Saturday

Remember when I said I might not be blogging for the weekend and therefore would probably not complete the blogging for a month challenge? Yeah well....there is nothing like delayed scheduled blogging ability. :) Wouldn't you like to know when I am really writing this post? Ha ha! I won't tell you. :) It makes me think back to the commercial that asked the timeless question: "Is it live or is it Memorex?" I guess you will just have to wonder.

And no - I don't think this is cheating. I still had to write the post didn't I? :)

I don't have a lot to tell you about so I guess I will share some photos of my little cowgirl....oh wait...she was playing Barbie and the 3 Musketeers. (Don't ask.)




See that horse? It's Marvel the Mustang and I had one exactly like it when I was a kid. My sister bought this one and gave it to me for Christmas the year I was pregnant with Kelton. I love having this reminder of my childhood around and I love that the kids love it!

The Day Before Thanksgiving

I have to wonder how, or if, I will keep up with posting every day over the next few days. With the holiday weekend it does bring a special set of circumstances to it and I have to say that I'm ok with not completing the challenge. I think I've done well this far and I'm happy with that....but then again, I do have a competitive streak in me so you just never know. :)

The weird virus I had with symptoms that came and went? Yeah...well...it settled in for a nice little visit in the form of cold. Nothing says "Aren't you glad we came to visit?!" like congestion, a cough and a very raspy voice. It should be interesting though as I move about the world this weekend how many people look crosswise at me when I cough. *I* know it's just a cold but considering the wide-spread fear of H1N1 being shared along with good food and drink well, I'm sure I'll be getting "looks".

Tis the season! Pass the Purell, please. :)

A Long Time Coming

You have no idea how long I have waited to see this:


Kelton, happily snuggled into a pile of blankets and stuffed buddies, reading a book on his own. This scene is akin to Christmas morning for me! For years now I have waited and longed for the day when he would sit next to me: me reading my book and him reading his. He's been a great reader for a long time but he hadn't really found the joy of of just sitting down to read for the fun of it. In the past couple of weeks he has and it brings me a level of happiness I cannot explain.

We have read him books since before he was born and rarely have we missed a day in the past 7.5 years. We love to read and we hoped this love of reading would trickle down through the kids and now that it has started....I'm over the moon!

My kid loves to read! My kids loves to read!

I'm not silly enough to think that a love of reading will overshadow his love of his DS or Wii but I'm hoping it goes right to the top of the list to share equal billing.

Watching the kids grow bigger and older is bittersweet but this? This is the sweet part!

YAY! Read on, Kelton!

Crazy Little Elves

The other day we were at the mall and the kids noticed that Santa had arrived which meant, of course, they just had to stop in to visit.

After talking with Santa, they were given "elf ears" and I have to say, they wear them well. :)





Kaylen's party dress? Why yes, that was the attire of the day because....well...just because she is Kaylen. :) I have to say though - if we were having a Christmas party some of the recent pictures I took of these two would make some darn cute Christmas invitations.

Which reminds me...I still need to figure out what, or if, I am going to do for a Christmas card this year. I'm not all that into the hours of work that goes into getting Christmas cards and the annual letter out (nor the cost of mailing them!). Maybe I'll do a web-based card and letter this year. Or...maybe I'll just skip it all together. Time will tell. :)

Christmas Pajamas

Yesterday afternoon I took an hour to myself and headed to a nearby store to check out a few things. First up was a set of dishes that I have my eye on. Another store had a similar pattern on a sale and I wanted to compare it to the one I had seen a couple weeks ago to decide which one I liked better (because you know....my birthday is coming up...and I would love to have a dish set the matches. Over the years we have lost plates and bowls and are now down to three plates of one pattern and three plates of another. Having four matching ones would be nice. I've also been wishing for some cute martini glasses. Not boring ones but fun, sassy and maybe, just maybe polka dotted. A girl can dream, can't she? :) ).

After that I wondered over to the kids clothing section to see if something caught me eye for the upcoming visit with Santa. Hitting two different areas I noticed something - there were matching pajamas in Kelton's size and in Kaylen's size! The kids have never had matching jammies for Christmas and BONUS! They were on sale. Double bonus: I found it in a nightgown for Little Miss "It Has To Be a Nightgown or I'm Not Wearing It".

I picked up the correct sizes and headed home. The kids LOVED them and couldn't wait to try them on. Here are a few pictures I snapped last night - the kids were absolutely wild and crazy but I still got some pretty fun shots.

I have to say - I think they look adorable!







That last one is my favorite. It shows them in all their silly glory. :)

The Time Traveler's Wife

Dakota and I went to see The Time Traveler's Wife this afternoon at the "cheap seat" theater. I've been wanting to see this moving since it first came out back in August but hey - better late than never. :)

I loved it. Really loved it!

We have the book and Dakota has read it but I never made it too far into it. I'm not sure why but short attention span comes to mind. :) I now really want to read it (never mind that I have two books going already). It has been on my mind since we left the theater - I have so many questions. We went out and got a bite to eat after the show and we talked and talked and talked about it. We compared it to The Lake House which is another one of those time traveling type movies which we loved so much we bought it a few years back. So any guesses what we are going to do now that the kids are sleeping? Oh yeah - we're going to pop in the The Lake House and watch it.

Gotta love the movies that make you think...and I love the possibility that things like that could actually happen.

Two thumbs up! :)

Friday the 13th

I don't know why exactly but when the 13th falls on Friday I feel this sense of impending doom. Nothing bad has really happened to me on a Friday the 13th but it still feels eerie.

I know some people have turned the table and view it as a lucky day but try as I might, it just doesn't play that way for me. I just can't shake the feeling and am relieved when Saturday the 14th arrives.

Today is a rainy, rainy day which is made even more dramatic by the fact that the back gutter is clogged with leaves which is causing the water to cascade over the side near the sliding glass door. It feels very wintery today and because of that I decided to wear my penguin stacked in a Christmas tree shape shirt today. I'm sure people will look at me sideways but what do I care? I love this shirt and rarely get to wear it so despite having it for three years, it still looks brand new. What the heck - I start wearing my Old Navy orange pumpkin shirt mid September so really? What's the difference? I do believe we could all use some holiday cheer so.....you're welcome! I'm glad I could add some cheer to your day (yes - even if that means you are smiling because you think I'm ridiculous. At least I made you smile.). :)

Speaking of holiday cheer, I have started Christmas shopping for the kids. Kaylen, as always, is easy. Anything pink, purple and girly is a go for her. In fact, I think I have almost everything for her (or are waiting delivery). Kelton is more challenging this year. He doesn't have a big "want" list. Special colored pens (check), a Color Wonder Magic Light Brush (check), a Pokemon coloring pad thing and a Bakugan school supply set (both are on clearance for $6 each at Toys R Us...I just need to get back there and grab them). I still need to pin him down on a Santa Wish. And then there are the stockings.....easy enough really. Toothbrushes, toothpaste, various small art supplies, a little candy and probably a book or two.

I even have almost all of the cousin gifts already. The little kids (ages 4 and below) are done. It's just the three older ones I need to figure out.

I do appreciate that so many stores are having amazing sales going on earlier than Black Friday. It makes it so much easier to spread out the cost of the holiday (and seriously? If you need gifts keep an eye on the game sales. I cannot believe how, if you watch carefully, you can get games for under $6.) Personally speaking, I think games make GREAT gifts.

I'm rambling. A lot. I guess that's what happens when you may a pledge to blog every day for a month. :)

Happy Friday, everyone.

Saturday

We were out of the house today. Did you read that and really appreciate it? We. Were. Out. Of. The. House! For the first time in 5 plus days (excluding two trips to the doctors office which really don't count in my opinion) we loaded everyone into the car and left the house.

It was divine!

In the midst of the kids being sick I swear I can't see my way clear of ever being *out* of the land of Tylenol, Motrin, medicine cups, tissues, thermometers and whatnot so it was almost like a long awaited Christmas gift to leave the house and venture out into public.

We had to be mindful though as we knew Kelton's immune system was still recovering so we didn't stay out long. A quick trip to the Clackamas Target for Dakota and the kids and a quick(er) trip to Toys R Us for me. Tis the season and all and there was something perfect for the boy in the sales flyer (and the sale ended at 1pm Saturday). After running my top secret errand, I went back to Target to pick up the family. They had gone under the guise of looking for birthday gift ideas for me as well as picking up something to keep them quiet while we got lunch at Stanfords. Dakota has told the kids we were going someplace special as a way of saying Thank You to me for taking such good care of them the past two weeks but really? It was because we had a gift card and we knew it wouldn't cost much there. That's what we call a Win-Win. :)

From the time I arrived at Target to meet them and then return to the car to dive across the (large) parking lot to Stanfords the sky had opened up and was dumping gallons of rain on us. It was actually kind of fun but boy were we wet when we arrived at the restaurant.

We had a great lunch - Kelton and I split the adult macaroni and cheese and much to my delight, Kelton loved it as much as I did! (I knew I would - I've had it before but this was the first time we've taken the kids there.) I'm telling you - it is AWESOME!!

After lunch we headed back home and Kelton, who was very tired from his three hour outing, caught a quick cat nap on the drive.

After we arrived home and took care of all the things that need tending upon walking into the house, Dakota and I changed into comfy jammies and hung out watching original episodes of 90210 while the kids entertained themselves by playing games together on the computer. After we had a bit of downtime, the kids entertained us with dances they made up - complete with costumes!

All in all, it was a great day! :)

Shake Your Groove Thang

Today I did something new. I attended a Zumba/Yoga class. Let me tell you - it was an experience. If you don't already know what Zumba is here is a quick description:

"It's an exciting hour of calorie-burning, body-energizing, awe-inspiring movements set to a hypnotic Latin rhythm"

An hour is a really, really long time when you are trying like crazy to keep up with steps that you don't know and that move so fast you can barely focus on them. I would say it made me feel old and wishing that I was home instead researching something equally as exciting as say.....the best colon cleanse. But the truth is, I was in a class with 12 people and at least half of them were older than me. We're talking *older* than me....as in grandmotherly. How they managed to keep up is beyond me. One of the older newcomers and I would catch each others eye and make a look of "Are you kidding me?!?!?" Those giggle filled moments are what kept me going.

Kaylen was with me as well but for the Zumba part she was playing with the other kids. I have never before in my entire life wanted her to need me to help her with something. I was trying to send telepathic thoughts to her to pull me from class and give me a break.

No kidding - the songs come right after each other and it's a constant hour of moving and grooving.

After the hour came 30 minutes of yoga. Now that is more my style. Calm, relaxing yoga poses. So much better. Kaylen, my little yoga master who works out to her Kids Yoga DVD often, joined me on my mat and we did the poses together. She is really quite good and I loved how intent she was on getting them right.

I am already feeling the stiffness and soreness. It's almost like a badge of honor though. I did it and I survived.

Will I go back? Probably. But I'm still going to put myself in the very back row. :)

Chestnut Festival

Turns out it was about as exciting as you might imagine. It did, however, sport a great maze which we had fun running through several times.

It was a beautiful day and we had a good time being out and about even if we discovered that roasted chestnuts taste....well.....awful. :)

Size 8

Well yes indeed - I do wish that was my size but alas, it is not. It is the new under.wear size for a certain 4 year old girl. Yes. I said 8. What size should she really be wearing? Six. She has been wearing size 6 for about a year now but lately she has been complaining that they don't cover her backside well enough for her liking.

Hmmm.....they look fine to me but then, I am not the one with sensory issues when it comes to my clothes. Call me silly but I like my clothes to fit and not hang off me.

This morning I requested that she put on her under.wear so that we could go out and meet up with some friends. This seemingly innocent request was met with a full on meltdown because the "one pair that fits" was in the washing machine. Oy.

I agreed that today would be the day we went shopping for a bigger size. During our playdate she would come up to me periodically to remind me that we were going to be going shopping today. In fact, she shared this info with everyone. I guess when you are four years old new under.wear is a big deal. For me though? It's a lot like looking into term life insurance. Necessary but hardly the highlight of my day.

After we left our friends we drove right to the mall. Kaylen is now the proud owner of size 8 Dora and size 8 Princess under.pants. I'm sure when she reads this when she is older she will be rolling her eyes, groaning and saying "Moooooooooooooom! How could you write this?!?" Well my darling girl - it's because it's moments like these that I don't want to forget. You being so very excited about new under.pants. Talk about simple pleasures. :)

And for those of you waiting for beach photos - they are coming. I have some good ones. Be patient. :)

Sunday Fun

Who says you can't have fun at Target?










Come on - you know you have always wanted to do it. :)

HardDrive Crash

Last Thursday I worked for hours upon hours on Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) stuff to prepare for the new year and for our first meeting that is taking place tomorrow.

Let me say that again: I worked for hours upon hours.

I emailed people like crazy - documents flying back and forth between us.

At the end of the day I turned off the computer with the thought of "Hmm..I really do need to back up my photo files pretty soon. I haven't done that in a while." The computer had been acting funny for a while but nothing that screamed "Danger!"

It should have screamed "DANGER!"

Friday morning Kelton turned on the computer and it came up with an error message. He turned it off and walked away. I came into the room and thought it funny that the computer wasn't yet on so I hit the power button.

Blue screen of death. In a big, big way.

I tried to restore to a set point. No go. I tried to start in Safe Mode. No go. I tried hard not to think of the hours of work trapped in my computer (to say nothing of the 3-4 months worth of photos). No go.

ARGH!

I ended up calling a computer repair guy we have used for the past couple of years. He wasn't available so I left a message, trying to keep the rising panic out of my voice. Yes, I have a laptop but lo and behold - ever since Dakota loaded her Bar Review test software on it, Word won't work. I removed the software and still - Word won't work. I could access emails and I could do bits and pieces but really? I was feeling my anxiety rising by the hour.

Then I remembered the CPU that we have in the garage. Our former computer which my brother brought back to life a couple years ago. I unhooked the broken one and installed the new one and PRESTO! I was back in business. Thankfully by emailing documents all over the place I was able to have people send things back to me. Phew!

The computer guy didn't call back on Friday - being a 3 day weekend I figured I wouldn't hear back until Tuesday. Wrong! On Saturday he called and we made arrangements for him to pick up the traitor CPU and see what he could do. Sunday he called and gave us the news that the harddrive was gone without a chance of being brought back to life. He would install a new one at our ok. We gave it and I was relived to know he had gotten most of the stuff off before it completely gave out. Most importantly - he got all my photos! That alone was worth the bill of $161.00. :)

Monday afternoon he delivered the repaired CPU and hooked it all up for me. He handed me the old harddrive - which is cool and yet....what am I supposed to do with it? I asked him that and he said "Well - if you want to get rid of it, I'm going to suggest that you destroy it as best as you can so that there isn't a chance of anyone getting your personal information."

So destroy it we did. I gave Kelton a hammer and turned him lose. And boy did he have a great time! :)

I'm still getting used to the new look of the computer and trying to get it to feel like "home". I did loose all my email addresses and all my internet bookmarks but I'm trying to be positive and just look at it as a fresh start. :)

Technology is great when it works right but there is still a LOT to be said for pen and paper. :)

Rain Doesn't Stop Us

This weekend was chilly and wet. Very, very wet. Sunday, after grocery shopping and then unloading the groceries in a downpour the sun decided to grace us. And those brief moments of sunshine were all it took for Dakota and Kaylen to decide that going to the Bonneville Fish Hatchery would be a good idea.

It took a few minutes of convincing on my part because well....things were still dripping outside and I knew the reports called for more rain. But convince me they did and the four of us climbed into the car to drive the 40 minutes to the hatchery.

If you have been with me for a year or two then you probably remember that the hatchery is our yearly end of summer road trip. The kids love to feed the fish but more than that, I'm thinking their favorite part is the gift shop. :)

About 20 minutes into the drive we drove smack into a rain storm. It was pouring so hard that I could barely hear Dakota talking from the passenger seat and the kids had ramped up their volume to be assured they *would* be heard. I could barely see the lanes and we tossed around the idea of turning around. But you know what? We were in that far and I didn't see the point in turning around and dealing with crying from disappointed children. So on we pushed.

By the time we got the hatchery gate the rain was just a drizzle so we put on our (non-waterproof) jackets and started to make our way to the gift shop. We hung out there long enough for the rain to stop. Good planning on our part! :)

After taking the treasures the kid talked us into back to the car so they wouldn't get lost or dropped, we headed over to see the fish. Big fish, little fish....we saw them all.






Please note the Children's Place tag on Kaylen's coat. This is a jacket I bought for her years ago on sale. It's still huge on her but she loves it. The only thing is, she won't let me remove the tag. There are worse things, I guess. :)

Best photo of the day! :)

We enjoyed blackberries that grown wild along one of our favorite paths. And by "we" I mean Kelton, Dakota and me. Kaylen picked tons but lets not forget: she will not eat fruits and veggies. :)










We all had to admit that Dakota and Kaylen had a great idea - we had a really fun time.