one, I still have some that aren't spoken for.

Enjoy your week!

Cracker's 3rd Birthday

2008-08-05T13:21:00.001-07:00

Oh my goodness, I am so far behind! Crackers turned 3 on July 15th and I still have not blogged about it.

Here he is with Tea and Bubba, opening presents. Bubba couldn't stay, so Crackers opened a gift from him before he left.

Here he is blowing out the candles on his dinosaur cupcake cake. These are the best cakes, no cutting, no utensils, lots of frosting! And, the dinos were a big hit, too.

Crackers got two of these Imaginext Dinos for his birthday - they are a big hit. You push a button and they walk and they roar. Lots and lots of fun!

Obviously, the cake was a hit. I was getting red and green frosting out of his nose for days! Two of his school mates came to his party and lots of his cousins. I do say it was a hit.

Stampin' Up Decor Elements

2008-07-11T09:10:00.001-07:00

Stampin' Up! has come out with a new line of Decor Elements. These are vinyl clings for the walls or the windows, or whatever. I had to have some and put them up in the house yesterday. Since DH is on vacation all week, I have put him to work!

The family one can be seen from the front door and is on the same wall as pictures.

This create one is on the kids desk in the kitchen/dining room. This is where I hold my workshops, so everyone will be able to see it.

I really like this one in the window and plan on buying the larger one to put in the window, too.

Backyard Projects

2008-07-11T08:58:00.000-07:00

The sun cover ripped off of our swingset this winter, so we had to replace it. We bought a canvas painter's drop cloth and had the kids step in fabric paint and run all over it. We think that it came out very cute. This first picture is of the front.

This second picture is of the back. The kids thought that it was so much fun to step in plates of paint and run all over the cloth, with no repercussions! It probably won't last through next winter, but we still have the other half of the cloth to play with.

Our back deck has built in seats and we have these plain old green cushions for them. I have been trying to figure out what to do with them for a while now. We had a garage sale with a friend last summer and she had these spray pump fabric paints and stencils for sale. I got them and here is the result.

I did the hibiscus flower in a bright pink and orange with a clear glitter over it. I did half with orange as the main color and half with pink as the main color. I love the way that they turned out.

All of the cushions got a dragonfly on them as well. We did those with three colors and glitter. We did the whole dragonfly in a Caribbean blue with line green for the body and a little darker green for shading, and then, of course, clear glitter.

We are gearing up for Cracker's birthday party on Saturday, so the backyard is getting worked on.

Meet our Pirate Kitty

2008-07-05T16:40:00.001-07:00

Pirate Juliette is now our one-eyed kitty.

The first picture is when we were trying to save the eye. The second is after the eye had been removed and the last is with the stitches out. She had her own Independence Day of sorts. She got her stitches out and cone off on July 4th. The little area towards the top of where her eye would be is where she scratched a bit of her scab off once she got her cone off.

We brought her home and she came out of the carrier and promptly proceeded to groom herself all over. She seems to be adapting well and is eating well again, too. The vet says that her fur will grow completely over the site and it will seem as if there was never an eye there in the first place.

Poor girl!

Happy Independence Day

2008-07-05T16:37:00.000-07:00

Here are Tea and Crackers on the front deck of my parents' house waiting for the fireworks to start. We can see the Reno and the Sparks fireworks from my parents' house so that's our prime viewing spot. They have two decks upstairs, one in front and one in back.

I got the kids bathed and in their jammies and we headed over there. I don't remember what we did last year, but I do believe that this is the first time Crackers has seen fireworks. He was fascinated. Tea enjoyed them as well.

I hope that you and yours had fun, too!

Kitty Update

2008-06-26T15:43:00.001-07:00

Juliette is now our one-eyed kitty. She fought the valiant fight, as did our wonderful vet, Dr. Carrie Lane of Klaich Animal Hospital. But the eye was not salvageable. We had considered putting her down at this point, but we've had the cat longer than we've had kids. So, she will be our pirate kitty.

The stitches come out and the cone comes off on the 4th of July and she should have no issues after that.

Update on the Kitty

2008-06-18T10:31:00.000-07:00

We took her in for her second follow up today. The vet says that it is still looking good and they want her back on Monday. They are going to sedate her and bring the third eyelid down to check it out.

We shall see.

My little gardeners

2008-06-13T19:40:00.000-07:00

As promised . . . Here are Tea and Crackers watering the Rose of Sharon. Tea has fake colored hair extensions in - they are the bomb! Crackers has a dinosaur hat on. They both have on their gardening gloves that were a gift from Auntie Karen. They wear them whenever they are in the yard.

Here they are helping DH plant the new rose bush, sort of. They are waiting for their turn to water.

This is my view out the front door to the right just a little bit. That's the way to the driveway and also the view out the dining room window. We have a cute little porch right here with a nice bench to sit on and enjoy the outdoors.

This is to the left looking towards the neighbor's driveway. I believe that the two trees in the front yard have been here as long as (or close to it) as the house, so that would put them at about 40 years old.

This is slightly to the left of the front door, looking across the street.

Enjoy!

Gardening

2008-06-13T19:12:00.000-07:00

DH pulled out a dead Scotch Broom and a dead rose bush yesterday, so we replaced some plantings today. Stidmama has inspired me with her gardening posts, so I thought that I would share our front yard.

This is the Rose of Sharon that lives where the broom lived before. We had three of these in the sideyard at the old house and I loved them and was sad to move away from them. There are a couple in the backyard here, but they are white and I really enjoy the purple ones. We will probably plant more along that front fence in the seasons to come.

This is one of our two Rhododendrons in the front yard. They are a vivid pink almost red in color, but I think that we are not going to get any blooms this year. They are looking peaked and they have buds, but everyone else's Rhodies are blooming, so I am fretful. There is one in front of, and one in back of this huge tree that is right in front of our dining room window.

This is our Clematis in the front yard. I love the deep purple of the flowers. I am sad about it though. As you can see, there is only one branch on this plant that is still alive. The rest is dead and it is planted in front of a fence and buried by the periwinkle and other assorted stuff planted in this corner. We will probably have to replace it next season and I am not sure how we are going to do that. We also have one in the backyard that is doing marginally better, but it is light pink/white.

This is a beautiful plant between a rose bush and some other shrub. I have no idea what it is, but it has pretty royal purple flowers. I think that this is the first year that we have seen it bloom since we moved in. I don't remember it from last year, but who knows. If you know what it is, would you mind telling me in the comments? Thanks!

This is our Forsythia that is by the front door. It is getting out of hand and we need to cut it back, but it is so pretty early in the season. I really need to get out in the front yard and clean up the beds, but gardening is not my passion. Nor is it DH's, so our yard always looks a little shabby. Oh well, it is ours and that's all that matters.

I hope you enjoy the pictures. I have another post coming with pics of the kids assisting in the planting today.

Poor Kitty

2008-06-13T19:08:00.000-07:00

Meet Juliette.

We have had Juliette for about 7 years. We got her from the Humane Society where her previous owners had placed her because she licked bags. Another family had already adopted her "partner in crime" Romeo, thus splitting up the pair. We felt bad for her and she loved on DH, so we brought her home.

She has been such a good kitty for us. Many members of my Hostess Clubs have become well acquainted with her lately, as she has really come out of her shell and visits when they are here.

About six months ago, she had this cloudiness on her left eye. We took her to the vet and they told us that as long as it wasn't bothering her (which it wasn't) we didn't need to worry about it. She's an indoor kitty, so no worries about her not being able to see predators well. She just has to deal with Gabe, our other kitty, who is even more shy than Juliette, and a lot of people don't even know that we have him.

Last week, she was our little pirate kitty, walking around with her left eye closing and goopy. So, off to the vet we went last Thursday. They gave us antibiotic cream for it and wanted to see her again in two days. Saturday's news was not so good. She has a large ulcer on her eye right in the middle of the cloudiness. They wanted to sedate her and debride the eye. Shudder. So, they kept her overnight, cleaned up the eye, stitched up her third eyelid and stitched the eye partially closed. She came home with a partially shaved head, stitches and a cone. Her follow up was scheduled for today (Friday).

We have been giving her the antibiotic cream three to four times a day but it really didn't appear that it was working. Her eye looked worse to me and she has not been eating well. She is also very mad at us for the indignity of the cone and collar (it has flowers and butterflies on it) plus the fact that she cannot hide under the bed anymore. Poor girl.

We took her back to the vet today and they cleaned up her eye and told us that it was looking as well as could be expected and to keep up with the cream and bring her back in five days. Needless to say, I am very relieved. I was very concerned that the news was not going to be good. The next step after this is to remove the eye, and I am not sure that we will be able to go down that path for a myriad of reasons.

Think good thoughts for our little love if you get a chance to. I will keep you updated.

Dance Recital

2008-06-02T13:59:00.000-07:00

Here they are . . . my mom was in charge of pictures, as my husband was in charge of video, as I was in charge of five little ballerinas. The kids did very well and considering that they were the third performance of an hour long recital, they were so very well behaved.

I think that Tea had the largest contingent there! There were: the four of us, of course; my parents; DH's mom; my sister and her husband and their four kids; DH's brother and his wife and their two kids; DH's sister; my best friend, her husband and their daughter; two of Tea's former preschool teachers; and, last but not least, her godmother.

Tea got flowers from her dad, Grandma and Tata (my mom) and she was thrilled. She went to bed that night with the flower that Tata gave her. It was a very pretty Dahlia from her garden, in a little water tube. I had to take it out of her hands and put it on the headboard so she wouldn't squish it.

The above picture is from the finale where all of the dancers were on stage. The below picture is Tea with my Dad (her Bubba) and her flowers.

General Musings

2008-05-30T13:28:00.000-07:00

Here are some things that I have been thinking about. None of them great enough to earn their own post, but put together is another story!

Overheard from the living room today - poof, you are a husband. Tea has been very big into "magic" spells and tricks, and they both have been playing husband and wife a lot lately. The magic tricks mostly consist of "Close your eyes, Mom, and I'll disappear."

Crackers never shuts up. I mean never. His life has a running commentary. It's like we have a play by play of every single thing. Any noise he hears, "What's that, Mom?" Any time he sees something that is not normal to him, "What's that, mom? Why is it there, mom?" Oy!

Tea has been invited to a birthday party tonight - she says that the birthday boy is her best friend at school. When I called to RSVP, birthday boy's Mom was so glad to hear from us. Apparently, Tea is all he talks about at home. He even gets in trouble at preschool for not sharing Tea with the other kids that want to play with her. Too funny!

Two of the teachers at Tea and Crackers preschool got married over the weekend. They are a cute couple and I am so glad that we got to share in their special day with them. It was a lovely wedding and there were lots of little kids there to share in the day.

My 20th high school reunion is coming up this fall. I am apprehensive but I am going. A friend of ours is flying out from back east to come, so it will be a fun weekend no matter what.

Crackers has to have some dental work done and because he is so young, the dentist has recommended that we do it under general anesthesia. So, July 18th (just 4 days after he turns 3) in he goes to get the work done. We did the same thing with Tea back in 2006, so we know what to expect, but it still hard to think about your little guy in the operating room.

I'm Back . . .

2008-05-15T19:42:00.000-07:00

I'm so sorry that I have been ignoring the blogosphere. We have been a fun having, busy family and here is the proof.

Tea and Crackers started swimming lessons last week. Tea is in the big kid's class and doesn't get a parent to swim with her. Her best friend and her best friend's schoolmate are also in the class and they are heck on water! But, all three are doing well and enjoying themselves. This is such a turn around from last year.

Tea also started ballet classes again this month. She tried them out right after turning three and did not enjoy herself. She appears to be having a blast now! Their first recital is on May 31st - keep an eye on this space!

Crackers is in the water babies class, so he gets to (has to) have a parent with him, since he is not yet three. He seems to love it, but then he always has. Even for an indoor pool, the water is still cold, and the showers are too hot, but we manage. Momma swam with him Thursday.

Tax season is over and I did well this year. Better than I expected to, as a matter of fact. Next year is going to be a challenge, with Tea starting kindergarten and only going for half days. Half day kindergarten is a mere 2.5 hours. We'll figure out the work schedule when we get closer. I really do enjoy this line of work and appreciate that it lets me get out of the house, bring in some extra money for the family and still be with the kids. Grandma (DH's mom) helped us out this year by babysitting for us during the tax season, so it was really a win win situation all around.

Enjoy!

EarthFlakes, Shakers, Tremors, Tremblers, whatever!

2008-04-26T11:36:00.000-07:00

Since February 28, 2008, our area has been stricken with over 350 earthquakes (earthflakes as Tea calls them).

This is a great link to the local earthquake map. It only goes back a week, but what a week it has been! If you scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on List of Earthqaukes on this map, you get a line by listing of the happenings around here. The ones over 3.0 are in red.

We were hit by two successive quakes last night at 11:39 and then 11 seconds later. The first one was a 3.3 and the second was a 4.7. The kids and I were still awake and it scared us, to say the least. The epicenters for these quakes are about 6 miles west from us, so these strong ones were really felt.

We had another one at about 12:29 that was 3.7. That's when the phone started ringing. My sister lives about 4 miles west from us and they sustained damage. Their toilet tank broke, things fell off the walls and shelves and broke. The falling things broke other things. They have a lot of drywall damage, nail pops, etc. and a new hump in their front yard.

My parents live about a mile to the north and they do not appear to have any damage. We have a couple of new cracks and stuff fell off the walls, but we are all okay. Thank goodness for that.

There were some houses that sustained major content damage - we saw a picture on the news of a house that had all of its kitchen cupboards come open and everything fall out and shatter. So sad.

How Nerdy are You?

2008-04-22T11:10:00.001-07:00

I am not very nerdy. Go figure :)

A Letter to my Family

2008-04-08T09:36:00.000-07:00

Dear Son,

Please stop putting unwanted items in our cart at the grocery store while I am not looking. We don't use mouthwash and don't plan on using mouthwash. Are you trying to tell us something?

Love,

Mom

Dear Daughter,

Please stop putting said unwanted items on the checkout stand while I am not looking. Just because your brother put it in the cart does not mean that we wanted it. See above.

Love,

Mom

Dear Husband,

There are two of us grocery shopping with the kids. Can you please pay attention to the kids while I have my back turned looking at something on the other side of the aisle? See above.

Love,

Minty Fresh Mom

please note:

I love my family and I am mostly joking, but this is the second time now that I have come home with something that I did not plan on buying. I guess I have to be more vigilant! :)

Hoppy Easter

2008-03-23T19:54:00.000-07:00

The kids and I went to church this morning and then off to my parents' house for the Great Egg Hunt. My sister and her kids were there as well, so we all got to hang out, have breakfast and hunt eggs.

It was a good day. Enjoy the pics and I hope your Easter was fun, too!

Locks of Love

2008-03-22T20:43:00.000-07:00

Tea has a tender head.

Tea does not like getting her hair combed.

Tea's parents had enough last night.

Tea got a haircut.

She has seen a blurb on PBS Kids Go about a young lady that donated her hair to Locks of Love. She has mentioned in the past that she wanted to do this.

We reminded her about Locks of Love this morning and she agreed to donate her hair.

So, off to Snip Its we went. They do a great job there and they cater to kids. Plus, if you are donating your hair, they do the cut for free - which we totally did not expect.

The hair has to be bundled (in a ponytail or braid) and has to be 10" long from tip to tip. Tea's hair just qualified. If there are pieces that are shorter, Locks of Love sells the short pieces to offset the cost of making wigs.

Her new hairdo is so darn cute and we are proud of her for thinking of others.

We hope you enjoy these pictures as much as we do!

Bowling

2008-03-12T19:16:00.001-07:00

Tea and Crackers love to bowl. We have gone three times in the last 6 weeks or so. It is nice that DH has time off during the week so he can do this stuff with us.

Tea beat me today - she got a 95 and I got an 86. In my defense, she had bumpers, so she couldn't get a gutter ball :)

I think that this may be a sport that we keep up on with the kids!

Train Cake

2008-03-12T19:14:00.000-07:00

This is the follow up to the butterfly cupcake cake. Crackers wanted me to color the cake batter green, but it is hard to see in the picture. It must have been good because it disappeared!

Tea and her glasses

2008-03-01T22:14:00.001-08:00

Tea is blind like her parents! She has an astigmatism in both eyes and is a touch nearsighted.

So, she picked out the purple Disney Princess Jasmine frames. How appropriate :)

She only needs them for reading and school work and TV if she wants.

How Fast Do You Type?

2008-02-25T22:43:00.000-08:00

I'll admit, it is later at night and I think that I normally do better, but for what it is worth:

58 words

Butterfly Cupcake Cake

2008-02-21T16:32:00.000-08:00

Wow!

My mom found these cute little silicone cupcake pans at the store. She bought us two - a butterfly for Tea and a train for Crackers. I have not had much luck with silicone baking pans before but thought that we would give it a try. Apparently the secret is to let the cake completely cool in the pan. Who knew?

So, we made the cakes yesterday and frosted them today. They were pretty crumby so I didn't spread frosting all over them, I used the flower tip and put the frosting on in spots.

The kids are ecstatic that they butterfly came out so nice and now Crackers wants his train cupcakes. I figure if I practice at it a bit more, I can make these cakes for the kids' birthday. We shall see.

The bottom picture is the back of the package that has the layout on it.

Something Blue

2008-02-15T19:59:00.000-08:00

This will be quick as the kids are in the tub and it is the first time I have not had Crackers "velcroed" to me today.

I am blue because he is so sick. He woke me up Tuesday night with the croupy, barking cough and has been running a fever since Wednesday - thank you preschool.

We kept him home today and all he wanted to do was nurse and cuddle with me. Needless today, I have not accomplished much, and I have two Stampin' Up! workshops tomorrow. DH and I have been trading off with Crackers so we can get a little uninterrupted sleep, but he goes back to work tonight (after only having one day off).

The ped says to take him to pediatric urgent care on Sunday if he is still running a fever. Poor kid.

Something Borrowed

2008-02-14T12:17:00.000-08:00

Today is something borrowed.

I borrowed this picture from one of my favorite funny websites:

moar humorous pics

I also borrowed my mom to help me with Tea and Crackers at their respective Valentine parties today. What a zoo! I forgot the camera, so no pictures from the party. Crackers' class had 12 kids, two were not there because it wasn't their regular day, so ten little ones running around. Thank heavens the teacher didn't let them eat their Valentine candy! Tea's class had 14 kids, two were also not there because it wasn't their regular day. Mom said they were out of control!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Something New

2008-02-13T19:22:00.000-08:00

Sorry, no pictures, Crackers has croup and was clingy today. I will work on pictures tomorrow, hopefully!

Here's my something new . . .

Crackers started preschool last week (thanks for the croup!) He has been begging to go with big sister and they had an opening for one day a week. So, he goes on Fridays, with Tea. He is in the babybugs room and they work on potty training. I'm not sure how well that will work with his only being there one day a week, but it is a start.

He just goes for a half day, so I drop them off on my way to work and then I pick them up around 12:45. They are there about four hours. Last Friday, the director said that he didn't cry for mom and dad, but he cried for sissy.

Tea goes three days a week (M/W/F) and she was the queen kahuna last Friday, introducing baby brother around to all of the kids and the teachers. She loves being a big sister so far.

Tomorrow is their Valentine's party. My mom and I are going to take them since it isn't a regular school day for them, but they should have fun. I'll take the camera, but we have seen my track record so far!

Enjoy!

Something Old

2008-02-12T23:16:00.000-08:00

OK, I am playing along with the blogging convergence that can be found here.

My Babble friends made me do it. :)

We have a vanity and chair in Tea's room that belonged to my father's mother. I recently had both refinished and they sure look snazzy now. I will get a picture tomorrow and post it. My sister has the matching dresser in her house, I believe in her bedroom. She also has a matching chair. Grandma embroidered the seat covers and our names were written on the bottom of them, so we would definitely get them!

We just looked at a bunch of family tree stuff over the weekend, and in that packet, from DH's cousin in Las Vegas, are some pictures of his grandmother that we named Tea after. There are also some great pictures of his dad and his dad's parents, etc. on up the line. Again, I will try to get them scanned and posted later on.

With the tax season being in full swing, we are a bit crazy around the household. Add to that four Stampin' Up! workshops this month with one new recruit and you have a busy momma!

More 75 cards pics . . .

2008-01-15T13:53:00.001-08:00

Last one, I promise!

More 75 Cards pics . . .

2008-01-15T13:49:00.001-08:00

Catalogs, catalogs, catalogs!

2008-01-15T13:35:00.000-08:00

We in the Tea'N'Crackers household have been overrun by catalogs. And, in our household, there are two points of view on this "dilemma."

Of course, DH works for the Post Office, so any mail is good mail, it keeps food on our plates.

On the other hand, we just throw them away, what a waste! We have found the Catalog Choice website and are hoping that this is the answer to our dilemma. We signed up with them (completely free) and as we get catalogs, we go to the website and opt out of future mailings. All it asks for is your name and address and your customer number from each catalog.

It says that it takes approximately 10 weeks, so we shall see. We just started yesterday and we have 5 catalogs on our opt out list already. We thought that maybe other households in our network were being overrun by catalogs, so we wanted to share.

Enjoy!

Hello from Poppa

2008-01-06T16:51:00.001-08:00

Hello, and please humor me . . I needed a place on the web for this picture so that I could use it on my message board.

Good Morning, Snow!

2008-01-05T09:50:00.000-08:00

This is what we woke up to this morning.

It rained all day yesterday and then about 5 p.m., the rain turned to snow. A little before 5:30 p.m., the power went out. It was out for an hour in our neighborhood. We lit candles and played with toys in the dark. DH went and got us pizza for dinner, since they still had power, about 1/2 mile away.

We were almost done with dinner when the power came back on. What a relief, as Tea and Crackers really didn't get it. Tea kept asking if we had power in the kitchen when we were upstairs, etc. It took a while for her to realize that no power meant no lights anywhere. Crackers kept telling us that the monsters were coming because it was dark. Poor boy.

Bubba and Tata didn't lose power, so we were going to head over there for the night if we didn't get power by the time DH went to work. It was starting to get cold in the house. The kids were disappointed in no sleep over, but they were both relieved to have power back.

Bubba and Tata came and cleared snow this morning. When we first moved in to this house, we split a snowblower with my parents and sister. It lives at Bubba's house and they clear the snow for us when we need it. It sure is nice to have our own snow removal team! It is even nicer to live that close to my family.

We are supposed to have another storm this afternoon and another overnight. They are forecasting another three feet of snow in the mountains by tomorrow morning and another six inches on the valley floor. Such fun!

75 cards from one Simply Scrappin' kit

2007-12-31T18:51:00.000-08:00

Stampin' Up! sells these awesome Simply Scrappin' kits in order to assist you with your scrapbooking. With some assistance from SplitCoast Stampers, I made 75 cards from one kit. It took about 2 hours and I didn't do any stamping. I figure that I can leave the words off for now, and stamp what I need as I need the card.

As soon as I get some pictures of the cards, I will get them uploaded to the blog.

**OK, here are the pictures. My camera is not the best (neither are my eyes) but you get the idea! I will probably be offering this as a class in April. It would only let me upload 5 pics at a time, so I will start another post with more pics.**

Presents with Family

2007-12-31T18:46:00.001-08:00

Christmas Eve was tons of fun at Bubba and Tata's house. We open all of our present on Christmas Eve at my parent's house and then Santa visits overnight and leaves presents in the stockings. Pretty good hook up, if you ask me.

We usually get together with DH's family the weekend after Christmas which is pure chaos, as well. The kids get to play with all of their cousins and second cousins and they all had a blast.

Opening Presents with Friends

2007-12-31T18:42:00.000-08:00

My best friend (since 2nd grade!) and her daughter came over for the kids to exchange presents, and it was winter Crocs all around. The girls got pink and Crackers got red. They look like Santa shoes. I know that my winter Crocs are super warm and comfy, so the kids should all enjoy theirs!

Holy Cow!

2007-12-31T18:36:00.000-08:00

I have fallen far behind in my blogging! December is a crazy month.

Tea had her preschool Christmas program on the 8th of the month. Here is some video:

I'll work on posting that later - sorry!

Tea also had her preschool Christmas party on the 22nd - Crackers went with us and the kids got to hear a story from Santa, decorate cookies and sit on Santa's lap. Those are the pictures in the beginning.

How Many of Me?

2007-12-05T19:35:00.000-08:00

HowManyOfMe.com

There are
0
people with my name
in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

I thought this was kind of fun. It says that there are 0 people in the US with my last name. Well, I know for a fact that isn't true. There are four of us in my house, alone! Plus, there's my MIL, BIL, SIL and niece. Sheesh

Stampin' Up! Open House 12-8-07

2007-12-04T16:12:00.001-08:00

Here are the projects we are doing this weekend.

Christmas Decorating

2007-12-01T18:11:00.001-08:00

We did all the decorating today. DH worked very hard on the lights outside and I did the little bit inside.

This is the first Christmas that both Tea and Crackers are excited and have a bit of a clue as to what is to come.

Crackers has rearranged the Nativity scene quite a few times and he's already undecorated the tree. We've only been done for about 1/2 hour!

If you look closely at the picture of the front porch, you can see Tea peeking out at me while I was taking the picture. Brrrrr, it is COLD today! The wind makes it worse, so I took quick snaps and came back in.

Enjoy your December!

Trans Siberian Orchestra

2007-11-28T15:35:00.000-08:00

Saturday, DH and I went to see Trans Siberian Orchestra. It was an awesome show. That was our Christmas present to each other.

We were seated at the side of the stage and we were only about 5 rows away from the stage. There was an elevated area on each side of the stage where the performers would come up to. When they were up there, they were about 10 feet away from us. They were talking to the audience - it was awesome!

If you enjoy their music and get a chance to see them, we highly recommend it!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-24T08:42:00.002-08:00

Here's DH carving the turkey. We had my parents and a friend of DH over for a late Thanksgiving dinner.

We fried our turkey and I have to say, I love it this way. The turkey takes 4 minutes a pound and the oven is available to make all the sides. It took 50 minutes for our 12.5 pound turkey to be finished. Instead of cooking all day long, everything went in the oven at the same time as the turkey. Mom made pies and an awesome spinach artichoke dip and there we were!

We hope that everyone enjoyed their turkey day as much as we did. We are infinitely thankful for our families and friends and love to share days like this with them.

Christmas Pictures

2007-11-18T11:24:00.001-08:00

Last Sunday, we got all six of Tea and Crackers' cousins on their dad's side of the family together for pictures for Grandma. I do believe that it is the first time we have a picture of all eight of them together.

The oldest is 25 and Crackers is the youngest at 2. The pictures came out so well and this is the picture of Tea and Crackers. We got grandma a beautiful jewelry box with pictures of all of the kids on the top of it. I'm sure she'll like it, I know I like mine!

Enjoy your Thanksgiving!

Stampin' Up! Open House 11/10/07

2007-11-08T13:40:00.001-08:00

These are the two cards that I am demonstrating at this weekends' Club Meeting/Open House.

How cool is this?

2007-11-08T11:10:00.001-08:00

DH is a huge Seattle Seahawks fan. Therefore, every year for Christmas (and sometimes birthdays) Tea and Crackers get Seahawks gear. Plus, we try to have their pictures taken close to their half birthdays.

So, earlier this year, we had their pictures done in their Seahawks gear. The photographer suggested we send one of the picture in to the Seahawks organization and I finally got around to doing it last week.

Yesterday, we had a small package in the mail, address to Tea herself. She is holding it in the second picture (covering up all personal information). In the package were two trading cards, a sheet of temporary tattoos, a 12th man pin and a Seahawks bandanna.

It was hard to tell who was more excited, Dad or Tea. Crackers was ambivalent at best, but he does like the Seahawks "blanket."

It is nice to know that the organization appreciates even the smallest fans!

*We just got today's mail and Crackers had his very own package - wahoo!*

Carmelite Monastery Open House

2007-11-05T16:04:00.000-08:00

Well, here I am, in the Christmas Card room at the annual Carmelite Monastery Open House. The Sisters' main source of income is from the cards that they print throughout the year.

The Open House, which is always held on the first Sunday in November, is their main sales effort where they open their beautiful home, chapel and print shop to the public.

I first met the Sisters in 2000 when I was working for the General Contractor that was building their addition. They had grown and needed a larger chapel, more rooms and some other areas. They were wonderful to work with and I came to look on them as friends.

They have been a large part of my life since then and both Tea and Crackers were baptized in their chapel by the wonderful Father Joe. I occasionally attend Mass with them and have turned to them for support many times throughout the years.

My mom and I have been volunteering for about 4 years now and we have always been in the Christmas card room. We both absolutely love it. It is a fun time where we get to see old friends, make new ones and give back some of the support that we have received throughout the years.

If you are interested, you can always purchase cards through their website. Most of their cards are based on original artwork from the Sisters. They have a wonderful selection of All Occasion cards, Christmas cards, Birthday cards and just blank inside cards.

Enjoy!

*I wanted to add a scan of the business card for the Sisters if anyone is interested.*

Happy Halloween

2007-10-31T16:13:00.001-07:00

I love love love Halloween. I think that it is my most favorite holiday, as there is no pressure. No gifts, no worries about which family to visit, no stress, just plain old fun, all for the kids.

Tea is a snow princess this year and Crackers is a dragon. He has been telling people that he is a green Care Bear. He wanted to be a Care Bear and we couldn't find a costume in his size, so we bought the dragon one. He seems to be over it.

We went to the Fall Festival at Tea's preschool this morning. The whole family. We kept Dad up a bit past his bedtime, but it was worth it. I volunteered to help with crafts and Dad stayed with the kids as they went through the party. Crackers doesn't go to the preschool yet, but siblings are invited, as long as parents stay with them. The kids all paraded in costume, around the school, through the pastoral offices and through the elementary school. There is a public elementary school across the street and those kids stood by the fence and watched all of the little ones go by. The little kids loved it!

We'll have a fast, early dinner tonight, hit a few houses in our neighborhood and then head over to my parents' house and hit a few houses there. My parents live in the house that my sister and I grew up in, and a lot of the neighbors are still there. It is fun to take our kids back so that the neighbors can see them.

Enjoy your treats and I hope that you don't get any tricks!

First Post

2007-10-30T16:41:00.001-07:00

OK, so I am going to give this a try. It may not be pretty, it may not be earth shattering, but it will be mine!

I plan on posting pics of the kids, rubber stamp ideas and whatever else floats my boat that day. My goal is to post once a week until I get used to this and then go from there.

Welcome along for the ride and I hope you enjoy.